The big-time, high-end New York Film Festival kicks off at the end of next month, but until then the city has a few other great collections of flickering images to send the summer out. Here are three to put into your calendar:
The New York International Latino Film Festival opened its 12th year this week with an animated film, "Chico and Rita," for the first time in the festival's history, and will present films from 15 countries.
NYILFF founder and executive director Calixto Chinchilla created the fest in 1999 as a forum for films by Latinos and works dealing with Latino culture. "When we started, there wasn't anything specifically [spotlighting] Latino filmmakers," says Chinchilla. "So we said, 'How can we acknowledge what's come before us but also create something different?'"
Thursday's highlights include "Ashes," about a New York man struggling to make a better life for himself and his mentally ill brother, and the documentary "Rubble Kings," a look at city gangs in the 1960s and '70s.
Friday's slate includes the world premiere of the drama "Carmen G," and Sunday sees "The Lost City," actor Andy Garcia's celebration of Cuban culture. Monday's finale is a free showing of "To Be Heard" in
St. Nicholas Park.
The New York City International Film Festival kicks off its second year Thursday night with over 300 shorts and features from 48 countries. Founded by artist Roberto Rizzo, the fest boasts a screen set in the middle of Times Square.
Rizzo is also a filmmaker, and the festival includes a film-distribution market at the midtown Millennium hotel. "From being on the other side, I understand the frustration with getting things seen," says Rizzo.
Thursday night's black-tie opening gala is at the Hudson Theatre, 145 W. 44th St., and is followed by an 8 p.m. screening of "The Last Gamble." Other films include the documentary "Finding Francis," "The Wedding Party" and a selection of horror shorts (on Sunday).
Beginning Sept. 1, the first New York Hell's Kitchen Film Festival, founded by brothers Alfred and Ernest Tollja, features a series of digital-film homages to the arts culture brewing in the neighborhood for decades.
The Tolljas own the Producers Club, a staple of the Hell's Kitchen theater scene for 18 years. With the fest, the Albanian-born siblings share often-overlooked independent films.
"We're not looking for auteurs — we're just looking for fun stuff and [filmmakers] in the community whose works are not really being celebrated," says festival programmer and indie-film veteran Vincent Nebrida.
Nebrida says he began collecting under-the-radar-films for the festival last year. The opener: "Kevin," the documentary debut of director Jay Duplass ("The Puffy Chair"), a short on the comeback of musician Kevin Gant, followed by a question-and-answer session with Gant.