PLAINFIELD, NJ — The Queen City Film Festival released its 2025 lineup and events schedule. The annual festival typically occurs on the third weekend of October, and its eighth interation will take place between October 16 and 19.
The event has become a destination for filmmakers and creatives from New Jersey and around the globe to showcase their films and projects. It has also become a place for Plainfield community members to connect with each other, and those visiting the city, while appreciating art that is often relevant to their own lives and lived experiences.
The Queen City Film Festival is particularly important for filmmakers from unrepresented communities, annually touting a variety of projects in multiple genres including short, feature, documentary, episodic, music, animation, faith-based, and more.
On Thursday, October 16, Cindelle's Bookstore will host a discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tamara Payne who wroteThe Dead Are Arising about the life of Malcolm X. The conversation will be moderated by Mariane J Vandevere, PhD.
Friday night, the Opening Night Gala, powered by Den of Thieves Whiskey, will take place at duCret School of Arts. There will be several honorees, including Vanguard Award winner Naturi Naughton Lewis, Ambassadors Sonia Armstead and Guyviuad Joseoph, and Career Achievement Award winner R. Marcus Taylor. Read TAPinto Plainfield's coverage of last year's honorees: Alonzo Adams, Janet A. Dickerson, and Amanda Lee.
From 6:30 to 8pm, there will be an opening night lineup of three short films—, , and —and a feature film called . After the screenings, the opening night celebration continues until 10:30pm.
Saturday will feature a series of film screenings at Cinemark XD Theater from 11am until 9pm, while Sunday's Plainfield High School screenings begin at 11am and end at 6:30. See the full schedule, including information about all the films being screened, here.
Notably, Sunday will include a Screentalk NJ Live discussion at 1pm entitled Navigating Media in New America, featuring Jamal Simmons, CNN personality and former Director of Communications for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Sunday also features Power of 2, a film industry power couple forum featuring Two & Naturi Naughton Lewis, Pierre Roman and Julie Solinger, and Lamar and Tania Mackson—moderated by award-winning Director Okema T. Moore.
The Queen City Film Festival's awards will be presented on Sunday at 5:15pm, also at Plainfield High School.
See the full schedule here: https://www.qcffnj.com/2025schedule
Tickets can be bought at this link: https://filmfreeway.com/QCFFNJ25/tickets
Learn about lodging at the Coriell Mansion at this link: https://www.qcffnj.com/category/coriell-mansion