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Festival of Cinema, Inc. is a Not-for-Profit organization that was developed to create a bridge between artists and the community by holding a yearly film festival for the underserved community. Festival of Cinema NYC is a yearly film festival that takes place the first Friday of August and runs for 10 days at the historic Regal UA Midway theater located in Forest Hills, Queens. The festival is designed to support the development of emerging independent filmmakers from around the world, providing an outlet for their creativity that showcase stories reflective of their culture. We provide arts and culture in the form of independent film by undiscovered artist with African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American backgrounds, as well as artists from the LGBTQIA community.

 The event aims to establish a bridge between community, education, and advocacy through film exhibition. Our goal is to make Central Queens a popular destination where audiences can gather and view the work of undiscovered emerging filmmakers from around the world. In addition to bringing a world class event to the underserved neighborhoods within Central Queens, we aim to become an outlet for any individual, regardless of status, income, or background, who wishes to learn more about the film industry or pursue a career in filmmaking.

 Festival of Cinema NYC is dedicated to forming strong bonds throughout the community. Each year the festival employees over 40 local volunteers to help with operations during the event. In our efforts to expand our community outreach Festival of Cinema Inc. actively seeks to work with outside non-profit organizations to showcase during the festival. Past organizations who have presented at the festival include the Make A Film Foundation, America’s Media Initiative, Ghetto Film School, Arte East, The Asian American Film Lab, The Motion Picture Technical H.S., and Theaters Unsilenced.