Susanne Bartsch: On Top[/caption]
The New York premiere of Anthony&Alex’s highly anticipated and acclaimed film SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP will kick off this year’s 2017 NewFest.The documentary is an inside look at the legendary New York City party promoter and LGBTQ advocate Susanne Bartsch and features a who’s who of NYC nightlife heroes, including RuPaul, Amanda Lepore, Michael Musto and Bill Cunningham. Following the screening, Michael Musto will moderate a special talkback with Susanne Bartsch and Anthony&Alex.
Continuing in the cross-generational vein is the New York premiere of Vincent Gagliostro’s AFTER LOUIE, which will screen as the festival’s New York Centerpiece film. Starring Alan Cumming and Zachary Booth (KEEP THE LIGHTS ON), AFTER LOUIE is a touching and lyrical cross-generational look at the effect the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic had on individuals and their art as well as at how that history informs and influences the most recent generation of creative LGBTQ New Yorkers.
GOD’S OWN COUNTRY is the award-winning feature-length debut from writer/director/actor Francis Lee and serves as the fest’s International Centerpiece film. This New York premiere introduces audiences to a bold new voice in LGBTQ filmmaking with this masterful story of longing, loneliness and love. GOD’S OWN COUNTRY continues to rack up awards, including the Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Directing Award and the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, among many others.
Daniel Powell and Elizabeth Rohrbaugh’s BECKS, starring Tony Award winner Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Oscar winner Christine Lahti (Best Live Action short film Lieberman in Love) and Mena Suvari, will bring NewFest to a close with the New York premiere of this award-winning romantic drama. Inspired by the life of singer and songwriter Alyssa Robbins, BECKS brings the festival themes of uncovering unity and compassion through artistic self-expression full circle and features an extraordinary lead performance from Hall. A special live acoustic performance by Lena Hall will follow the screening of the film, which won the US Fiction Award at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival .
NewFest will run run from October 19 – 24, 2017 at New York’s SVA Theatre, Cinépolis Chelsea, and The LGBT Community Center.
OPENING NIGHT FILM
SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP
New York Premiere
Thursday, October 19
A mesmerizingly expressive portrait of a fiercely individual New York counterculture icon, SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP candidly captures the titular “Queen of the Night” and patron saint of LGBTQ inclusion and advocacy with a commanding voice and sharp wit, much like its subject. More than just a tribute to the “Queen of the Night” and staunch LGBTQ advocate, this dynamic debut from directing duo Anthony&Alex captures the essence of Bartsch’s everyday balance between compassion and control. As Bartsch prepares for an FIT exhibit of her nightlife fashions, she faces the challenges of a changing New York City landscape (as well as the construction within her homestead of many decades, the iconic Chelsea Hotel) while reconciling how her legacy lives on today.
Her ability to bring communities together while promoting LGBT rights and self-expression reached its apex with the star-studded Love Ball in 1989, which she hosted to raise money to fight AIDS and celebrated the Harlem Vogue scene before “Paris is Burning” was released. And she continues to gather and inspire multi-generational crowds at her parties to this day. Featuring superstars and LGBTQ nightlife luminaries RuPaul, Simon Doonan, Michael Musto, and Amanda Lepore, this dazzling documentary homecoming for a living icon who has unapologetically been a champion for all things New York and queer.
The screening will be followed by a talkback with Anthony&Alex and Susanne Bartsch, and moderated by Michael Musto.
INTERNATIONAL CENTERPIECE
GOD’S OWN COUNTRY
New York Premiere
Saturday, October 21
Gritty yet tender, austere yet beautiful, carnal yet romantic–GOD’S OWN COUNTRY is masterfully directed with powerful focus and authenticity by first-time feature filmmaker Francis Lee. Johnny Saxby (Josh O’Connor) is an overworked 25-year-old sheep farmer who feels as though life has already passed him by. He whiles away the time with drunken hookups in his small community in Northern England. When his ailing father takes a turn for the worse, handsome Romanian migrant Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu) is brought in to assist Johnny. Although Johnny resents Gheorghe at first, the two are quickly drawn to each other, and during an excursion to the highlands, they forge an even deeper connection. Winner of Sundance’s World Cinema Directing Award for its beautiful depiction of the English countryside—this assured new milestone marks a bold new epoch in textured, LGBTQ storytelling.
NEW YORK CENTERPIECE
AFTER LOUIE
New York City Premiere
Sunday, October 22
Sam (Alan Cumming) is an artist and activist from ACT UP who lived through the early years of HIV/AIDS, struggling with survivor’s guilt. He’s bewildered by the younger generation of gay men, until he meets the seductive Braeden (Zachary Booth, KEEP THE LIGHTS ON) at a bar late one night. Their pants quickly come down and, eventually, so does Sam’s guard. An intergenerational relationship blossoms between them—reawakening Sam’s artistic soul and reviving his wilted heart.
