Filmed during the height of the pandemic, the documentary film Last Call: The Shutdown of NYC Bars, directed by Johnny Sweet explores the social and economic impact of COVID-19 on the NYC hospitality industry. The film will have its NYC Premiere on July 3rd at Queens World Film Festival, and will open in theaters on Friday July 16 at Laemmle Virtual Cinema.
This year’s 2021 Queens World film festival is reinventing itself to include 11 days of streaming and live indie film experiences from June 23 – July 3, 2021, LIVE in 5 Queens venues: Queens Theatre, the Museum of the Moving Image, The Local NY, Culture Lab, and the United Sherpa Association.
The coronavirus, (COVID-19) pandemic is having a devastating impact on film festivals with many postponing or cancelling outright. Major festivals such as San Francisco International Film Festival and RiverRun International Film Festival have canceled, while others such as Richmond International Film Festival and Florida Film Festival have been postponed until the Summer or Fall.
The Shoulder, an award-winning short film, directed by Rebekah Nelson and produced by Michael Freeland, will have its premiere on Friday, March 16th 2018, at the Queens World Film Festival.
The Shoulder chronicles the harrowing and raw journey of Derrick (Jordan Gwiazdowski), who in a last-ditch effort to save his older brother Jeremy (Jerzy Gwiazdowski) from the grips of addiction, kidnaps him, and drives him cross-country to wean Jeremy off heroin.
.
The Shoulder is a timely exploration of the complexities of addiction, and the devastation it wroughts on the individual and their family. The film effectively captures the chaos, demoralization and denial of addiction. The film asks the question, “Am I My Brothers Keeper.”
The Shoulder also features John Warren (Table Talk, Mister Warren’s Neighborhood) and Tony Andriotis.
Rebekah Nelson says, with The Shoulder, I wanted to explore the thin line between survival and devastation. What happens to those who bear witness to the victims of addiction? In the midst of the opioid crisis in the US, I had the opportunity to read the stage play “Hugging the Shoulder”. It gave me some insight into the destructive path of addiction and the impact it can have on those close to the victim. How far should one go to save someone who doesn’t want to be saved? The Shoulder serves as a window into a broader story, a glimpse into the journey of two brothers searching for deliverance.
The Shoulder is based on Jerrod Bogard’s stage play “Hugging the Shoulder”, which premiered at the 2006 New York Fringe Festival.
The award-winning NYC true story-inspired short comedy, Sure-Fire directed by Michael Goldburg, will will screen at the upcoming 8th Annual Queens World Film Festival on Friday, March 16 at 8:15pm. Sure-Fire is a hilarious crime comedy, inspired by a true story, about a New York City con man, Benny Boon, having a midlife crisis who stumbles into becoming a movie producer to pay off gangsters threatening to kill him.
Sure-Fire is a short, fast-paced crime comedy about a New York City con man, played by the hilarious PJ Marshall (“Luke Cage,” “American Horror Story,” “Underground”), who stumbles into becoming a movie producer to pay off gangsters threatening to kill him. Sure-Fire is inspired by director Michael Goldburg’s upcoming feature comedy of the same name and recalls New York comedies from Woody Allen (“Broadway Danny Rose”) and Mel Brooks (“The Producers”) as well as Hollywood crime comedies like “The Big Lebowski,” “Pulp Fiction,” and “Get Shorty.”
Benny Boon, a New York City con man, needs to come up with $50,000 in 3 days to pay off a gangster–or else. Luckily, he meets a washed-up actress, Kitty Kinkaid, who’s desperate for a comeback and claims to have the money to bankroll a screenplay. Benny then poses as a movie producer and hooks her with a script called “A Woman on the Edge.” Problem is, the script doesn’t exist, and Benny doesn’t know how to write one. So he places an ad on Craigslist for a screenwriter and puts his scheme into high gear.
The film has screened at over 20 festivals, and won numerous awards including Best Screenplay at the 2017 Et Cultura Festival, Best Actor at 2017 River Bend Festival, and Best Actor in a Comedy at 2017 Williamsburg Independent Film Festival. Building on this buzz the filmmakers are actively exploring turning Sure-Fire into a feature film.
https://vimeo.com/214382976
“SURE-FIRE” Screens at the 8th Annual Queens World Film Festival
Friday, March 16 at 8:15pm
“Local Express” Program
Museum of the Moving Image (Redstone Theater)
36-01 35 Avenue, Astoria, NY 11106