NYC Film is much more than a bunch of movie theaters. It is film festivals like the New York Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Neighboring Scenes Latin American film festival, DOC NYC, and more.
It is presenters like Film at Lincoln Center and MoMA Film. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) holds one of the world’s great film collections. The Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) is in the historic Astoria Studios in Queens.
There are independent cinemas like IFC Center and Film Forum, and film screenings in parks, and even some drive-ins.
NYC Film News
May 9, 2022
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
African Film Festival
The New York African Film Festival 2022 is at Film at Lincoln Center, Thu-Tue, May 12-17, 2022.
Human Rights Films
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2022 is at Film at Lincoln Center, Fri-Thu, May 20-26.
NYC Movie Theaters
Film Presenters
Independent Cinemas
The Year in NYC Film
NYC Film
January
Jewish Film Festival
The 31st New York Jewish Film Festival was hybrid at the Walter Reade Theater at Film at Lincoln Center Wed, Jan 12-25. $15. ✡️
Cinema Tropical Awards
The 12th Cinema Tropical Awards for Latin American cinema were announced Tue, Jan 18. cinematropical.com
NYC Film
February
Dance on Camera
The 50th Dance on Camera film festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Fri-Mon, Feb 11-14. $15.
Doc Fortnight
Doc Fortnight 2022, MoMA’s documentary film festival, is online to members and in-person at the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown, Wed, Feb 23 – Mar 10. 🇧🇷🇫🇷🇲🇽🇵🇭🇪🇸
Neighboring Scenes
The 7th Neighboring Scenes Latin American film festival is in person at Film at Lincoln Center, Feb 24-28. $15 per film or $80 All-Access Pass ($20 students). 🇦🇷🇧🇷🇨🇱🇨🇴🇨🇷🇲🇽🇵🇪🇺🇾🇻🇪
Not in 2022
Film Comment Selects curated by Film Comment magazine editors, was at Film at Lincoln Center, Feb 6-10, 2019. filmlinc.org [Not in 2022]
The 28th New York African Film Festival was at Film at Lincoln Center Feb 4-14 and Maysles Cinema in Harlem Feb 18 – Mar 3, 2021. 🇺🇸 [Not in 2022]
International Film Festivals
The 72nd Berlin Film Festival is Feb 10-20, 2022. berlinale.de 🇩🇪
NYC Film
March
The 94th Oscars Academy Awards are live on ABC-7 from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, Sun, Mar 27 at 8pm. abc.com
Children’s Film Festival
The New York International Children’s Film Festival 2022 (NYICFF) screens Oscar-qualifying children’s films for a variety of ages at the SVA Theatre in Chelsea, Manhattan, Fri-Sun, Mar 4-19, 2022. From $17. 🇦🇷🇧🇷🇨🇦🇫🇷🇮🇱🇲🇽🇵🇸🇺🇬🇺🇸
French Film Festival
The Rendez-Vous with French Cinema film festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Mar 3-13. $15. filmlinc.org 🇫🇷
Documentary Film Festival
Doc Fortnight 2022, MoMA’s documentary film festival, is online to members and in-person at the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown, Wed, Feb 23 – Mar 10. 🇧🇷🇫🇷🇲🇽🇵🇭🇪🇸
National Film Festivals
The SXSW festival is in Austin, Texas, Wed, Mar 11-20. sxsw.com
NYC Film
April
Mixtape The Movie
Mixtape premieres with a concert by Yonkers Freestyle rapper Jadakiss at the United Palace in Washington Heights, Thu, Apr 7. tribecafilm.com
Disability Film Festival
The ReelAbilities New York disability film festival is at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan in the Upper West Side, Apr 7-13. reelabilities.org
Colombian Film Festival
The 9th Colombian Film Festival New York is at Cinépolis in Chelsea, Apr 21-24. colfilmny.com 🇨🇴
New Talent Film Festival
New Directors / New Films is at Film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Apr 20 – May 1, 2022. newdirectors.org
NYC Film
May
Harlem Film Festival
The 17th Harlem International Film Festival, “From Harlem to Hong Kong,” is May 5-8, 2022. harlemfilmfestival.org
African Film Festival
The New York African Film Festival 2022 is at Film at Lincoln Center, Thu-Tue, May 12-17, 2022.
Human Rights Film Festival
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2022 is at Film at Lincoln Center, Fri-Thu, May 20-26, 2022.