Beyond the beautifully evocative performances and setting, Vincent Gagliostro’s AFTER LOUIE is a love letter to New York City: engaging its rich backdrop while honoring the history of the gay rights movement and the progress that’s been made–reconciling the past so we as a community can look forward to the future.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
BECKS
New York City Premiere
Tuesday, October 24
Following a NYC to LA cross country move that ends in a breakup, singer-songwriter Becks (Lena Hall, a Tony Winner for Hedwig and the Angry Inch) returns to her Midwestern hometown, reluctantly moving back in with her mom. The time-warp sensation of being back in her childhood home is interrupted by an unexpected whirlwind affair with self-proclaimed “lonely housewife” Elyse (tenderly played with exceeding warmth by Mena Suvari) who finds inspired new life through the guitar lessons and generous spirit Becks provides.
This electrifyingly effusive film from co-directors Daniel Powell and Elizabeth Rohrbaugh features strong supporting turns by Dan Fogler as her old classmate-turned-drinking- buddy and Christine Lahti as Becks’ former nun mother who is still coming to terms with her daughter’s homosexuality. But it’s Lena Hall, who contributed original songs to the film and delivers a beautifully assured, live-in performance that makes BECKS really sing.
Special live acoustic performance by Tony Award winner and Grammy Award nominee Lena Hall, the star of BECKS.NewFest (New York LGBTQIA+ Film Festival)
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SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP to Open, BECKS to Close NewFest – LGBTQ Film Fest in NYC
[caption id="attachment_24586" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Susanne Bartsch: On Top[/caption]
The New York premiere of Anthony&Alex’s highly anticipated and acclaimed film SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP will kick off this year’s 2017 NewFest.The documentary is an inside look at the legendary New York City party promoter and LGBTQ advocate Susanne Bartsch and features a who’s who of NYC nightlife heroes, including RuPaul, Amanda Lepore, Michael Musto and Bill Cunningham. Following the screening, Michael Musto will moderate a special talkback with Susanne Bartsch and Anthony&Alex.
Continuing in the cross-generational vein is the New York premiere of Vincent Gagliostro’s AFTER LOUIE, which will screen as the festival’s New York Centerpiece film. Starring Alan Cumming and Zachary Booth (KEEP THE LIGHTS ON), AFTER LOUIE is a touching and lyrical cross-generational look at the effect the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic had on individuals and their art as well as at how that history informs and influences the most recent generation of creative LGBTQ New Yorkers.
GOD’S OWN COUNTRY is the award-winning feature-length debut from writer/director/actor Francis Lee and serves as the fest’s International Centerpiece film. This New York premiere introduces audiences to a bold new voice in LGBTQ filmmaking with this masterful story of longing, loneliness and love. GOD’S OWN COUNTRY continues to rack up awards, including the Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Directing Award and the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, among many others.
Daniel Powell and Elizabeth Rohrbaugh’s BECKS, starring Tony Award winner Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Oscar winner Christine Lahti (Best Live Action short film Lieberman in Love) and Mena Suvari, will bring NewFest to a close with the New York premiere of this award-winning romantic drama. Inspired by the life of singer and songwriter Alyssa Robbins, BECKS brings the festival themes of uncovering unity and compassion through artistic self-expression full circle and features an extraordinary lead performance from Hall. A special live acoustic performance by Lena Hall will follow the screening of the film, which won the US Fiction Award at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival .
NewFest will run run from October 19 – 24, 2017 at New York’s SVA Theatre, Cinépolis Chelsea, and The LGBT Community Center.
OPENING NIGHT FILM
SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP
New York Premiere
Thursday, October 19
A mesmerizingly expressive portrait of a fiercely individual New York counterculture icon, SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP candidly captures the titular “Queen of the Night” and patron saint of LGBTQ inclusion and advocacy with a commanding voice and sharp wit, much like its subject. More than just a tribute to the “Queen of the Night” and staunch LGBTQ advocate, this dynamic debut from directing duo Anthony&Alex captures the essence of Bartsch’s everyday balance between compassion and control. As Bartsch prepares for an FIT exhibit of her nightlife fashions, she faces the challenges of a changing New York City landscape (as well as the construction within her homestead of many decades, the iconic Chelsea Hotel) while reconciling how her legacy lives on today.
Her ability to bring communities together while promoting LGBT rights and self-expression reached its apex with the star-studded Love Ball in 1989, which she hosted to raise money to fight AIDS and celebrated the Harlem Vogue scene before “Paris is Burning” was released. And she continues to gather and inspire multi-generational crowds at her parties to this day. Featuring superstars and LGBTQ nightlife luminaries RuPaul, Simon Doonan, Michael Musto, and Amanda Lepore, this dazzling documentary homecoming for a living icon who has unapologetically been a champion for all things New York and queer.
The screening will be followed by a talkback with Anthony&Alex and Susanne Bartsch, and moderated by Michael Musto.
