Over 70 films from filmmakers near and far will be hitting the big screen in Long Island City.
The Chain Theatre in LIC will be hosting the first annual Chain NYC Film Festival from Tuesday, August 6 through Sunday, August 18.
The 76 films being screened range from short documentaries to feature length narratives from European, Australian, Indian and even New York filmmakers from all the five boroughs.
“I wanted to provide an intimate experience where filmmakers could come and meet their audience,” said Kirk Gostkowski, festival director who organized the event along with Christina Elise Perry, festival producer. “There are a lot of stories that take you places I haven’t even seen before.”
Some films feature Academy Award winning actor Jeremy Irons, Academy Award nominees Cathy Moriarty and Sally Kirkland, and Tony nomiariations Theatre Group, opened up in January and is housed inside a two-story, 4,000-square-foot fnated actor Will Chase.
The Chain Theatre, owned by Vacility that features a flexible black box space allowing seating configuration to change for every show.
Variations Theatre Group utilizes and allows other theatre production companies to use the theatre’s equipped performances spaces, gallery space, rehearsal rooms and reading areas to put on theatrical performances.
Yet, Gostkowshi hopes the film festival will attract new visitors that will want to come back to the theatre after their first experience at the festival.
“This is all a gateway for people to see the work we produce. People feel more comfortable going to the movies than seeing a play,” said Gostkowski. “It’s giving us an opportunity to reach out to an audience we don’t normally serve. It’s really exciting. It’s a similar but new experience.”
On Saturday, August 17 the festival will host a “Best of Fest” day and on Sunday August, 18 awards will be given out to numerous films in different categories. One of the awards includes a New York
Filmmaker award which will be given to filmmakers from one of the five boroughs.
For more information on film festival schedule and the different films, visit www.chainfilmfestival.com. The Chain Theatre is located at 21-28 45th Road in Long Island City and only a few steps away from the Court Square subway station.
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