The Queens World Film Festival will have over 150 films and 19 nations represented in their scheduled offerings. Expect the Unexpected is this #13 festival edition's theme with eleven days of films from April 16-28, 2024. The festival will be screening stories that shock, inspire and move us. The festival will embrace the unexpected by grouping films together that celebrate a specific theme that results in 47 blocs of provocative viewing. Rather than herding narrative shorts together or grouping documentary films together, a bloc might include a narrative short from Canada and Ukraine, an experimental film from Argentina and a documentary short from Astoria bringing voices together for a unique screening event.

Executive Director Katha Cato is enthusiastic about the upcoming event at The Museum of the Moving Image and Kaufman Astoria Studios. As she puts it, the Queens audience is prized by filmmakers worldwide. "A Queens audience is a smart, resourceful, worldly audience and filmmakers from across the globe want to share their stories for that audience, here in the World's Borough."

Co-founder/Artistic Director Donald Preston Cato says, "As our complicated world grapples with challenging issues, Queens World cherishes fearless artists who take on themes like survival, empowerment, conflict, immigration, empowerment, the environment. This year's schedule represents the diversity, the vibrancy, the innovative spirit of Queens and in turn: The World."

By the numbers, local filmmakers are represented at this year's festival. Here are a few stats: 

28 Filmmakers from Queens

19 Filmmakers from Brooklyn

19 Filmmakers from Manhattan

3 Filmmakers from the Bronx

1 Filmmaker from Staten Island

The festival will take place at the Museum of Moving Image and Kaufman Astoria Studios. Visit www.queensworldfilmfestival.org to purchase tickets and view the full schedule.

"We are incredibly excited to share this year's lineup with our audience," said Katha Cato. "The films we have selected are not only entertaining but also challenge us to think critically about the world around us."