This is some reel fun.
Festival of Cinema NYC illuminates several Queens neighborhoods from Friday, Aug. 2 to Sunday, Aug. 11.
This eight-annual movie-palooza screens about 100 independent films and offers workshops, panel discussions, improvisation classes, and other related activities at Regal UA Midway (108-22 Queens Blvd.), Forest Hills Library (108-19 71st Ave.), Queens Center Mall (90-15 Queens Blvd., Elmhurst), and The Shops at Atlas Park (80-00 Cooper Ave., Glendale).
Then, the action culminates at an awards ceremony at Jamaica Performing Arts Center (153-10 Jamaica Ave.) on Aug. 11.
The films are diverse with everything from animation to comedy to horror to romance. Some are shorts. Others are epics. Many are foreign.
Prices run from free to $18 with more expensive 10-ticket and 15-ticket bundles and VIP options.
Click here for the entire schedule.
A pre-festival fundraiser is on Wednesday, July 31, from 11 am to 10 pm. Attendees get to meet FCNYC organizers and filmmakers at California Pizza Kitchen inside Atlas Park. Place an order via the restaurant’s website with the promo code “BACK20%” and 20 percent of the meal’s price will be donated to FCNYC.
Then the free opening reception is at the Yant Tattoo Studios (72-50 Austin St., 2nd Fl., Forest Hills) on Friday, Aug. 2, from 5 pm to 7 pm.
Here’s the rest of the schedule.
Block 1, Regal UA Midway, Friday, Aug. 2, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Tickets include one complimentary drink and entrance to the afterparty (location announced at screening). Main dish: A fmusical about lifelong friends whose bond is tested by a cyberbully who threatens to expose their deepest secrets, leading them on a journey of self-discovery and courage. Plus, a parody exploring true stories of married men who sleep with men without telling their wives.
Block 2, NY Shorts, Volume One, Regal UA Midway, Saturday, Aug. 3, 12:30 pm to 2:15 pm
Nine shorts by New York Filmmakers.
Block 3, Regal UA Midway, Saturday, Aug. 3, 3:15 pm to 5 pm
Block 4, Regal UA Midway, Saturday, Aug. 3, 5:45 pm to 8 pm
Main dish: A director goes to Lisbon in search of the actress with whom he had a passion seven years ago, but she has mysteriously disappeared in Cape Verde.
Block 5, Regal UA Midway, Saturday, Aug. 3, 8:30 pm to 10:15 pm
Main dish: Lana Jing’s quirky, sarcastic, and joke-filled quarter-life crisis. At her lecture hall job, where aging white men wax on, Lana accidentally frames her friend and co-worker when she destroys the only copy of an aging tech-bro’s high-profile lecture.
Block 6, Regal UA Midway, Sunday, Aug. 4, 12:30 pm to 2 pm
Main dish: A documentary on the Queensboro Hill Athletic Association. Plus, a documentary on the female professional body builder world.
Free event at Queens Center Mall, When Making A Film Means Making A Difference: Make A Film Foundation, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2 pm to 4 pm
Block 7, Episodics, Regal UA Midway, Sunday, Aug. 4, 3 pm to 4:30 pm
Main dish: Rhythm-and-dance artist Alice begins her violent descent, delivering an audio-visual experience that blends John Wick with Lord of the Flies in a corporate dystopia. Plus, in their latest adventure together, Larry and Spike set out in a time machine to bring a living dinosaur to the modern world.
Free event at Queens Center Mall, Project Blackbird Presents Mental Health in Film, Sunday, Aug. 4, 5 pm to 7 pm
Block 8, Regal UA Midway, Sunday, Aug. 4, 5:15 pm to 7:15 pm
Main dish: Waltz spends his time painting in an urban garden while living in a small shed, buried in his collection of books , music, canned foods, and bottles of wine. He shares the space with old man in a vegetative state on a wheelchair. Waltz then falls in love with a dancer who lives alone.
Block 9, Regal UA Midway, Sunday, Aug. 4, 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm
Main dish: Just out of prison, Alvin is searching for a second chance. His family supports him, but also impels him to reconnect with a past that might disrupt his hopes for redemption.
Free event: Meet the Jury for the 2024 Festival of Cinema NYC, Yant Tattoo Studios, Monday, Aug. 5, 2 pm to 4 pm
Block 10, Regal UA Midway, Monday, Aug. 5, 2:30 pm to 4 pm
Main dish: Two unlikely friends embark on a journey to escape life in a ghost town devastated by disaster. Plus, a disillusioned young woman drops out of college and wanders around Chicago searching for meaning and connection.
Block 11, Regal UA Midway, Make A Film Foundation Red Carpet Screening, Monday, Aug. 5, 5 pm to 7:30 pm
Free event, Success in Film Festival Strategy with Expert Alumni from Sundance and Cannes, Yant Tattoo Studios, Monday, Aug. 5, 5 pm to 7 pm
Block 12, Regal UA Midway, Monday, Aug. 5, 8:15 pm to 10:15 pm
Nine short films by locals. Main dish: Anna is commuting to work when she comes across a disturbing car accident. Plus, Court takes her older brother on a surrealistic journey to show him the painful repercussions of selfishness.
Block 13, Regal UA Midway, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2:30 pm to 4:15 pm
Main dish: “No Farmers No Food: Will You Eat The Bugs?” is a documentary on issues behind green policies. Plus, nomads migrate through different seasons, adapting to their environments through their multifunctional skin.
Block 14, Regal UA Midway, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Six shorts. Main dish: River, a trans woman estranged from her family, returns home to attend her father’s funeral. She is anxious to see her mother, but nothing can prepare her for the extraordinary reunion.
