NEWFEST Unveils Full Lineup for 36th Edition
New York’s leading LGBTQ+ film and media organization reveals the full lineup for the country’s largest queer film festival, taking place October 10th — 22nd 13-day hybrid festival will showcase 140+ films representing 31 countries
[NEW YORK, NY — September 13, 2024] NewFest, New York’s leading queer film and media organization, announced the full lineup for the 36th edition of its annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival. Now the largest queer film festival in the United States, NewFest36 will include more than 140 new queer features, shorts and episodic projects, plus special legacy screenings. The 2024 festival will run in-person from October 10th through 20th in theaters throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, and will also be available to stream virtually throughout the United States on NewFest’s on-demand platform October 10th through 22nd. In-person premieres and screenings will take place at the SVA Theatre, The LGBT Community Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), and Nitehawk Prospect Park.
The festival’s 36th edition will screen a total of 141 films, which includes 25 premiere narrative features, 14 documentary features, 9 legacy retrospective features, 7 episodic series, 1 private work-in-progress, and 12 shorts program screenings, with the full program featuring work from 31 countries.
“On the cusp of a historic election, the LGBTQ+ community is, once again, at a moment where we need to show up for ourselves and each other,” said NewFest Executive Director David Hatkoff. “As the largest queer film festival in the country, NewFest takes the responsibility of providing a safe and joyful space for queer audiences to celebrate queer stories very seriously. In our festival’s 36th year, we are thrilled to share films that inspire empathy, delight, discovery, and connection, and a lineup that honors the incredible diversity and creativity of the LGBTQ+ community. You coming?”
NewFest Director of Programming Nick McCarthy added “This year’s expansive lineup is a bold testament to both the future and legacy of queer cinema. We’re thrilled to showcase a marvelous mix of groundbreaking new films and amplify the landmark queer filmmakers that blazed trails before. From modern rom coms to compelling nonfiction to genre delights, this year’s inclusive and sterling slate proves our community’s far-reaching experiences and stories cannot be boxed in. We’re so excited to gather artists and audiences as we celebrate this evolution and envision the magical future of queer cinema together at the 36th edition of the festival.”
For the 36th edition of the festival, 55% of films are directed by Women, Non-Binary, Trans, Two-Spirit Filmmakers, with 66% of films directed by Black, Indigenous, POC Filmmakers. And 82% of the line-up is by and about historically underrepresented voices and identities within the LGBTQIA+ community (Women, Trans, Non-Binary, Intersex, Bi, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and Disabled).
The 36th Annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival will open October 10th with the New York City Premiere of Roshan Sethi’s A Nice Indian Boy, starring Karan Soni and Tony Award-winning and Emmy-nominated actor Jonathan Groff, alongside Sunita Mani, Zarna Garg, Harish Patel, Peter S. Kim, and Sas Goldberg. This heartfelt romantic comedy, which had its world premiere at this year’s SXSW, follows a collision of worlds when Naveen (Soni) brings his unconventional, white boyfriend (Groff) to meet his traditional Indian family and plan the Indian wedding of their dreams.
The festival will close with Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez. The gritty, heartfelt musical drama, starring Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia), Zoe Saldaña (Rita), Selena Gomez (Jessi), Adriana Paz (Epifanía), and Edgar Ramírez (Gustavo) with an original score and songs by Clément Ducol and Camille, follows the story of a notorious drug cartel kingpin’s secret transition. Earlier this year, it received multiple awards at the Cannes Film Festival, including the Cannes Jury Prize and Award for Best Actress, which was collectively awarded to Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz. Before its premiere at NewFest36, it also will have debuted at the Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival. Audiences have the opportunity to see the film at The New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival on October 20th before its release in select theaters November 1 and on Netflix November 13.
NewFest is also excited to present the New York premiere of Erin Lee Carr’s Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara as the festival’s Documentary Centerpiece selection. The investigative documentary follows the sprawling and intimate story of how the identity of Tegan, a member of the influential queer indie rock band Tegan and Sara, was stolen and weaponized in a complex catfish scheme that targeted those in the queer community. Enlisting filmmaker and investigator Erin Lee Carr, the team uncovers new victims, potential suspects and reveals unforeseen twists. It will be presented at the festival on October 16, with Tegan and Sara in attendance, ahead of its Hulu debut.
Andrea Arnold’s BIRD will be the festival’s International Centerpiece. This latest cinematic venture from the Academy Award-winning director ( American Honey, Fish Tank) is a bold and evocative exploration of a fractured world told through the untainted eyes of youth. Starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogoski, the film will have its New York City premiere on Tuesday October 15.
High Tide, directed by Marco Calvani, will serve as NewFest36’s U.S. Centerpiece. The romantic drama, starring Marco Pigossi, James Bland, Marisa Tomei and Bill Irwin, centers around a heartbroken and adrift Brazilian immigrant searching for purpose one summer in the queer mecca of Provincetown, where he finds an unexpected romance. It world premiered at SXSW Festival, and will have its New York City Premiere at The New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival on October 14.
Bruce David Klein’s Liza: A Truly Terrific, Absolutely True Story will serve as the festival’s New York Centerpiece film this year. Having world premiered at the Tribeca Festival this past summer, the thoughtful and revelatory documentary uncovers the story of renowned entertainer and New York icon, Liza Minnelli, in her own words.
The festival’s narrative program includes an exciting, global selection of innovative stories from diverse worldviews. Highlights include the French film from director Alexis Langlois, Queens of Drama ( Les Reines Du Drame). The campy musical debuted at Cannes earlier this year and will debut at Fantastic Fest later this month before its New York Premiere at the New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival in October. BABY, the multi-cultural romance drama from director Marcelo Caetano, also will make its North American Premiere at the fest. Earlier this year, BABY debuted at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival where it was nominated for the Queer Palm.
Further, the buzzy Sundance break-outs, Ponyboi, directed by Esteban Arango and starring River Gallo, Dylan O’Brien, Victoria Pedretti, Murray Bartlett and Indya Moore — and Layla, directed by Amrou Al-Kadhi and starring Bilal Hasna, Louis Greatorex, Safiyya Ingar, Darkwah, Terique Jarrett, Sarah Agha, and Rebecca Lucy Taylor, will also make their East Coast and New York Premieres, respectively, at NewFest36. Each film puts intersex, trans and non-binary protagonists at the forefront of their stories and will be presented at the SVA Theatre in Chelsea on October 12 and October 14 respectively.
Episodic and series highlights include screenings of episodes 1 and 2 of the third and final season of HBO’s Peabody Award-winning and critically acclaimed comedy series Somebody Somewhere, starring Bridget Everett, Jeff Hiller, Mary Catherine Garrison, Tim Bagley and Murray Hill. A conversation with the cast and creators from the series will follow the screening of episodes 1 and 2. Additionally, the festival will feature the U.S. Premiere of the second season of Spanish series Veneno Season 2: Dressed in Blue (Veneno 2: Vestidas De Azul), which beautifully tells the stories of six trans women in Spain during the early 1980s. The first two episodes of the season will be screened with a conversation with filmmakers to follow.
NewFest36 will also offer a plethora of exciting legacy screenings and events celebrating the rich queer cinema of the past. Highlights include: John Waters Threesome, which is a day-long event featuring screenings of the John Waters films Polyester (1981), Pecker (1998) and a 50th Anniversary screening of Female Trouble (1974); the 35th Anniversary screenings of Isaac Julien’s Looking for Langston (1989) and Tongues United (1989), directed by Marlon T. Riggs presented as a double-bill; the fourth-annual Film Feast screening featuring a 25th Anniversary screening of The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999); as well a 25th Anniversary screening of Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski’s The Matrix (1999) and James Signorelli and Cassandra Peterson’s enduring cult camp classic Elvira : Mistress of the Dark (1988).
For more information, to purchase tickets/passes, or to become a member, visit www.newfest.org.
Originally published at http://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com on September 13, 2024.