INTERNATIONAL CENTERPIECE
GOD’S OWN COUNTRY
New York Premiere
Saturday, October 21
Gritty yet tender, austere yet beautiful, carnal yet romantic–GOD’S OWN COUNTRY is masterfully directed with powerful focus and authenticity by first-time feature filmmaker Francis Lee. Johnny Saxby (Josh O’Connor) is an overworked 25-year-old sheep farmer who feels as though life has already passed him by. He whiles away the time with drunken hookups in his small community in Northern England. When his ailing father takes a turn for the worse, handsome Romanian migrant Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu) is brought in to assist Johnny. Although Johnny resents Gheorghe at first, the two are quickly drawn to each other, and during an excursion to the highlands, they forge an even deeper connection. Winner of Sundance’s World Cinema Directing Award for its beautiful depiction of the English countryside—this assured new milestone marks a bold new epoch in textured, LGBTQ storytelling.
NEW YORK CENTERPIECE
AFTER LOUIE
New York City Premiere
Sunday, October 22
Sam (Alan Cumming) is an artist and activist from ACT UP who lived through the early years of HIV/AIDS, struggling with survivor’s guilt. He’s bewildered by the younger generation of gay men, until he meets the seductive Braeden (Zachary Booth, KEEP THE LIGHTS ON) at a bar late one night. Their pants quickly come down and, eventually, so does Sam’s guard. An intergenerational relationship blossoms between them—reawakening Sam’s artistic soul and reviving his wilted heart.
Beyond the beautifully evocative performances and setting, Vincent Gagliostro’s AFTER LOUIE is a love letter to New York City: engaging its rich backdrop while honoring the history of the gay rights movement and the progress that’s been made–reconciling the past so we as a community can look forward to the future.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
BECKS
New York City Premiere
Tuesday, October 24
Following a NYC to LA cross country move that ends in a breakup, singer-songwriter Becks (Lena Hall, a Tony Winner for Hedwig and the Angry Inch) returns to her Midwestern hometown, reluctantly moving back in with her mom. The time-warp sensation of being back in her childhood home is interrupted by an unexpected whirlwind affair with self-proclaimed “lonely housewife” Elyse (tenderly played with exceeding warmth by Mena Suvari) who finds inspired new life through the guitar lessons and generous spirit Becks provides.
This electrifyingly effusive film from co-directors Daniel Powell and Elizabeth Rohrbaugh features strong supporting turns by Dan Fogler as her old classmate-turned-drinking- buddy and Christine Lahti as Becks’ former nun mother who is still coming to terms with her daughter’s homosexuality. But it’s Lena Hall, who contributed original songs to the film and delivers a beautifully assured, live-in performance that makes BECKS really sing.
Special live acoustic performance by Tony Award winner and Grammy Award nominee Lena Hall, the star of BECKS.
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THOSE PEOPLE, THE SAME DIFFERENCE Win 2015 NewFest “NY’s LGBT Fest” Audience Awards
The 2015 NewFest, New York’s LGBT Film Festival, concluded its 27th anniversary year with a sold-out screening of GIRLS LOST. Following the Closing Night Gala screening, NewFest announced the 2015 Audience Award winning films. THOSE PEOPLE, directed by Joey Kuhn, won the Audience Award for Outstanding Feature Film, and THE SAME DIFFERENCE, directed by Nneka Onuorah, won the Audience Award for Outstanding Documentary Feature.
THOSE PEOPLE, directed by Joey Kuhn, won the Audience Award for Outstanding Feature Film for its crowd-pleasing depiction of a complicated romance between two young men in the gilded halls of Manhattan’s high society. Those People will be distributed by Wolfe Releasing in 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-yM9ahuAeo
THE SAME DIFFERENCE, directed by Nneka Onuorah, won the Audience Award for Outstanding Documentary Feature. The film, which shines a light on the all-too-often ignored problem of homophobia and gender discrimination within the African-American lesbian community, broke NewFest records, selling out four screenings to audiences eager to finally see the issue addressed onscreen and within the lively panels that followed each screening. The Same Difference will be distributed by Women Make Movies in 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I97yTXz980
TREMULO, directed by Roberto Fiesco, won the Audience Award for Outstanding Narrative Short, thanks to its tender and beautifully realized depiction of a brief encounter between two young men in Mexico. A feature version is currently in the works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YTT2saA334
IN THE HOLLOW, directed by Austin Bunn, won the Audience Award for Outstanding Documentary Short. Bunn, the screenwriter of last year’s Kill Your Darlings, masterfully combined documentary and narrative techniques to place audiences at the center of a horrific crime against two gay women.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q2cSy6Oudo
Speaking on behalf of the programming team, NewFest’s senior programmer Adam Baran also singled out Martin Edralin’s narrative short HOLE and Blair Fukumura’s documentary short BEDDING ANDREW for special recognition, for using brave, emotionally stirring methods to tell the often-overlooked stories of gay men with disability and their need for physical and emotional support.
The highly successful six-day festival screened nearly 100 films to a number of sold-out audiences and included a centerpiece gala screening of Todd Haynes’ CAROL, a star-studded World Premiere of new trans series “” followed by a discussion moderated by Laverne Cox, a MasterClass discussion with award-winning filmmaker Ira Sachs, NewFest’s first ever Queer Horror Night, and an enlightening panel discussion on the evolution of transgender representation in modern media.
