If parents in the New York City area are still looking for something to do with your children this summer, look no further than the Museum of the Moving Image’s Summer Kids Matinees. Located in Astoria, Queens, the Museum of the Moving Image has to be on every film buff’s list of sights to see. Here, kids can make their own stop motion animation, see movies and television shows from the past, and watch Q&As with famous filmmakers.
This summer, the Summer Kids Matinees presents two films with strong female protagonists. Hidden Figures is an inspiring movie about three African-American women mathematicians who follow their passions to work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), but they must first rise above gender and racial obstacles to achieve their dreams.
Based on a true story. the film is adapted from the Margot Lee Shetterly’s nonfiction book of the same name. The film won multiple awards, including three Oscar nominations (Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress) two Golden Globes (Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Score) and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Another biographical film screening this summer is Queen of Katwe, about Phiona Mutesi, a young girl who lives in the slums of Uganda, but who learns how to play chess and becomes a Woman Candidate Master after winning at the World Chess Olympiads. The film was adapted from the book The Queen of Katwe: One Girl’s Triumphant Path to Becoming a Chess Champion by Tim Crothers.
At FF2 Media, we have given both of these film very favorable reviews. You can read our review of Queen of Katwe here and Hidden Figures here.
The Summer Kids Matinee series runs until August 18 with the dates as follows: Hidden Figures, (July 19–21; July 25–28). Queen of Katwe (August 1–4; August 8–11; and August 15–18). All screenings begin at 11:30 a.m. The ticket purchase also includes museum admission where visitors can visit the “Behind the Screen” exhibition and view the still photographs, design materials, costumes, games, fan magazines, marketing materials, video and computer games, movie theater furnishings and merchandise.
In addition, children ages four and older can enjoy the Drop-In Moving Image Studio, also free with museum admission. Here they will learn how to make flipbooks, stop-motion films and more. (You never know, you might find that you have the next Ava DuVernay in the family. If you don’t know who she is, check out the latest trailer for the upcoming film A Wrinkle in Time).
The Museum of the Moving Image is now home to a permanent exhibit for the wildly talented Jim Henson, beloved creator of The Muppets. The exhibit (which will feature more than 50 puppets) opens July 22 and will also include education programs, live appearances, family workshops, and film screenings based on Henson’s career.
Mark your calendars for another visit back to the museum at the end of August for the Yuliya Solntseva’s “Ukrainian Trilogy,” to be held August 26 and 27. The series honors Soviet director, actress, and long-time collaborator of Ukrainian filmmaker Yuliya Solntseva and her husband Alexander Dovzhenko. Solntseva was awarded Best Director at Cannes in 1961 for The Story of the Flaming Years, the first Cannes award ever earned by a woman director. Solntseva’s essential “Ukrainian Trilogy” will be presented in 35mm and 70mm film: “Poem of an Inland Sea” (1958, Honorary Diploma at the International Film Festival in London), “The Enchanted Desna” (1964, Special Diploma of the Jury at San Sebastián International Film Festival), and the Flaming Years.
For more information on the Museum of the Moving Image, their Summer Kids Matinees series and the Jim Henson exhibit and other screenings, visit http://www.movingimage.us.
© Lisa Iannucci (7/20/17) FF2 Media
Top Photo: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe in Hidden Figures (2016)
Bottom Photo: Lupita Nyong’o and Madina Nalwanga in Queen of Katwe (2016)
Photo Credits: Fox 2000 Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures
