The Queens Museum’s summertime staple, Passport Thursdays: International Dance, Music, and Film Series, returns for another exciting season featuring some of the many international locales that fuel Queens’ cultural and artistic vitality. This year’s adventure includes stops in the Caribbean, Taiwan, India, Colombia, Korea, and South Africa. So leave your baggage at home and bring a picnic blanket out to Flushing Meadows Corona Park for an evening in the shadow of the majestic Unisphere. There will be free artmaking workshops for families before the films start, our galleries and café will remain open until 8pm, and we won’t let a little rain spoil the fun, we’ll just move the whole event indoors.

And if coming to the Park is a little out of the way, this year we are partnering with the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance to bring three of the films out to Rockaway. Destination Rockaway: Passport International Film Series will present three selections from Passport Thursdays in the Rockaway Community Garden. So whether you prefer the beach or the park, we hope you’ll join us on our journey of global sights and sounds.

Music: Taiwanese Music Ensemble of New York

Founded by Taiwanese-American guqin player Shih-hua (Judy) Yeh, the ensemble was organized by a group of professional musicians and performed widely around Eastern United States. The ensemble is also dedicated to the education of young people, performing frequently in the neighborhood. They will be joined by Roy Luo who started his journey in the art of Erhu in his childhood, and was trained by Professor Hanyang Zhao in the Central Conservatory of Music of China. He was the player of the National Orchestra of Guangdong Province and the tutor of National Orchetra of Sun Yat-sen University. He used to perform together with Chinese master musicians like Mr.Qiwei Yu and Mr. Jinlong Fang. He has developed a very versatile and detailed style in performing, and has deep understanding in both traditional and modern Chinese music.

Film: Zone Pro Site – The Moveable Feast (CHEN Yu-Hsun, Taiwan, 2013, 145min, Mandarin with English ST)

More than 20 years ago, there were 3 outdoor banquet (ban-doh) master chefs who dominated the catering business in Taiwan. However, business has been in decline since Taiwan’s economic decline. The late Master Fly Spirit wanted to pass the family recipes and culinary skills on to his only daughter, Wan, but she runs away from the family business to become a fashion model. Nevertheless, the indebted Wan is destined to take up mission she once shunned by joining forces with her equally down-on-her-luck mother to win grand prize in a national catering contest.

Co-presented with the Taipei Cultural Center of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York and the Taiwanese American Arts Council

Passport Thursdays and Destination Rockaway: Passport International Film Series are presented by TD Bank. 

Additional support provided by Nexon,  Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.