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27th NewFest Unveils Lineup, Opens with EISENSTEIN IN GUANAJUATO
The 27th NewFest will run October 22 to 27 at the newly renovated Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas, and today announced the lineup of nearly 100 LGBT films around the world. Opening night is the New York premiere of legendary filmmaker Peter Greenaway’s EISENSTEIN IN GUANAJUATO (pictured above), a visually stunning, sexually explicit celebration of pioneering Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein’s gay coming of age during a trip to Mexico in the 1930s. The cinematic masterpiece, which had its world premiere to wide acclaim at the Berlinale this year, has been hailed as one of the finest films of Greenaway’s long, illustrious career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb364B6u1XE
Closing out the NewFest festival on the 27th is Alexandra-Therese Keining’s GIRLS LOST, a thrilling story about three bullied girls who are drawn into a wild and chaotic journey when they find a magical plant whose nectar temporarily transforms them into boys. Fresh off its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim, Kreining’s bold and stylish coming-of-age tale is a fascinating exploration of sexuality, identity and desire across the LGBT spectrum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-eU4B-fnc4
This year also features Centerpiece film CAROL, Todd Haynes’ highly-anticipated and award-winning lesbian romance starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara which won the 2015 Cannes Best Actress award for Blanchett, as well as the Queer Palm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4z7Px68ywk
Other narrative highlights this year include the New York premiere of Matt Sobel’s chilling and suspenseful thriller TAKE ME TO THE RIVER, starring Logan Miller, Robin Weigert, Richard Schiff and Josh Hamilton; the New York premiere of Mika Kaurismäki’s sumptuous period piece THE GIRL KING, about the rise and fall of Sweden’s lesbian Queen Christina; the 2015 Sundance World-Cinema Directing Award-winner THE SUMMER OF SANGAILE; and FOURTH MAN OUT, a hilarious and heartwarming twist on the coming-out genre starring Evan Todd, Chord Overstreet (GLEE) and Kate Flannery (THE OFFICE) that won the Audience Award for Dramatic Feature Film at this year’s Outfest Los Angeles.
Another major highlight of this year’s event is the world premiere of Executive Producer Eve Ensler and Katherine Fishers’ upcoming HER STORY, a web series written by transgender activist Jen Richards (I AM CAIT) and writer/actor Laura Zak (#HASHTAG) and directed by Sydney Freeland (DRUNKTOWN’S FINEST), focusing on the dating lives of Trans women in Los Angeles, followed by a panel about the series. Also featured is a SAG-AFTRA panel discussion on the evolution of transgender representation in film and television, to be moderated by trans activist Tiq Milan.
While the mainstream media seemingly embraced trans identities and lives this year, NewFest has set out to dig deeper, looking for fresh stories and unique characters. Highlights include LA VISITA (THE GUEST), a beautiful Chilean drama featuring a breakout lead performance by trans actress Daniela Vega; the documentary PEACE OF MIND about well-known transmale artist and activist Flo McGarrell’s untimely death during the 2010 Haiti Earthquake; and a TRANS SHORTS program featuring the acclaimed shorts A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE and Cheryl Dunye’s BLACK IS BLUE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d4RmIL1uMs
Two additional trans documentary programs, TREASURE: FROM TRAGEDY TO TRANS JUSTICE, MAPPING A DETROIT STORY, and the 25th anniversary screening of the rarely-seen documentaries THE SALT MINES and THE TRANSFORMATION offer a chance for audiences to reflect on how much work still needs to be done to protect and empower trans people of color.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYdx6SH-mSc
Other special events include a can’t-miss Master Class with acclaimed filmmaker Ira Sachs (LOVE IS STRANGE, KEEP THE LIGHTS ON) who will sit for an illuminating discussion about the joys and challenges of being a queer filmmaker, as well as a panel on “The Renaissance of Women In Entertainment,” moderated by New York Women In Film & Television’s Executive Director Terry Lawler.
And because NewFest lands one week before Halloween this year, the festival will present its first ever Queer Horror Night aimed at LGBT horror fanatics, featuring three terrifying tales: Jorge Torres-Torres’ SISTERS OF THE PLAGUE, Jim Hansen’s YOU’RE KILLING ME, and Marçal Forés’ EVERLASTING LOVE, which won the Jury Award for Outstanding International Dramatic Feature at Outfest LA this year.
Olympic champion Greg Louganis will be on hand for a special screening and discussion of HBO’s BACK ON BOARD: GREG LOUGANIS, while other notable faces and names in this year’s festival films include: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler, Bette Davis, Mae West, Chord Overstreet, Kate Flannery, John Waters, Rose Troche, Stacie Passon, Harmony Santana, Robin Weigert, Josh Hamilton, Clea Duvall, Josephine Decker, Drew Droege, Jack Plotnick, Chi Chi La Rue, Jeff Stryker, Amanda Lepore, Michael Musto, Zachary Quinto, Mike McCreedy, Carrie Brownstein, Patty Schemel, Macklemore, Shirley Manson, Janet Mock, Irm Hermann, Harry Baer, Lea DeLaria, Felicia “Snoop” Pearson, Casey Legler, Jen Richards and many more!
