The Urbanite Arts & Film Festival comes to Peekskill August 9th and 10th to the Studio Theater in Exile at the Hudson Valley MOCA. The Urbanite Arts & Film Festival celebrates film, photography, screenplays, spoken word poetry, and music videos by artists aged 14-24. Now in its third year, the Urbanite Arts & Film Festival’s mission is to foster the next generation of filmmakers that are underrepresented in the film industry.
The Urbanite Arts & Film Festival highlights underrepresented voices including, but not limited to, young women, BIPOC, Latinx, LGBTQIA, people with disabilities, and the neurodiverse communities. Through exhibition of their art, the organization creates a platform for a diverse range of young artists to express themselves creatively and launch creative careers.
The opening night reception on Friday, August 9, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm will feature performances from singer Alexandra Haberman from Chappaqua; Harmony Hopwood of New Rochelle, a Westchester County Youth Poet Laureate; and spoken word poet/artist Ciara Chantelle.
On Saturday, August 10 from 12:00 to 8:00 pm, short film screenings will run all day at the Studio Theater in Exile. Short films have a maximum length of ten minutes and categories include: LGBTQIA, Social Justice, Drama, Comedy, Horror, Experimental, Women, Latinx, Spoken Word, and Music Video. The evening will conclude with an awards presentation. There will be multiple film blocks on Saturday, with each film block preceded by a 15 minute break.
Tickets can be purchased via Eventbrite via this link. The Film Festival Friday Opening Night Reception is $60, an all day Film Festival Saturday Screening Pass is $30, and an All Weekend Film Festival Pass is $80.
The Urbanite Arts & Film Festival was founded in 2021 by Alex Armando Torres, a self-taught filmmaker and photographer. As an Afro-Latin gay male who did not see himself represented either in front of or behind the camera, he started producing works that focused on diverse underrepresented voices, voices that have unique stories to tell. With that in hand, Alex decided to create this festival to give those voices a chance to tell their stories, one unique voice at a time. For more information visit the Urbanite Arts & Film Festival website.
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