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Washington Heights Kids Film Festival Opens to Sold-Out Crowds

By Carla Zanoni | October 21, 2010 2:33pm

By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Sold out screenings marked the first day of Northern Manhattan's annual children's film festival Wednesday.

In its second year, the five-day KidCinemaFest – The Washington Heights Children and Young People’s Film Festival opens the world of international cinema to neighborhood children and adults with more than 50 films from lands as far away as Australia and Venezuela.

Armando Guareño, the festival’s funder and executive director, grew up in the Dominican Republic with a theater across the street. He said the 35-millimeter prints and rich sound projected inside opened up a world of possibilities for him.

"I love cinema and wanted children to grow up the way I did," he said. "The children of Washington Heights and Inwood are not used to getting this kind of event up here as most of these kinds of events happen downtown."

The festival, which runs through Sunday, Oct. 24, is held in New York City's oldest operating movie theater, Coliseum Cinemas on West 181st Street.
The festival, which runs through Sunday, Oct. 24, is held in New York City's oldest operating movie theater, Coliseum Cinemas on West 181st Street.
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DNAinfo/Carla Zanoni

The KidCinemaFest is the only film festival held above 155th Street in Manhattan.

The festival kicked off with Academy Award nominee "The Secret of Kells," about a magical world of Celtic mythology, and over the next four days will feature fantastic stories of elephants in Africa, secret underwater lairs, vampires in Cuba and more. The series ends on Sunday, Oct. 24.

"The kids deserve to see a different point of view of cinema," Guareño said. "It's time for Washington Heights to have a different cultural experience."

For a complete list of films and show times visit www.kidcinemafest.com, email info.kidcinemafest@gmail.com or call 212-740-1541. The festival takes place at Coliseum Cinemas at 701 West 181st Street. Tickets are free for children younger than 17 and reduced for adults.