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NewFest – The New York LGBT Film Festival – Announces Its 2014 Lineup; Karim Aïnouz’s FUTURO BEACH to Open, Bruce LaBruce’s GERONTOPHILIA to Close Fest
GerontophilaNewFest, New York’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Film Festival announced the complete feature film lineup for its 26th edition (July 24-29). NewFest is an annual showcase of the best of LGBT cinema, featuring works from renowned filmmakers as well as exciting discoveries. With a lineup of 16 narrative and five documentary features, this year’s group of films continues to carry out the festival’s mission of supporting diverse film communities and voices from around the world.
Lesli Klainberg, Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Executive Director said, “This marks the fourth year of having NewFest at the Film Society and we couldn’t be happier to continue our collaboration with Outfest. LGBT films and filmmakers are a vital part of cinema worldwide, and we are thrilled to offer this showcase on our screens each year.”
“In the year following spectacular LGBT civil rights advances across the country, the dynamic and fresh slate of 2014 NewFest films decisively demonstrates that artists and storytellers lead the charge in creating social change,” said Kristin Pepe (KP), Outfest’s Director of Programming.
Kicking off the 2014 festival is the New York City Premiere of Karim Aïnouz’s Futuro Beach, a visually stunning, emotionally resonant tale about three Brazilian men struggling across oceans of love, loss, and heartache. Closing out the festival is the New York premiere of Bruce LaBruce’s highly anticipated Gerontophila, a profound comedy about a handsome teen who refuses to feel shame about his unquenchable appetite for older men.
Among the many other highlights from the 2014 feature lineup are Stephan Haupt’s The Circle (winner of the Teddy Award at the 2014 Berlinale); Hong Khaou’s Lilting (a Sundance 2014 selection starring Ben Whishaw); Patrik-Ian Polk’s Blackbird (starring Mo’Nique and Isaiah Washington); Carter Smith’s Jamie Marks is Dead (a Sundance 2014 selection starring Cameron Monaghan, Judy Greer, and Liv Tyler); Sophie Hyde’s 52 Tuesdays (Sundance 2014, Berlinale 2014); and the world premiere of Kate Kunath’s We Came to Sweat: The Legend of Starlite (a timely documentary about Brooklyn’s oldest gay bar).
Films, Description & Schedule
Screenings will take place at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th St., New York, NY 10023 (between Broadway and Amsterdam), unless otherwise noted.Opening Night
Futuro Beach
Karim Aïnouz, Brazil/Germany, 2013, DCP, 106m
German and Portuguese with English subtitlesWhen Brazilian lifeguard Donato fails to save a swimmer from drowning, he seeks out the victim’s friend Konrad, a handsome German biker. The two men begin a passionate affair, and Donato soon decides to follow Konrad to Berlin. Years later, their seemingly peaceful life is threatened by a visitor from Donato’s past. Director Karim Aïnouz (Madame Satã) delivers a visually stunning, emotionally resonant tale about three men struggling across oceans of love, loss, and heartache. A Strand Releasing release.
July 24, 7:00pm (preceded by Achievement Award presentation)
Closing Night
NY Premiere
Gerontophilia
Bruce LaBruce, Canada, 2013, DCP, 81mLake refuses to feel shame about his unquenchable appetite for older men. The handsome teen defiantly signs up as an orderly at a local nursing home and quickly falls for Mr. Peabody, a charming, flirtatious soul with one last wish. Forget everything you know about filmmaker Bruce LaBruce: in what is easily his most romantic work to date, he dares us to look beyond fetish to embrace the beauty of all stages of life.
July 29, 7:00pm (Q&A with Bruce LaBruce)
NY Premiere
Age of Consent
Todd Verow & Charles Lum, USA, 2014, HDCAM, 88mThe history of the HOIST, London’s first and only gay sex fetish bar, follows the cultural evolution of gay life and sex in modern London through AIDS, gentrification, and the ongoing political struggle to decriminalize homosexual activity in the UK.
July 26, 11:30pm
Alec Mapa: Baby Daddy
Andrea James, USA, 2013, 78mIn his hilarious new performance film, 2014 Outfest Fusion Achievement Award Winner and gifted comedian Alec Mapa (Switched at Birth)—accompanied by his family—takes his audience on a roller-coaster ride through the challenges and occasional triumphs of becoming a daddy. You’ll laugh and even cry as “America’s Gaysian Sweetheart” mixes life stories with his signature brand of sass. Contains adult language and catastrophic waffles.
July 27, 5:00pm (Q&A with Andrea James)
NY Premiere
Blackbird
Patrik-Ian Polk, USA, 2013, 102mA high-school senior named Randy (newcomer Julian Walker) and his band of queer friends fight for a life outside the constrictions of their small Southern Baptist town. Blackbird’s a powerful film, co-starring Academy Award winner Mo’Nique (Precious) and Isaiah Washington (Blue Caprice) as Randy’s conflicted parents, in which friends—black, white, straight, gay, and all things in between—discover firsthand both the rewards and consequences of growing up as outsiders.