International Film Festivals
The 2022 Cannes Film Festival is in Cannes, France, May 17-28, 2022. festival-cannes.com 🇫🇷
NYC Film
June
The Brooklyn Film Festival is Jun 3-12. brooklynfilmfestival.org
The Tribeca Film Festival is Wed, Jun 8-19. tribecafilm.com
The 8th International New York Film Festival is at the Producer’s Club in Hell’s Kitchen, Jun 24-25. inyfilmfest.com
International Film Festivals
The Guadalajara International Film Festival, Mexico’s most prestigious, is Jun 10-18. ficg.mx 🇲🇽
No News
The Americas Film Festival New York was virtual Mon-Fri, Jun 21-27, 2021 at taffny.com
NYC Film
August
International Film Festivals
The Venice International Film Festival, known for picking Oscar winners, is at the Lido di Venezia in Venice, Italy, Aug 31 – Sep 10. labiennale.org 🇮🇹
NYC Film
September
Dominican Film Festival
The Dominican Film Festival New York is Sep 21-26, 2022. dominicanfilmfestival.com 🇩🇴
New York Film Festival
The 60th New York Film Festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Sep 30 – Nov 16. filmlinc.org
No News 2022
New York Latino Film Festival was Sep 13-21, 2021. nylatinofilmfestival.com
The Winter Film Awards International Film Festival was at Cinema Village in Greenwich Village, Thu, Sep 23 – Oct 2, 2021.winterfilmawards.com 🇦🇷🇧🇷🇲🇽🇪🇸
International Film Festivals
The 47thToronto International Film Festival (TIFF), America’s biggest film festival, is in Toronto, Canada, Sep 8-18. tiff.net 🇨🇦
The San Sebastían International Film Festival, Spain’s most prestigious film festival, is Sep 16-24. sansebastianfestival.com 🇪🇸
NYC Film
October
The SoHo International Film Festival is Oct 6-13. sohofilmfest.org
The Workers Unite Film Festival is Oct 7-21. workersunitefilmfestival.org
The 15th Bushwick Film Festival is Oct 19-23. bushwickfilmfestival.com
International Film Festivals
No News
The Cortocircuito Latino short film festival was Oct 2-10, 2021. cortocircuito.us
The Kicking and Screening Soccer Film Festival was Oct 12-15, 2021. kickingandscreening.com
The May Sumak Quichwa film showcase was Oct 16/23/30, 2020. maysumak.com
NYC Film
November
The 12th Queens World Film Festival is Nov 1-5. queensworldfilmfestival.org
The 12th International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival is Nov 9-13. iprhff.org 🇵🇷
DOC NYC, America’s biggest documentary film festival is Nov 9-17. docnyc.net
International Film Festivals
No News
The 21st Havana Film Festival New York was Nov 5-11, 2021. 🇨🇺
The Art of the Real documentary film festival was at Film at Lincoln Center, Nov 19-21, 2021.
The 29th African Diaspora International Film Festival was Nov 26 – Dec 12, 2021. nyadiff.org
NYC Film
December
International Film Festivals
The 42nd Habana Film Festival was in Havana, Cuba, Dec 3-12, 2021. habanafilmfestival.com 🇨🇺
New York is a Film City
The first cinema was founded in Paris, France in 1895. 🇫🇷
American cinema began in NYC in 1896. Some of the very first American films were New York City street scenes. There was no radio, television or internet, so this was something very novel and new.
The film industry moved to Fort Lee, New Jersey. Movie studios used to make westerns up on the Palisades rock formations that line the Hudson River. The industry then jumped to Hollywood for California sunshine. New York remains America’s second film city because it is the world media capital.
NYC’s film industry used to be in the Upper West Side, but has moved to Tribeca and Brooklyn now.
The New York Film Festival is the mother of New York film festivals. The Tribeca Film Festival is the popular, young upstart. It was founded in 2002 to bring people back downtown after 9/11. Downtown was a ghost town, but Tribeca helped bring it back and make Tribeca a film industry center.
There has been a lot of change in the industry. The Paris Theater (1948) was the last of NYC’s single-screen movie houses. It closed in 2019, but in a sign of the times, Netflix reopened it as a screen for Netflix movies. Walking into the Paris Theater feels like walking back in time to the 1940s.
New York is a film city. It’s been the subject of many great movies. Most of the great movie palaces of the 1920s-30s have been repurposed as theaters. They are a beautiful legacy of once upon a time in New York City.
The Types of Films a Country Makes Reveal the State of the Nation
Hollywood wastes its creativity on shoot-em-ups and superheroes. Independent filmmakers produce much more interesting work. The Latin world is more diverse and more connected to family and community, so Latin films reflect that.
