Now in its 8th year, the Queens World Film Festival will return to the Museum of the Moving Image and Kaufman Astoria Studios with an extended, two-week schedule of screenings and events on Thursday, March 15 through Sunday, March 25.
The Queens World Film Festival engages the diverse communities that comprise the borough of Queens as QWFF Artistic Director Don Cato said: “This year’s submissions increased by 43% and QWFF programmers screened hundreds and hundreds of films from 48 nations. This year we have 189 incredible films from 36 nations with 19 world premieres… There are films from all five boroughs and a groundbreaking 65 films by women, 14 LGBTQ-themed films, 14 films by Asian filmmakers, including the award-winning Queens filmmaker and QWFF alumni Patrick Chen who is returning with his short ‘Confucius Plaza.'”
This year’s festival showcases topical, bold and entertaining documentaries, animated work, and feature-length narratives that include: “Dalia” (Argentina), about a woman whose life seems to have vanished after separating from her husband; “Wedgetail” (Australia), about a middle-aged man who goes to Cambodia in search of love; “On the Endless Road” (Vietnam), about two men from very different walks of life who meet up on motorbikes; and the U.S. films “Knowing Nothing Cold,” “Restraint” and “Screamers.”
The opening night reception presented by Investors Bank will be held on March 15 at 7 p.m. at the Museum of the Moving Image, located at 36-01 35th Ave. in Astoria. The evening’s program will feature a block of six short films grouped under the title of “Emotional Punch.” The films are “Atomic Mother,” directed by L.E. Salas; “You Deserve Everything,” directed by Goran Stolevski; “Bricklayer’s Poet,” directed by Gino Cafarelli; “Backstory,” directed by Joschka Laukeniks; “(Out) Caste,” directed by Shilpi Shikha Agrawal; and “Our Wonderful Nature, the Common Chameleon,” directed by Tomer Eshed.
Other special events taking place at this year’s festival include: a Kids Corner featuring ten films from young filmmakers — from time travel to ghost tales — on March 16; a NY Loves Film production roundtable discussion on topics such as funding, audience building and distribution on March 19; The Horror! program with two scary film screenings on March 23; and eight family-friendly films from animation to action on March 24.
QWFF is dedicated to creating worthwhile experiences for participating filmmakers and their guests with signature elements, such as dynamic thematic programming, hosted screening events, engaging talk-backs, relevant networking opportunities and maximum access to filmmakers. Their roster includes international premiers, special events, parties and special guests.
Each year, the Queens World Film Festival pays tribute to an outstanding filmmaker for his and her body of work. On March 20, one of this year’s “Spirit of Queens” awards will go to Jan Oxenberg, a Queens native who grew up in Bell Park Gardens in Bayside. The festival will be screening her genre-busting film, “Thank You and Good Night.”
On March 21, QWFF will give another 2018 “Spirit of Queens” award to artist, activist, and filmmaker Vincent Gagliostro, not only for his insightful and riveting film “After Louie,” starring Alan Cummings, but for the actions he has continuously taken on behalf of so many in the artistic community.
On March 25, “Best of’ Awards” will be given in each category including Best Feature, Best Director, etc., with Honorable Mention awards in many categories, along with two special awards from two new QWFF partners, The KODAK AWARD and The inktip AWARD.
The festival sponsors include Investors Bank, Kaufman Astoria Studios, Queens Council on the Arts, New York Community Bank, Investors Bank Foundation and Queens Tourism. This project is made possible with funds from the Decentralized Program, a re-grant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Queens Council on the Arts.
For a full schedule of screenings and events and to purchase tickets online, go to www.queensworldfilmfestival.com.