July 25, 9:30pm (Q&A with Patrik-Ian Polk)
NY Premiere
Boys
Mischa Kamp, The Netherlands, 2014, DCP, 78m
Dutch with English subtitlesAfter making it onto the track team, 15-year-old Sieger instantly grows close to fellow runner Marc. Sieger, dealing with family troubles, and Marc, outgoing and engaging, fall in love over the course of a summer spent running, swimming, and stealing kisses in the forest. But Sieger must weigh how his widowed father feels against the joy and freedom he finds in Marc’s arms in this adorable romance.
July 24, 10:00pm
NY Premiere
The Circle
Stefan Haupt, Switzerland, 2014, DCP, 101m
German with English subtitlesA Teddy Award winner at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, The Circle captures an extraordinary romance set against the backdrop of Switzerland’s thriving post-WWII underground gay movement. Director Stefan Haupt has fashioned a gorgeous hybrid of a film, uncovering a vibrant love story between a singer and schoolteacher who bravely defied the constraining laws of their era.
July 26, 10:30am
Cupcakes*
Eytan Fox, 2013, Israel, DCP, 90m
Hebrew with English subtitlesDuring their annual get-together to watch the kitschy Universong competition, one of a sextet of friends is nursing a broken heart. The other five spontaneously compose and perform a song to cheer her up, which leads to a viral video that transforms these six nonprofessionals into Universong competitors. As colorful and infectious as a pop song, the latest from Eytan Fox (Yossi) is a delirious sugar rush of a comedy.
*July 28, 7:00pm (Screening at the JCC, 344 Amsterdam Avenue)
NY Premiere
Dual
Nejc Gazvoda, Slovenia/Croatia/Denmark, 2013, DCP, 102m
English, Slovenian, and Danish with English subtitlesIben, a free-spirited Danish woman, gets stuck in Slovenia overnight when her connecting flight gets canceled. She asks Tina, a young lesbian minivan driver, to show her around Ljubljana. Both women are at a crossroads: Tina has a big interview for a bank job in the morning, and Iben is harboring a dark secret. Romantic feelings slowly build between them, and they hatch a plan to run away together.
July 27, 12:00pm
NY Premiere
52 Tuesdays
Sophie Hyde, Australia, 2013, DCP, 114mSixteen-year-old Billie (played by Australian rising star Tilda Cobham-Hervey) is blindsided by the news that her mother is planning to transition from female to male and that, during this time, Billie will live at her father’s house. Billie and her mother, now called James, agree to meet every Tuesday during their year apart. As James undergoes changes and becomes less emotionally available, Billie covertly explores her own identity and sexuality with two older schoolmates, testing the limits of her own power, desire, and independence. A Kino Lorber Release.
July 24, 4:00pm
The Foxy Merkins
Madeleine Olnek, USA, 2013, DCP, 81mMargaret is a down-on-her-luck lesbian hooker-in-training. She meets Jo, a beautiful, self-assured grifter who’s a pro at picking up women, even though she considers herself a card-carrying hetero. The duo hits the streets, encountering bargain-hunting housewives, double-dealing conservatives, husky-voiced seductresses, shopaholic swingers, as well as a mumbling erotic-accessory salesman (Alex Karpovsky of Girls). Writer-director Madeleine Olnek (Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same) melds her singular brand of comedy with the buddy-film genre to pay homage to and riff on iconic male-hustler films.
July 25, 7:00pm (Q&A with Madeleine Olnek)
NY Premiere
I Always Said Yes: The Many Lives of Wakefield Poole*
Jim Tushinski, USA, 2013, 90mWakefield Poole was a respected Broadway choreographer and ballet star until he rocked the mainstream world by becoming a groundbreaking hardcore gay filmmaker during the tumultuous 1970s. At the time, anyone making what the government considered pornography was at risk of prosecution. Poole challenged the system with his iconic Boys in the Sand, becoming famous for the defiant artistry he instilled in dozens of sexually explicit works, whose impact forever changed adult film.
*July 28, 9:00pm (Screening at the JCC, 344 Amsterdam Avenue)
NY Premiere
I Am Happiness on Earth
Julián Hernández, Mexico, 2013, 115m
Spanish with English subtitlesJulián Hernández, one of Mexico’s premier queer filmmakers (Raging Sun, Raging Sky), returns with this tale of a film director struggling with the line between his sexually charged reality and equally arousing cinematic creations. Will Emiliano be able to sustain his relationship, or will his lust for beauty and meaning lead him elsewhere? Furious couplings between gorgeous men include an exhilaratingly explicit play-within-a-play. Hernández’s boldly poetic romance compares with such films as Fellini’s 8½, Godard’s Contempt, and others exploring the connections between love, sex, creativity, and filmmaking.
July 26, 9:00pm
NY Premiere
Jamie Marks Is Dead
Carter Smith, USA, 2014, DCP, 100mWhen the ghost of bullied teenager Jamie Marks (Noah Silver) appears to Adam (Cameron Monaghan), the straitlaced track star becomes caught between two worlds. Despite a budding romance with Gracie (Morgan Saylor), who found Jamie’s body, Adam is fascinated by the sexy spirit, who leads him into a ghostly underworld. Also featuring Judy Greer and Liv Tyler, this supernatural-horror love story—a Sundance gem—delivers a poetic tale of sexuality and the tough choices it creates.
