Queens World Film Festival

Overview

The Queens World Film Festival is New York's most diverse film festival. Founded in 2011 and held annually in March in Queens -- statistically the most ethnically diverse urban county on earth, where over 160 languages are spoken and immigrants from virtually every nation on earth have settled -- the festival presents independent international and American cinema that reflects Queens' extraordinary human diversity.

Queens' identity as the most internationally diverse place on the planet creates a festival audience unlike any other. Films from any country have audiences in Queens who have personal connections to that place. This creates an unusually intimate relationship between international cinema and community that is unique to this festival.

The festival reflects Queens' character by celebrating films that represent the full range of human cultural experience without privileging any single tradition.

Key Sections

• Feature Film Program -- independent international and American features
• Documentary Program -- nonfiction features
• Short Film Competition -- competitive short programs
• Queens Filmmakers -- films by Queens residents
• International Community -- films celebrating Queens' immigrant communities

What Filmmakers Should Know

Queens accepts open submissions. The festival's extraordinary community diversity creates some of the most genuinely engaged and personally invested audiences available anywhere. For international filmmakers, the diaspora communities of Queens provide audiences who bring exceptional depth of engagement to films from their homelands.

Major Awards

• Best Film -- jury prize
• Audience Award -- among the most meaningful in US cinema

Festival History

Queens World Film Festival was founded in 2011 and has grown into New York's most diversity-centered film event.

See Also

For New York City festivals, see Film Festival Strategy. For Brooklyn Film Festival, see Brooklyn Film Festival.