This December, join us for the first half of Curators’ Choice 2024, featuring film releases and TV work that were among the year’s best, some with filmmakers appearing in person; holiday favorites for the whole family, including a rare 45th anniversary showing of John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together, and film classics in See It Big: Let It Snow; and special events including a live punk rock show, a lecture by artist/filmmaker Simon Liu on experimental cinema and skate videos, the annual Eyeworks Experimental Animation program, Dune: Part Two in 70mm, and more.

In the galleries, the Museum offers exhibitions that welcome visitors of all ages: The Jim Henson Exhibition, which features more than 50 puppets drawn from his groundbreaking work for film and television, continues to be a delightful destination for visitors of all ages. The dynamic core exhibition Behind the Screen invites you to explore how moving images are made, marketed, and shown—featuring interactive experiences and more than 1,200 objects from the Museum’s collection. And Recording the Ride: The Rise of Street-Style Skate Videos offers an eye-opening look at how skate videos in the late ’80s and ’90s influenced fashion, filmmaking, and culture in the following decades.

Holiday Schedule (between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day):
Closed: Wednesday, December 25
Open Daily, 12:00–6:00 p.m.: Thursday, December 26–Monday, December 30
Open, 12:00–4:00 p.m.: Tuesday, December 31
Closed: Wednesday, January 1

Among filmmaker appearances this month: Good One with India Donaldson (Dec. 6); I Saw the TV Glow with Jane Schoenbrun (Dec. 14); Between the Temples with Nathan Silver and Chris Wells (Dec. 15); Incident with Bill Morrison (Dec. 20); and Dune: Part Two with editor Joe Walker (Dec. 27). Also, the Museum will present a community screening of Bright Vignettes: How Astoria Got Its Pride, with filmmaker Patricia Silva and many of the drag performers featured in the film (Dec. 14).

In connection with the exhibit Recording the Ride: The Rise of Street-Style Skate Videos, the Museum will also be offering a free punk show by local band Automat0m (Dec. 6) and a lecture by artist and filmmaker Simon Liu, titled Loosely Based on Professionalism: The Skate Video and Experimental Cinema (Dec. 6).

Towards the end of the month, the Museum will present a screening of Candyman (Dec. 28), in tribute to Tony Todd, the film’s star who died in late November. In addition, the Museum will present Gintas Zilbalodis's acclaimed animated feature, Flow; and present NYE Anime Rewind on Dec. 28, featuring a panel discussion with special guests in a look back at the best anime series that debuted in 2024, a continuation of the Museum’s commitment to celebrating anime and anime fandoms.

Check the December calendar for all events and our Exhibitions page for what's in our galleries. Additional exciting news to come!