July 28, 9:30pm (Q&A with Carter Smith)
NY Premiere
Lilting
Hong Khaou, UK, 2013, DCP, 86m
English and Mandarin with English subtitlesThe sudden death of Kai, a young London man, leaves his Chinese Cambodian mother Junn (Pei-pei Cheng) and his boyfriend Richard (Ben Whishaw) profoundly grieving. Feeling a strong sense of responsibility for Kai’s only family member, Richard reaches out to her. Though Junn speaks little English, her dislike of Richard is plain, and she responds with stony resistance. Since they share no common language, Richard hires a translator to facilitate communication, and the two improbable relatives attempt to reach across a chasm of misunderstanding through their memories of Kai. Writer-director Hong Khaou’s moving and intimate debut dances between the real and imaginary to express the unspeakable loss that both characters experience. Boasting delicate performances by both Whishaw and Cheng, this Sundance award-winner is a perceptive meditation on the connection between two human souls, revealing that what separates us can also bind us together. A Strand Releasing release.
July 27, 7:30pm
NY Premiere
Lyle
Stewart Thorndike, USA, 2014, DCP, 65mLyle, Stewart Thorndike’s sinister ode to Rosemary’s Baby, finds the perfect mom-to-be in Gaby Hoffmann. Her electrifying performance as Leah, a pregnant lesbian confronted by an unspeakable evil, brings out a primal terror that’s difficult to shake. With dark humor and razor-sharp camerawork, Thorndike takes audiences into a growing nightmare as Leah begins to question the motives of her partner, friends, and neighbors.
July 28, 7:00pm (Q&A with Stewart Thorndike)
NY Premiere
The Third One
Rodrigo Guerrero, Argentina, 2013, DCP, 70m
Spanish with English subtitlesAn attractive older couple stumbles upon a flirtatious young man in a chat room and, after teasing some skin, convinces him to come over to their apartment for dinner. With fumbling honesty and no shortage of sexiness, The Third One celebrates the awkwardness and euphoria of a one-night stand gone right, culminating in an explicit, 10-minute threesome that’s as erotic as it is playful.
July 29, 9:30pm (Q&A with Rodrigo Guerrero)
NY Premiere
Tiger Orange
Wade Gasque, USA, 2014, HDCAM, 76mTwo estranged gay brothers attempt to make amends in Wade Gasque’s charming small-town drama. Set against the sun-kissed fields of Central California, and anchored by strong performances from Mark Strano and porn-star-turned-leading-man Frankie Valenti (aka Johnny Hazzard), Tiger Orange pits two diametric opposites against each other—the closeted introvert versus the out-and-proud hunk. The result is a blunt, playful meditation on queer sibling rivalry and the childhood bonds that force us together.
July 26, 6:30pm (Q&A with Wade Gasque)
NY Premiere
The Way He Looks
Daniel Ribeiro, Brazil, 2014, DCP, 96m
Portuguese with English subtitlesSet to the bouncy beats of Belle and Sebastian, this euphoric, sun-kissed coming-of-age fable—a sensation at the 2014 Berlin Film Festival, where it won a Teddy Award and FIPRESCI prize—dances entirely to its own tune. Stuck fending off bullies and over-protective parents, Leonardo spends his days allowing his best friend Giovana to drag him around town. Being blind has always been an inconvenience for Leonardo, but his angsty adolescence gets a lift when the handsome and smooth-talking Gabriel turns down numerous offers from ogling girls to hang with Leonardo after school. The longer they spend together, the more apparent their shared attraction becomes—not just to them but to a spurned Giovana as well. As social pressure mounts on both to fit within their confined social boxes, the two must decide whether to ignore their feelings or to throw caution to the wind and admit that they might actually be falling in love. A Strand Releasing release.
July 29, 4:30pm (Q&A with Daniel Ribeiro)
World Premiere
We Came to Sweat: The Legend of Starlite
Kate Kunath, USA, 2014, DCP, 70mWhen Brooklyn’s oldest black gay bar, the Starlite Lounge, is faced with eviction, the community decides to fight back. Will they be able to save this pre-Stonewall safe haven? Or is gentrification unstoppable? Kate Kunath’s timely portrait of a community banding together to preserve their culture and history is a stirring must-see.
July 25, 4:30pm (Q&A with Kate Kunath)
NY Premiere
What It Was
Daniel Armando, USA, 2013, 85mIn Daniel Armando’s multilayered film, Adina, a successful Latina actress, returns to New York in the aftermath of her sister’s death and her marriage’s collapse. Unable to face her mother, she finds herself in a fog, drifting through the days. Memories dissolve into the present as she tumbles through a series of intense, complex connections with a sexy, butch body artist, a young college student, and a former girlfriend. With confident directing, assured performances, and intuitive editing and cinematography, What It Was masterfully conveys the emotional textures of Adina’s waking dream of a life.