The Colonial Period and then Cold War communist-hunting unleashed mayhem on Latin America that led to instability and civil wars from which we are still recovering.
As filmmaking gear has gotten better and cheaper, filmmakers across the Latin world have been energized.
The types of films a country makes, say a lot about that country. Countries that are very violent make Hollywood style shoot-em-up films. Countries that have been taken over by narcotics traffickers make drug films. Countries that have gone through civil war, make war movies.
But when countries begin to heal, they begin to make films about reconciliation, diversity and love. That is the great beauty of Latin film. It’s not Hollywood, it’s real life.
Previously in NYC Film
Parallel Mothers, Pedro Almodóvar’s story of two women who meet in a maternity ward and find themselves linked by a historical secret opened at Film at Lincoln Center on Dec 24. 🇪🇸
New Directors / New Films 2022 film festival is at MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown, Mon, Apr 25 – May 1. 🇲🇽
Memoria, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s tale of a Scottish woman who starts hallucinating in the Colombian jungle, returns for one week to IFC Center in the West Village Fri, Apr 1-7. $13. ifccenter.com 🇨🇴
The Art of the Real documentary film festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Mar 31 – Apr 7. $15 (All-access $79, Students $25).
March 2022
Atlantide, Italian filmmaker Yuri Ancarani’s Venetion coming of age movie, is at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Midtown, Mon-Wed, Mar 21-23. moma.org 🇨🇮
Intregalde, by Radu Muntean, a tale of humanitarians stuck in the mountains, relying on a grizzled local for help, or maybe something else, opens at Film Forum in Hudson Square, Fri Mar 18. $11. 🇷🇴
The New York International Children’s Film Festival 2022 (NYICFF) screens Oscar-qualifying children’s films for a variety of ages at the SVA Theatre in Chelsea, Manhattan, Fri-Sun, Mar 4-19, 2022. From $17. 🇦🇷🇧🇷🇨🇦🇫🇷🇮🇱🇲🇽🇵🇸🇺🇬🇺🇸
The Rendez-Vous with French Cinema film festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Mar 3-13. $15. 🇫🇷
Doc Fortnight 2022, MoMA’s documentary film festival, is online to members and in-person at the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown, Wed, Feb 23 – Mar 10. 🇧🇷🇫🇷🇲🇽🇵🇭🇪🇸
Lingui, The Sacred Bonds, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s story of a Chadian mother’s determination to help her daughter end a pregnancy against all odds, was at Film Forum in Hudson Square, Feb 4 – Mar 3. 🇹🇩
February 2022
Cyrano, Joe Wright’s take on the Cyrano de Bergerac love triangle, opened in NYC on Fri, Feb 25. 🇫🇷
The 7th Neighboring Scenes Latin American film festival is in person at Film at Lincoln Center, Feb 24-28. $15 per film or $80 All-Access Pass ($20 students). 🇦🇷🇧🇷🇨🇱🇨🇴🇨🇷🇲🇽🇵🇪🇺🇾🇻🇪
Benedetta, Paul Verhoeven’s story of a nun’s forbidden passion, ran in NYC from Dec 3, 2021 – Feb 24, 2022. 🇫🇷
Tributo a Bebo Valdés, the world premiere screening of Ricardo Bacallao’s documentary of the 2019 tribute concert by grandson Emilio Valdés, is streaming at the Cuban Cultural Center on Sat, Feb 19 at 7pm. Free. 🇨🇺
Marry Me, the hilarious new romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez Maluma and Owen Wilson, opened Valentines Weekend, Fri, Feb 11. 🇵🇷🇨🇴
In The Contenders 2021, MoMA Film screens this year’s Oscar contenders at MoMA in Midtown through Jan 22. moma.org 🇪🇹🇵🇷🇪🇸
December 2021
The Lost Daughter, Maggie Gyllenhall’s directorial debut based on Elena Ferrante’s Italian novel, opened in NYC on Fri, Dec 17. 🇮🇹
West Side Story Spielberg’s remake with Executive Producer Rita Moreno, opened Dec 10. 🇵🇷
France, Bruno Dumont’s tragicomedy about a journalist whose life is upended by driving into a delivery man on the street, opened at Film at Lincoln Center on Fri, Dec 10. $15. 🇫🇷
“Passing” by Rebecca Hall, a thoughtful film about passing as White, is at IFC Center in the West Village to Thu, Dec 4.
