NYC’s big film festivals include the Tribeca Film Festival, New York Film Festival and DOC NYC.
The main Latin film festivals are Neighboring Scenes, NY Latino Film Festival and Havana Film Festival New York.
Film Festival News
The 31st New York Jewish Film Festival is hybrid at the Walter Reade Theater at Film at Lincoln Center Wed, Jan 12-25. $15. filmlinc.org ✡️
The 50th Dance on Camera film festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Fri-Mon, Feb 11-14. $15. filmlinc.org
The 7th Neighboring Scenes Latin American film festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Feb 24-28. $15.
The Rendez-Vous with French Cinema film festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Mar 3-13. $15. filmlinc.org 🇫🇷
Film Festival Calendar
The film festival calendar is oriented around the Oscars or Academy Awards, the world’s most prestigious film awards in March.
The film festival year starts with Berlin in February. Cannes arrives in May. Tribeca is in June. Things get interesting in September with Venice, Toronto and New York.
Oscar entries for Best International Feature Film are due Oct 31 or Nov 1. Movie studios release their Oscar hopefuls in December to keep them top of mind among The Academy.
The film festival calendar is fluid during the pandemic as organizers reschedule to avoid COVID winter peaks. Hopefully it settles down in 2022.
Dates are 2022 unless noted.
January Film Festivals NYC
NYC’s first film festival of the year is the New York Jewish Film Festival.
The 31st New York Jewish Film Festival is hybrid at the Walter Reade Theater at Film at Lincoln Center Wed, Jan 12-25. $15. ✡️
The 11th Cinema Tropical Awards for Latin American cinema were [Jan 19, 2021.] cinematropical.com
February Film Festivals
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]
The 50th Dance on Camera film festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Fri-Mon, Feb 11-14. $15.
The 7th Neighboring Scenes Latin American film festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Feb 24-28. $15.
The 25th NY International Children’s Film Festival is Feb 25 – Mar 20, 2022. nyicff.org
The Rendez-Vous with French Cinema film festival is at Film at Lincoln Center Thu, Mar 3-13. $15. 🇫🇷
World
The 72nd Berlin Film Festival is Feb 10-20, 2022. berlinale.de 🇩🇪
March Film Festivals
The Rendez-Vous with French Cinema film festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Mar 3-13. $15. filmlinc.org
Doc Fortnight was at MoMA, Museum of Modern Art in Midtown, Mar 18 – Apr 5, 2021. moma.org
The 6th Neighboring Scenes Latin American film festival was at Film at Lincoln Center, Mar 31 – Apr 12, 2021. filmlinc.org
April Film Festivals
ReelAbilities New York disability film festival is at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan in the Upper West Side, Apr 7-13, 2022. reelabilities.org
The 9th Colombian Film Festival New York is at Cinépolis in Chelsea, Manhattan, Apr 21-24. colfilmny.com 🇨🇴
New Directors / New Films was at Film at Lincoln Center, Apr 28 – May 8, 2021.
May Film Festivals
Harlem International Film Festival was at the AMC Magic Johnson Theatre in Harlem, May 6-9, 2021.
The Human Rights Watch film festival was at Film at Lincoln Center, May 19-27, 2021. hrw.org
Open Roads: New Italian Cinema was at Film at Lincoln Center, May 28 – Jun 6, 2021. 🇮🇹
World
The 2022 Cannes Film Festival is in Cannes, France, May 17-28, 2022. festival-cannes.com 🇫🇷
June Film Festivals
20th Tribeca Film Festival was Jun 9-20, 2021.
Americas Film Festival New York is Jun 21-27, 2021.
11th Queens World Film Festival was June 23 – July 3, 2021. queensworldfilmfestival.org
The International New York Film Festival is at The Producer’s Club in Hell’s Kitchen, Jun 24-25, 2022. inyfilmfest.com
September Film Festivals
New York Latino Film Festival was Sep 13-21, 2021. nylatinofilmfestival.com
The Dominican Film Festival New York is Sep 21-26, 2022. dominicanfilmfestival.com 🇩🇴
The Winter Film Awards International Film Festival was at Cinema Village in Greenwich Village, Thu, Sep 23 – Oct 2, 2021.winterfilmawards.com 🇦🇷🇧🇷🇲🇽🇪🇸
The New York Film Festival is at Film at Lincoln Center, Sep 24 – Oct 10, 2021. filmlinc.org
World
Both Venice and Toronto are known for picking Oscar winners.
Venice International Film Festival, known for picking Oscar winners, was in Venice, Italy, Sep 1-11, 2021. labiennale.org 🇮🇹
TIFF, the Toronto International Film Festival, America’s biggest film festival, was in Toronto, Canada, Sep 9-18, 2021. tiff.net 🇨🇦
The San Sebastían International Film Festival, Spain’s most prestigious film festival, was Sep 17-25, 2021. sansebastianfestival.com 🇪🇸
October Film Festivals
The Workers Unite Film Festival was at Cinema Village in Greenwich Village, Oct 8-14, 2021. workersunitefilmfestival.org
The Kicking + Screening soccer film festival was at Scandinavia House in Murray Hill, Manhattan, Tue-Fri, Oct 12, 14, 15; and at Upper 90 in Astoria, Queens on Wed, Oct 13. $20. 🇧🇷🇲🇽
May Sumak Quechua film festival was Oct 16, 23, & 30, 2020. maysumak.com 🇪🇨
Bushwick Film Festival was at Lot45 in Bushwick and Regal Cinemas in Downtown Brooklyn, Wed-Sun, Oct 20-24, 2021. bushwickfilmfestival.com
World
The Guadalajara International Film Festival, Mexico’s most prestigious film festival, was Oct 1-9, 2021. ficg.mx 🇲🇽
November Film Festivals
These are the last film festivals of the year before NYC enters the holidays.
SoHo International Film Festival was Nov 4-9, 2021. sohofilmfest.org
Havana Film Festival New York was Nov 5-11, 2021. 🇨🇺
International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival was Nov 10-14, 2021. iprhff.org 🇵🇷
DOC NYC was Nov 10-18, 2021. docnyc.net
Cortocircuito Latino short film festival was Nov 10-13, 2020. cortocircuito.us
Art of the Real documentary film festival was at Film at Lincoln Center, Nov 19-21, 2021. filmlinc.org
29th African Diaspora International Film Festival is Nov 26 – Dec 12, 2021. nyadiff.org
December Film Festivals
World
The 42nd Habana Film Festival is in Havana, Cuba, Dec 3-12, 2021. habanafilmfestival.com 🇨🇺
Previously
29th African Diaspora International Film Festival is live and online Nov 26 – Dec 12, 2021. nyadiff.org