Queens World Film Festival, the Astoria-based nonprofit that has screened independent film in the borough since 2011, is staging a new two-day event this fall. The Queens World First Amendment Film & Arts Festival runs Friday, Nov. 13, and Saturday, Nov. 14, in the Kaufman Astoria Arts District, the blocks around Kaufman Astoria Studios on 35th Avenue.

The festival is organized around the five freedoms the First Amendment protects: speech, assembly, petition, religion and the press. Queens World says it will use film, poetry, performance, conversation and community gatherings to look at what those freedoms mean in practice for artists, filmmakers and the neighborhoods they work in.

The schedule so far

Queens World has posted three events on its festival page.

Friday, Nov. 13, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: The Right to Assemble. A stop on the Queens Memory listening tour, held at Kaufman Astoria Studios, 35-11 35th Ave.

Friday, Nov. 13, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.: The Right to Petition. A Made in NY listening tour session with the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, the city office that supports film and television production, at 36-01 35th Ave., the Museum of the Moving Image's address.

Saturday, Nov. 14, 6 to 8:30 p.m.: Watch This! A mixed media evening of screenings and live performance in the Zukor Screening Room at Kaufman Astoria Studios.

The festival says more programming is coming, so the lineup may grow before Nov. 13.

A home base on 35th Avenue

For the length of the festival, SAC's Place at 35-11 35th Ave. is serving as the event's home base. Queens World says festival attendees get 15 percent off the full menu there, along with cocktails and mocktails created for the festival.

Who is behind it

Queens World Film Initiative, the nonprofit behind the festival, runs the annual Queens World Film Festival along with year-round programs: a young filmmakers program, a training program for festival associates, filmmaker breakfasts and boot camps, and pop-up film school sessions. By its own count it has screened 2,109 films from 98 countries since it began, including 36 made by New York City schoolchildren.

The organization lists support from the New York State Council on the Arts, Council Member Shekar Krishnan and the city's Department of Youth and Community Development.

Getting there

The festival sites sit on 35th Avenue near 37th Street, next to Kaufman Astoria Studios. The Museum of the Moving Image, which shares the block, lists the closest subway stations as Steinway St on the M and R and 36 Av on the N and W. From Steinway St, walk south along Steinway Street, turn right on 35th Avenue and go three blocks. The museum suggests checking with the MTA for weekend service changes.

Event details and registration are on the First Amendment festival page of the Queens World Film Festival website, and the organization posts updates on its social channels.

Sources