Block 15, Regal UA Midway, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 8 pm to 9:30 pm
Main dish: A family tragedy triggers a mechanism of obsession.
Free workshop, Cutting to the Chase: The Do’s and Dont’s of Effective Editing, Forest Hills Library, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 1 pm to 3 pm, and Working as a Director of Photography in the Real World.
Block 16, Regal UA Midway, Ghetto Film School, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 1 pm to 3 pm
Shorts by members of Ghetto Film School, a nonprofit that educates, develops, and celebrates the next generation of storytellers with locations in NYC, Los Angeles, and London.
Block 17, Regal UA Midway, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 3:30 pm to 5 pm
Five shorts. Main dish: A traditional couple’s tumultuous relationship mirrors a complex game of chess, where an abused Queen must overthrow the oblivious King to reclaim her power and independence. Plus, after a tragic car accident, a rising actress prepares to give her first TV interview after a prolonged hiatus from the public eye.
Free event: FoHi Improv at Forest Hills Library, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 4 pm to 6 pm
Block 18, Regal UA Midway, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 5:45 pm to 7:45 pm
Main dish: Lucy has a complicated relationship with her dysfunctional family, but when her mother disappears on Christmas Eve, she must bring her family back together whether she knows it or not. Plus, after years of painful exile, Aurora visits her father’s home on Christmas Eve only to find it owned by a Chinese couple.
Block 19, Regal UA Midway, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm
Main dish: Maya meets the enigmatic Hattie. They fall for each other, but soon things begin to unravel as Maya realizes that Hattie has ulterior motives and everything is not as it seems.
Block 20, Regal UA Midway, Thursday, Aug. 8, 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Main dish: The groundbreaking new film “Hollywood Takeover: China’s Control in the Film Industry.”
Free event, Staged Readings, Volume 1, Forest Hills Library, Thursday, Aug. 8, 1 pm to 3 pm
Block 21, Regal UA Midway, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm
Shorts from outside the United States.
Free event, Staged Readings, Volume 2, Forest Hills Library, Thursday, Aug. 8, 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Block 21, Regal UA Midway, Thursday, Aug. 8, 5:15 pm to 7:15 pm
Main dish: Anton promises to fall in love — once and for real — at his best buddy’s funeral. His most important dates evolve to tell his life story.
Block 23, Regal UA Midway, Thursday, Aug. 8, 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm
Main dish: Amid World War I’s chaos, a grieving father turns hero, leading villagers to safety while evading a relentless enemy driven by vengeance.
Block 24, Regal UA Midway, Friday, Aug. 9, 12:30 pm to 2 pm
Main dish: “Bo Nan Za” captures a surreal journey through urban life, leading to a transformative change of roles.
Free event, When Art Meets Vocation: The Intersection of Media Arts and Career & Technical Education at Motion Picture Technical High School, Forest Hills Library, Friday, Aug. 9, 1 pm to 3 pm, and Writing from Within with Anthony Laura.
Block 25, Regal UA Midway, Friday, Aug. 9, 2:45 pm to 4:30 pm
Main dish: After a traffic accident on a mountain road, En, who had nightmares about losing her parents and younger brother, has an ominous premonition. A family trip was coming up in a few days, and they were planning a summer trip to the mountains. She persuades her father, Kosuke, to stop traveling, but Kosuke doesn’t listen. Meanwhile, a resident of the same apartment tells her that the traffic accident she dreamed of has already happened.
Free workshop, Demystifying Casting: A Conversation with Casting Director Richard Jordan, Forest Hills Library, Friday, Aug. 9, 4 pm to 5:30 pm
Block 26, Regal UA Midway, Friday, Aug. 9, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Main dish: A young man endeavors to rebuild his life after his release from prison, navigating the challenges of rehabilitation. The inspiration behind telling this story stems from witnessing the experience of a younger sibling who was arrested for marijuana possession nearly a decade ago.
Block 27, Regal UA Midway, Friday, Aug. 9, 8:15 pm to 10:15 pm
Main dish: In a desperate bid to secure a future for her child, an undocumented immigrant mother takes a caretaker job, but the elderly man conceals a horrifying truth.
Block 28, Midnight Madness: Horror Shorts, Regal UA Midway, Friday, Aug. 9, 11 pm to Saturday, Aug. 10, 12:30 am
Seven chilling horror shorts that’ll keep attendees up for days.
Block 29, Weird, Wacky, and Wonderful Shorts, Regal UA Midway, Saturday, Aug. 10, 12:30 pm to 2:15 pm
Block 30, Matinee Double Feature, Regal UA Midway, Saturday, Aug. 10, 3 pm to 5 pm
A double feature for a matinee price. Main dish: It’s raining again, and Charles Mortimer has a long night ahead. With unresolved conflicts and a passionate affair to tend to, the protagonist treads through the night…as deceit waits in the shadows.
Block 31, Special Presentation: The First Wave, followed by Q&A with Oscar-nominated director Matthew Heineman, Regal UA Midway, Saturday, Aug. 10, 5:15 pm to 8 pm
Block 32, Closing Night, Regal UA Midway, Saturday, Aug. 10, 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm
Tickets includes a drink (must be over 21) and entry to the after party. Main dish: After a pandemic sweeps the world, six children have been abandoned on an enigmatic island. Their struggle to survive becomes paled by individual desires for each other and for power.
Awards Dinner, JPAC, Sunday, Aug. 11, 6 pm to 11:30 pm
What is the FCNYC?
The effort’s main goal is to elevate the work of emerging filmmakers and help them get to the next level. Organizers particularly seek pieces from first-, second-, and third-time filmmakers.
FCNYC is the only NYC film festival to receive support from the National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Image: Festival of Cinema NYC