CCNY's The Americas Film Festival will start on June 12 to June 20.
The 12th edition of The Americas Film Festival New York opens on June 12 with the New York premiere of “Becoming Vera” directed by Sergio Vizuete at the Instituto Cervantes New York. TAFFNY closes on June 20 with its Short Film Awards Ceremony at the National Museum of the American Indian followed by the New York premiere of “So Surreal: Behind the Mask,” which was directed by Neil Diamond and Joanne Robertson.
A cultural initiative of The City College of New York’s Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Center for Worker Education, TAFFNY presents nine feature films and more than 25 short films celebrating the rich diversity of the stories, languages and cultures from across the Americas. There will be a special showcase featuring the work of graduating students from the MFA and BFA in Film program at City College as well as winners from the Frame Forward student video festival.
All events are free and open to the public, and all foreign-language films are subtitled in English. Click here for the full program and showtimes.
Juan Carlos Mercado, CCNY’s dean of the Division of Interdisciplinary Studies and TAFFNY’s founder, shares his thoughts on this year’s festival: “As we celebrate our twelfth edition, we proudly reaffirm our role as a cultural beacon within the city’s rich and vibrant artistic landscape. This year’s selection aims to amplify stories often overlooked by mainstream media and to spotlight countries rarely featured in major festivals—fully aligned with the mission of CUNY and City College.”
The Americas Short Film Competition is dedicated to promoting and showcasing short audiovisual works—up to 26 minutes in length—by emerging filmmakers whose stories reflect the concerns, perspectives, and realities of life across the region. This year, TAFFNY presents more than 25 short films competing for the Americas Award in the categories of Animation, Documentary, Experimental and Fiction.
The jurors of the Documentary and Animation categories include director Marta Bautis, gender studies professor Joe Rollins, and radio journalist and scholar David Little. The jury consists of screenwriter and author Lopera-Sánchez and LaGuardia Community College professor Ana María Hernández in the Fiction and Experimental categories.
Diana Vargas, TAFFNY’s artistic director, said, “Each year, filmmakers and their stories offer a mirror to the struggles, dreams, and hopes of their societies. For this edition, we chose to highlight narratives that celebrate women’s resilience, explore the complexities of love, and bring attention to issues of mental health and inclusion—especially within LGBTQ+ communities and among adolescents. The Americas are a vibrant mosaic of cultures—complex, illuminating, and deeply human—and TAFFNY’s mission is to bring these stories to the screen so New Yorkers can experience, reflect, and connect. Best of all: it’s completely free and full of joy.”
Click here for a list of TAFFNY’s partners and supporters.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.