July 26, 4:00pm (Q&A with Daniel Armando)
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New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender film festival to run July 21-28
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Opening night film – ‘We Were Here’[/caption]Coming on the heels of Gay Pride weekend is the announcement that NewFest, the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender film festival is coming to locations across New York city, July 21-28. The festival will open and close at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and will be headquartered throughout the week at Chelsea’s SVA Theater and Cinema Village. Special satellite screenings will be held at The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, the Brooklyn Academy Of Music, the Jewish Community Center on the Upper West Side, and Harlem Stage.
Prior to the screening of NewFest’s opening night film, “We Were Here,” NewFest will honor legendary film producer Christine Vachon with the first annual NewFest Visionary Award. Vachon was instrumental in the movement B. Ruby Rich called New Queer Cinema, producing Todd Haynes’ classic “Poison” (now celebrating its 20th anniversary), Tom Kalin’s “Swoon,” and the lesbian classic “Go Fish” from NewFest board member Rose Troche. Vachon’s illustrious credits include “Velvet Goldmine,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Party Monster,” “Camp,” “A Dirty Shame,” and this year’s upcoming “Dirty Girl” by Abe Sylvia, which will screen at this year’s festival. Christine Vachon will also participate in a conversation at the Film Society’s new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center on Friday, June 22nd.
“We could not be more honored that Christine Vachon will be accepting our Visionary Award on opening night with our new partner, the Film Society Lincoln of Center” said NewFest Executive Director Lesli Klainberg. “Her body of work is not only awe inspiring, but makes her one of the most influential producers of independent film in our country.”
The complete festival lineup includes Sundance Audience Award winner “Circumstance,” and Sundance alums “Shut Up, Little Man!,” “Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same,” and “A Few Days of Respite.”
On Sunday, July 24th, it’s all about the lights and the glamour of…Broadway! NewFest will screen Dori Berinstein’s “Carol Channing: Larger than Life,” a hilarious and excessively sweet documentary about the stage legend. Also on Sunday, Broadway stars Cheyenne Jackson (“Glee,” “30 Rock”) and Jason Butler Harner star in Steven Williford’s drama “The Green.” The Broadway block ends with the world premiere of Elisabeth Sperling & Trish Dalton’s “One Night Stand,” which follows various participants in last year’s 24 hour musical competition. The film features Cheyenne Jackson, Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Modern Family”), chanteuse Nellie McKay, Richard Kind (“Spin City,” “A Serious Man”), Rachel Dratch (“SNL”), Mandy Gonzalez (“Wicked,” “In the Heights”), and Tracie Thoms (“Rent”).
Monday night (July 25th), drag ball musical “Leave It on the Floor” will come to Harlem Stage. Screening Tuesday (July 26th) at the Museum of the Moving Image is “3” from Tom Tykwer (“Run Lola Run”), a story of a high-profile modern love triangle. Also on Tuesday are two documentaries: Jonathan Lee’s “Paul Goodman Changed My Life” and Tomer Heymann’s “The Queen Has No Crown” at the JCC of Manhattan.
Wednesday night (July 27th) at BAM, NewFest will screen festival favorites “Old Cats” from Sebastian Silva & Pedro Peirano (Golden Globe-nominated “The Maid”) and “Hit So Hard,” the story of Hole drummer Patty Schemel, from P. David Ebersole.
The festival will host a special screening of James Belzer’s fashion week documentary “The Tents,” which features interviews with Tommy Hilfiger, Isaac Mizrahi, Donna Karan, Hal Rubenstein, Nina Garcia, Phillip Bloch, Robert Verdi, Carson Kressley, Betsey Johnson, and more.
Other notable talent that will be seen in films throughout the festival include Christine Baranski (“What’s the Name of the Dame?”), Margaret Cho (“Cho Dependent”), Ash Christian (“Mangus!”), Jennifer Coolidge (“Mangus!”), Brent Corrigan (“Judas Kiss”), Cheryl Dunye (“HOOTERS!”), Leslie Jordan (“Mangus!”), Bruce La Bruce (“The Advocate for Fagdom”), Hedda Lettuce (“What’s the Name of the Dame?”), Heather Matarazzo (“Mangus!”), Chloe Sevigny (“All Flowers in Time” short), Joe Swanberg (“Blackmail Boys”), Kathleen Turner (“The Perfect Family”), and Varla Jean (“Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads”).
“It has been an incredible year for LGBT film. NewFest audiences will see a wide variety of exciting, diverse, entertaining, and often challenging films in this year’s festival. I am elated to have such a solid lineup to show off the talent in LGBT storytelling and filmmaking and to help usher us into our new homes at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the Museum of Moving Image, and Cinema Village,” commented NewFest Director of Programming Bryce J. Renninger.
The festival’s previously announced gala screenings: opening night documentary “We Were Here” from David Weissman; SXSW favorite “Weekend” from Andrew Haigh, screening as a centerpiece; Chely Wright’s documentary about coming out in country music “Wish Me Away,” another centerpiece; and Rashaad Ernesto Green’s closing night film “Gun Hill Road.”