This year’s 2021 Queens World film festival is reinventing itself to include 11 days of streaming and live indie film experiences from June 23 – July 3, 2021, LIVE in 5 Queens venues: Queens Theatre, the Museum of the Moving Image, The Local NY, Culture Lab, and the United Sherpa Association.
Queens World will present 20 films produced in Spain including Dreaming has a Price, a beautiful yet unusual love story, Marcelino, the Best Clown in the World, a skillfully made documentary about the World celebrated clown born in Spain, who served as an inspiration for Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton, Cuba Creates – a masterful exploration of the island and Fly and Roberto two animated films that the entire family will like. In addition, the audience has a chance to see a thought-provoking Fronteras in which a female character must choose between being raped or killed, The Invisible Monster, a documentary about children scavenging trash for a living, and Who Does Your Skin Belong to that explores teenage depression.
“BRG has been in the community for over 30 years, and we are committed to supporting the arts and our youth. The Queens World Film Festival is helping to bring the arts back. When the arts come back, the community thrives.” said BRG CEO Daniel Benedict.
The feature film for Opening Night June 23, 2021 is Mouse, by Queens filmmaker Adam Engel, CEO and President of TangoLight Films with over a decade of feature films to his credit. Mouse is a masterfully crafted thriller about an innocent handyman who struggles with the crushing guilt of a local murder.
Mouse is accompanied by a short film from Stephan Joseph Eigenmann that uses an empathetic robot to teach us, taking a futuristic look at where our hearts go when we no longer wish to feel anything.
Opening night will be hosted by Festival Directors Preston and Katha Cato and will include a tribute to Elmhurst Hospital Center as the 2021 recipient of the Spirit of Queens Award for the tireless care their entire staff provided throughout the pandemic.
Other Honors will include the 2021 Queens World Trailblazer Award, Opal Hope Bennet, veteran Programmer and POV Shorts Producer. Opal has created career paths and opportunities for many other young women involved in developing interesting and maverick programming. Her vast experience and keen eye for talent has help to distinguish her in the World of curation and programming.
Multidisciplinary animator Catya Plate will receive the Lois Webber Pioneer Award for her work in sculpture, painting, drawing, installation, artist books and stop-motion animation. Catya has recently been added to the prestigious GREAT WOMEN ANIMATORS list and in 2008 her work was selected for permanent inclusion in the Art Base of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum.