Cheesesteak, Samosas, and Shorts at NYC Food Film Festival

The second annual NYC Food Film Festival, which kicks off Saturday, combines two summer favorites — a rather genius pairing — for a week of fun on the water.

The festival, held at Long Island City's Water Taxi Beach, was co-founded last year by George Motz, the director of "Hamburger America" (2004), a documentary about outstanding hamburger joints across the country, and Harry Hawk, the owner of Harry's, a hamburger-and-hot-dog stand at the beach. Each night, a group of films is screened, with one movie serving as the inspiration for that evening's menu. Most of the films screened during the festival will also compete for five prizes: food filmmaker of the year, best feature, best short, best super-short (works under 3 minutes), and the audience choice award.

Among the screenings on opening night are "The Death and Life of Ice Cream" (2007, 8:30 p.m.), a 3-minute time-lapse montage of melting ice cream by an artists' collective of animators and editors, MindPie, and Lou Jane Temple's "Confessions of a Bar Towel" (2008, 8:35 p.m.), about one day in the life of the titular cloth. On Saturday, the festivities center on one city's gastronomic specialty, the Philly cheesesteak. Ben Daniels's "This is My Cheesesteak" (2007, 8:45 p.m.) is a fond homage to the history and influence of the greasy sandwich, including interviews with the family of its inventor, Harry Olivieri, as well as with the owners of several renowned Philadelphia restaurants. South Philadelphia's Tony Luke's, known for its high-quality meat, will be serving its juicy, cheesy sandwiches at the festival.

Other program highlights include a screening on Monday of Grace Lee's "Best of the Wurst" (2007), offered with plates of Berlin-ese currywurst, thin slices of hot pork seasoned with curry. An olive oil, blueberry, and samosa tasting, on Wednesday, accompanies a trio of films: Donna Lennard's "La Raccolta," or "The Harvest" (2008), Nancy O'Mallon's "The Mighty Humble Blueberry" (2007), and "A Love Supreme" (2008), a short created by director Nilesh Patel that documents her mother's preparation of a samosa. The visual record is meant to preserve the steps, should her mother, afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis, lose use of her hands.

On Tuesday, the festival travels from the Water Taxi Beach to the parking lot adjacent to Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Brooklyn (19 Old Fulton St. at Doughty Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn, 718-858-4300) for a pizza-themed movie night. Although the festival's Web site lists the pizza provider as still undetermined, Summer in the City has its fingers crossed that the eatery next door sends pies to the hungry audience. Food service begins at 7 p.m., screenings begin each night at sunset (about 8:30 p.m.), Water Taxi Beach, Hunters Point Avenue near Borden Avenue, L.I.C., Queens, free with food available for purchase. For complete information on movies and menus, go to nycfoodfilmfestival.com.

GETTING THERE

The Water Taxi Beach at Hunters Point in Long Island City, Queens, is accessible by various means of transportation. By subway, festivalgoers can board the 7 train to Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue; the G to 21st Street, or the E to 23rd Street/Ely Avenue. But perhaps the best way to get there is the NY Water Taxi, which provides ferry service from West 44th Street at Twelfth Avenue and East 34th Street at First Avenue, in addition to stops at the World Financial Center, Greenwich Village, and Battery Park. For complete schedules and rates, go to nywatertaxi.com or watertaxibeach.com.