7 Best Winter Film Festivals In New York City
When the weather starts to bluster and blow, take comfort in the warmth of a movie theater. As the lights dim, you'll slip into a new world, or an old world, or a future world, or some other world of someone's creation. Below are our picks for the best film festivals going on around the city this winter. By Jessica Allen.
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Brought to you by Bronx Stage & Film, a nonprofit dedicated to film and theater, the Bronx International Film Festival seeks to promote the Bronx as a cultural destination and showcase promising performers and filmmakers from the borough and beyond. Check out 12 Steps, about a group of men trying to live their dreams, and We Know You Have a Choice, about a powerful woman who meets her match in "customer service." Friday, Jan. 22, through Sunday, Jan. 31, see schedule for details, tickets required.
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"Explore, Discover, Protect" goes the tagline for the New York Wild Film Festival, which showcases documentaries that extol the "spirit of exploration and adventure" and portray our planet in all its glory. Jonathan Demme will be honored at this year's festival for his documentary What's Motivating Hayes about an investigative biologist. Other events include panel discussions, Q&As, and, of course, lots and lots of screenings. Thursday, Jan. 28, through Sunday, Jan. 31, see schedule for details, tickets required.
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Taking place at Lincoln Center, the Film Comment Selects film festival (run by the folks behind Film Comment magazine) is one of the most festivals on this list. Now in its 16th year, this festival features a carefully curated selection of movies that are "coming-soon and … never-coming-back, … rare and … rediscovered, … unclassifiable and … underrated, … sacred and … profane, .. cute and .. creepy," including some NY premieres. Wednesday, Feb. 17, through Wednesday, Feb. 24, see website for details, tickets required.
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Now in its fifth year, the all-volunteer Winter Film Awards Indie Film Festival puts the spotlight on diversity in independent film, with a particular focus on emerging minority and women filmmakers. This year, you'll have the chance to see 80+ official selections, ranging from horror films to web series to animations, representing 25+ countries. You might not be able to see any of these at your local cinema, so come see them here. Thursday, Feb. 18, through Saturday, Feb. 27, see schedule for details, tickets required.
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If you've got a young person in your life, you'll want to go ahead and get your tickets now for this one, the hugely popular International Children's Film Festival, and the largest kid-focused film festival in North America. Since 1997, this festival has shown "thoughtful, provocative, and intelligent film for children and teens ages 3–18." This year, that means you can see 100 movies from 35 countries in 15+ languages over the festival's four weekends. Friday, Feb. 26, through Sunday, March 20, subscribe for updates, tickets required.
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The world's first film festival devoted to movies filmed by drones returns to New York after its successful debut in 2015. This year, more than 330 movies were submitted from 45 countries, including NBC News coverage of the Nepal earthquake and National Geographic's Lava Chaser. Awards will be presented in such categories as Best Extreme Sports Film and Best Dronie (a selfie taken with a drone). The future is now! Friday, March 4, through Sunday, March 6, subscribe for updates, tickets required.
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We can't say it any better than the website: ReelAbilites Film Festival "brings together the community to promote awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and artistic expressions of people with different abilities." Founded in 2007 in New York, this is the first festival to show movies by and about people with disabilities, and it's now held in cities across North America. All screenings are followed by discussions and Q&As. Thursday, March 10, through Wednesday, March 16, see website for details, tickets required.
