Watching a free film outside in a New York City park with friends or family almost feels like a rite of passage, and for the 20th year in a row, the Central Park Conservancy is upholding that proud tradition with the Central Park Conservancy Film Festival. They will be showing one film a day in the evening from August 15 to August 18 (Tues-Fri).
The Central Park Conservancy is a non-profit that manages and takes care of Central Park in collaboration with the NYC Parks Department. A representative sent us a statement to remind us that everything they do “from maintaining the landscapes to collecting trash and engaging with the communities who use the Park—relies on the crucial collaboration between the staff, volunteers, and visitors.”
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This year’s event is presented in partnership with National Geographic Documentary Films.
The festival will kick off on August 15 with The Space Race, a just-released feature spotlighting the journey of America’s first black astronauts. On August 16, Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold will take you to the limits of human endurance as professional rock climber Alex Honnold scales the dizzying heights of a sea cliff in Greenland called “Ingmikortilaq,” which was (until now) the highest unclimbed rock wall in the world. Wildlife on August 17 is a decades long story of conservationist Kris Tompkins’ work in creating national parks in Chile and Argentina. A Ron Howard film called We Feed People will close the festival on August 18, with a look at a disaster relief organization called World Central Kitchen and its mission to feed people in times of great distress.
Seating will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by pre-show entertainment and music, while ABC 7 Eyewitness News anchor David Novarro and meteorologist Dani Beckstrom will host the events each night before the screenings begin at dusk.
The films will be shown at the landscape between Sheep’s Meadow and the 72nd Street Cross Drive lawn area, and while events are free they are asking everyone to register to attend.