The Hand of God, Paulo Sorrentino’s (The Great Beauty) 1980s Neapolitan coming of age story that involves Maradona, opened at IFC Center in the West Village on Fri Dec 3. $13. 🇮🇹
November 2021
29th African Diaspora International Film Festival was live and online Nov 26 – Dec 12, 2021. nyadiff.org
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Berlin Golden Bear), Rada Jude’s comedy about a teacher whose husband accidentally puts their personal sex tape online, opens at Film at Lincoln Center on Fri, Nov 19. $15. 🇷🇴
Encanto, Disney’s Colombian musical comedy with music by Lin-Manuel Miranda, opened Nov 17. 🇨🇴🇵🇷
Cannes Palme d’Or winner Titane by Julia Ducournau at IFC Center in the West Village keeps getting extended to Tue, Nov 16. 🇫🇷
Tick, Tick…Boom!, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s directorial debut about the creator of Broadway’s “Rent,” opened Nov 12. 🇵🇷
Spencer, Pablo Larrain’s Princess Diana story, opened Nov 5. 🇨🇱
El Planeta by Amalia Ulman is at IFC Center in the West Village to Thu, Oct 21. $13 🇪🇸
Illustrious Corpses (1976), by Francesco Rosi, screens at Film Forum in Hudson Square to Oct 21. $15 🇮🇹
BRONX RISING!
Edwin Pagán’s Bronx horror movie Wolfen (1980) screens with live music by Bobby Sanabria & Project X and director Q&As at the Bronx Music Heritage Center Laboratory in Foxhurst, The Bronx on Fri, Oct 29 at 7pm. $10 with reservation to (917) 557-2354. Facebook @bxmusic 🇵🇷
Dune, by French Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, opened citywide on Fri, Oct 22. 🇨🇦
Son of Monarchs by Alexis Gambis is at Cinema Village and Cobble Hill Cinemas to Thu, Oct 21. sonofmonarchs.com 🇲🇽
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It is streaming on American Masters on PBS Thirteen to Wed, Oct 20. FREE 🇵🇷
Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless is at Film Forum in Hudson Square to Oct 14. 🇫🇷
The Kicking and Screening soccer film festival screens Rayados 75, Fernando Kalife’s film about 2019 Mexican champions CF Monterrey at Scandinavia House in Murray Hill, Manhattan on Thu, Oct 14 at 7pm. $20. 🇲🇽
The Kicking and Screening soccer film festival screens Big-Time Soccer: The Remarkable Rise & Fall of the NASL (featuring Pelé at the NY Cosmos) at Upper 90 in Astoria, Queens on Wed, Oct 13 at 7pm. $20. 🇧🇷
Arrebato (1979) by Iván Zulueta, Pedro Almodóvar’s favorite horror film, is at IFC Center in the West Village Fri-Sat, Oct 8-9. $17. 🇪🇸
GoodFellas (1990), the Scorsese masterpiece, is at Film Forum in Hudson Square to Thu, Oct 7. 🇮🇹
Veinte por veinte (20 for 20), MoMA Film’s tribute to Cinema Tropical, the leading Latin American film presenter in the U.S., is streaming for MoMA members to Oct 5. moma.org
🇦🇷🇧🇷🇨🇱🇨🇴🇨🇷🇨🇺🇩🇴🇲🇽🇺🇾
Titane, by Julia Ducournau (Cannes Palme d’Or winner), opened at IFC Center in the West Village Oct 1. $13. 🇫🇷
Little Girl (2020) by Sébastien Lifshitz, a gentle story of how a 3-year old boy deals with the world after declaring herself a girl, is at Film Forum in Hudson Square to Sep 30. 🇫🇷🏳️🌈
Annette by Leos Carax, starring Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver at IFC Center in the West Village to Sep 30. 🇫🇷
Tango Shalom is a cute Jewish Argentine tango movie. ✡️🇦🇷
Azor (2021) by Andreas Fontana, a Swiss film about Argentine finance in the 1970s, at Lincoln Center ends Thu, Sep 23. 🇦🇷
Faya Dayi by Jessica Beshir, a dreamy Ethiopian film at Lincoln Center, ends Thu, Sep 23. filmlinc.org 🇪🇹
Annette by Leos Carax, starring Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver at Lincoln Center ends Sun, Sep 19. 🇫🇷
Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), by Questlove, is about the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969, the Black Woodstock. Ends Sep 16 at cinemavillage.com 🇺🇸
The Lost Leonardo by Andreas Koefoed (2021), is about the world record $450 million “Salvator Mundi” painting. Includes Jerry Saltz. Ended Sep 16, 2021 at filmforum.org 🇫🇷
La Piscine by Jacques Deray (1969), is a sleeper romantic hit in NYC. It ended Sep 16, 2021 at filmforum.org 🇫🇷