Via Getty Images and Tootles and French
Feb. 26, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
Astoria wine bar and restaurant Tootles & French has teamed up with Astoria Film Festival to host an Oscar Watch Party this Sunday evening.
The free event, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 2, will celebrate the eagerly anticipated 97th Academy Awards, which is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable Oscars in years.
Tootles & French, located at 36-15 Ditmars Blvd. and recently crowned the Best New Restaurant in the United States by USA Today, will host the Astoria Film Festival event, featuring “Oscar-worthy” food and drink along with movie-related games.
Nina Fiore, founding director of Astoria Film Festival, said the event will feature Oscar prediction games, with prizes for guests who correctly predict the winners of various categories on Sunday night.
Prizes include swag for Astoria Film Festival and Tootles & French, with tickets and free entry to the festival also up for grabs. The annual festival, which runs from May 29 until June 2 this year, features short live-action and animated films from both young and adult directors.
Sunday’s event will take place in the backroom event space at Tootles & French, which can cater to up to 30 guests. Anyone interested in attending the Oscar Watch Party is therefore encouraged to RSVP to ensure their place.
Astoria Film Festival will erect Oscar-themed decorations for the watch party, including an Oscar-themed photo booth for guests.
Fiore said the event is open to both film buffs and Oscar haters alike, providing an opportunity to celebrate the Astoria community.
“Even if you don’t like the Oscars, come diss the Oscars and we’ll diss them with you,” Fiore said. “It’s not exclusive, it’s not elite, it’s very much just the community getting together. We’ll come up with any reason to get the community together.
“It’s just very Astoria.”
The 97th Academy Awards will see the polarizing musical “Emilia Perez” vie for awards in 13 different categories, including a hotly contested Best Picture category.
The Sean Baker-directed “Anora” is favored to win the Oscar for Best Picture, with epic period drama “The Brutalist,” religious thriller “Conclave,” and Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” also in the running.
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