Dec 5th, 2016, New York, NY — The 7th Annual Queens World Film Festival (QWFF) returns to the Museum of the Moving Image and other venues in just 100 days, running March 14-19, 2017. Submissions closed today with just under 500 submissions from across the globe — including submissions from Iran, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, USA, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Iran, Ireland. Italy. Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Serbia, South Africa, Turkey, UK and the US (with over 20 submissions from Queens)
The 2017 edition promises another exciting and provocative line-up and a festival kick-off party is planned for January 15 when QWFF Artistic Director Don Cato will announce the final selections, the 2017 Honorees and other special guests and events.
On February 7th a press conference will be held at MoMI, which will give everyone a chance to interview and speak to the filmmakers, honorees, sponsors and festival partners.
QWFF growth from 2015 to 2016
*125% increase of screened films by women
*93% increase in world premiers
*137% increase in total submissions
*133% increase in press mentions, globally: Nepal, Iran, China, LA, Germany, Canada and Manhattan.
*100% returning Sponsors and Advertisers
*38% increase in Festival Attendees
The Queens World Film Initiative (QWFI) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization located in Queens, NY with the mission to provide multiple forums to advance public participation in film screenings by using traditional and alternative screening locations and venues, focusing on high quality Indie films that take compelling themes.
QWFI’s annual Queens World Film Festival (QWFF) is presented in March at multiple Queens venues screening the best of submissions from countries all over the world. The 6th Annual QWFF, the largest ever ran March 15-20, 2016 at the Museum of the Moving Image, the Secret Theatre, PS 69Q and the Sunnyside Episcopal Church and screened 144 films from 23 nations.
QWFF challenges whatever notions of provincialism that exists for a festival in the “outer boroughs” of NYC with a commitment to ideas. In 2014 the festival premiered the director’s cut of Josh Oppenheimer’s Oscar nominated The Act of Killing and in 2016 QWFF honored Director Melvin Van Peebles and screened his film Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, as a tribute to IndieCollect.
Another distinguishing element of the festival is the curatorial practice of screening in thematic blocks with evocative titles and a host to facilitate post-show discussions. This engages audiences and allows them to enjoy the real stars of QWFF: The films. For everyone at QWFI, it’s about creating the right context for personal, intimate films grouped together for a cinematic experience that audiences will not get anywhere else on the planet.
QWFF launched in 2011 and became a 501(c)(3) in 2014. QWFI’s mission is achieved by offering varied programs including the annual Queens World Film Festival; Young Filmmakers Program for school-aged children; Old Spice, which is a media arts program for senior citizens; and Encore Screenings. In FY2016 (7/1/2015 – 6/31/2016) over 10,000 people of all ages and backgrounds attended QWFI events and programs.
The QWFI leadership team is integral to our success. Don Cato began his filmmaking career in 1975 and has made over 125 films, including two features. Since 2004, Don has taught Advanced Directing, Screenwriting and Documentary Film Making at the Digital Film Academy in NYC. He is responsible for the aesthetic of the festival’s signature thematic programming and the driving force behind the Young Filmmakers Program. Exec. Dir. Katha Cato holds an MFA in Theatre and won two Backstage Magazine Bistro Awards and a Manhattan Association of Cabaret Award. Katha transitioned into the non-profit sector in 1991 at the Henry Street Settlement where she served as the Director of After-School and Camp Services, overseeing six after-school sites and three day camps. In 2006, she was named an After-School Champion by NYSE and in 2015 recognized as a PASEsetter for her innovative leadership.
The QWFF audience is as diverse as the borough of Queens whose citizenry represent 125 various ethnic backgrounds and speak 138 documented languages and dialects. QWFI utilizes outreach activities that complement the demographics of each of its featured films, and therefore, has developed relationships with varied ethnic enclaves across New York City. To date, QWFF filmmakers represent 58 countries. At the 2016 festival we hosted audiences from all five boroughs, and guests from across the globe. According to our participant surveys and online analytic, 30% of the festival’s audiences are between the ages of 25 and 34, 41% are between the ages of 35 and 55, and 67% of our audiences spend additional time in the borough for the screenings.
“It’s about surrendering to the films, without looking for familiar names, titles, scores. It’s about creating the right context for personal, intimate films grouped together for a cinematic experience you will not get anywhere else on the planet,” states Cato.
In 2016 Cato curated a midnight block: “NC-17 – Hetero and Homo,” pairing L.E. Salas’s shame dream Death Drive with Jaime Fidalgo’s Marionete Ciega, about a puppeteer’s penance. Another block, called “Ever Onward,” showcased an animated short, two narrative shorts, and a documentary short. These wildly divergent films provided a poignant look at our ability to change, to adapt, to survive.
The Festival’s Executive Director, Katha Cato, defines the ethos that makes QWFF so compelling: “From the beginning of time we have gathered in darkened caves around flickering lights to share our stories. We’ve upgraded the caves, the flickering lights are now zeroes and ones, but the impulse to gather, to tell our stories, remains. When we look at a QWFF film, we see that artists and audiences all over the globe are finding exciting ways to tell stories, both old and new. We are proud to be part of that conversation.”
To date Festival Sponsors include Kaufman Astoria Studios and the Investors Bank Foundation.
For more information, please visit: www.queensworldfilmfestival.com
American Hero of the Space Age, John Herschel Glenn Jr.