As New York City’s premier LGBTQ Film Festival, NewFest returns for its 26th anniversary in showcasing films that honor and promote gay and lesbian cinema. Partnering with OutFest and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, this year’s NewFest lineup includes an array of poignant and compelling queer films that include feature narratives, shorts, and documentaries from around the world. “This marks the fourth year of having NewFest at the Film Society and we couldn’t be happier to continue our collaboration with Outfest. LGBTQ films and filmmakers are a vital part of cinema worldwide and we are thrilled to offer this showcase on our screens each year,” remarks Lesli Klainberg, Executive Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
The festival celebrates its opening night with the NYC premiere of Karim Aïnouz’s Futuro Beach, a visually stunning and emotionally resonant tale of three men struggling across oceans of love, loss, and heartache—a saga that spans from Brazil to Germany. Concluding the festival will be the Closing Night presentation of Gerontophilia—a Canadian comedy about a handsome teen who refuses to feel shame about his unquenchable desire for older men; and will be followed by a Q&A with director/queer provocateur Bruce LaBruce.
With more than 16 narrative features, five documentaries, and even more short films being screened, deciding on which flicks to watch isn’t necessarily a simple choice. So to help prioritize, here’s a list of the Top Films to check out at this month’s NewFest—with trailers included to further wet your palette.
Blackbird. 2014. Directed by Patrik Ian-Polk. USA.
In her first major screen role since winning an Oscar for the chilling portrayal of an abusively volatile mommy dearest in Precious, co-producer Mo’Nique stars alongside Isaiah Washington and newcomer Julian Walker as an unsupportive mother (treading familiar ‘Precious’ territory) in Ian-Polk’s literary adaptation of Larry Duplechan’s novel. The film centers on 17-year old Randy Rousseau (Walker); a devout and talented teenage choir singer who must navigate the struggles of religion, a troubled home life, and coming to terms with his sexual identity. Set and shot on location in Mississippi, Polk’s coming-of-age tale explores our young misfit protagonist and his band of queer friends as they fight for a life outside the constrictions of their small Southern Baptist town. This picture marks Polk’s fifth feature film, where his previous 2001 movie Punks also explored LGBTQ life within the African American community. Making its NY premiere, Blackbird powerfully sheds light on the high school woes, rewards, and consequences of growing up as an outsider.
I Am Happiness on Earth. 2013. Directed by Julián Hernández. Mexico: Spanish with English subtitles.
One of Mexico’s premier queer filmmakers, Julián Hernández returns with this tale of a film director struggling with the line between his sexually charged reality and equally arousing cinematic creations. Our main character Emiliano views his life through the lens of a filmmaker, mixing objective reality with the process of artistic creation. However, the line between his daily life and the story he is filming become increasingly blurry, until his world becomes trapped inside the lens of his camera. The film features furious couplings with gorgeous men, which include an exhilaratingly explicit play-within-a-play. Will Emiliano be able to sustain his relationship, or will his lust for beauty and meaning lead him elsewhere? A boldly poetic romance that draws comparisons to such films as Fellini’s 8 ½ and Godard’s Contempt, I Am Happiness on Earth explores the connections between love, sex, creativity, and filmmaking.
“NewFest Shorts Program 2.” 2013/2014. Various.
The breadth of the LGBTQ experience is further revealed through this collection of seven short films (ranging from 3 to 29 minutes in length) that tell the stories of a widowed Swedish author and a teenage lesbian in the South, among others. In “Flying Solo: A Transgender Widow Fights Discrimination”, 92 year-old Robina Asti, a WWII veteran and pilot, tells her story of living as a transgender woman since 1976 and her fight to be treated like any other widow. Another note-worthy short is “Aban + Khorshid”, an intimate portrait of two lovers that is inspired by true events. Told in Farsi with English subtitles, this 15-minute film glimpses into the world in which our title characters meet, moments before they face the ultimate punishment for being gay.
Lyle. 2014. Directed by Stewart Thorndike. USA. NY Premiere: follow-up Q&A with Thorndike.
Writer Stewart Thorndike brings us his directorial debut with Lyle, Thorndike’s sinister ode to Rosemary’s Baby. The film stars Gaby Hoffman (Girls) as a pregnant lesbian confronted by an unspeakable evil. Hoffman is electrifying as worried mother Leah, and her deadpan performance offers a fresh twist on the horror genre that never seems campy. Removing the terror from the hetero-normative realm, Lyle re-examines this similar scenario through the experience of a lesbian couple, and the film’s poker face resoluteness remains engaging throughout. 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. In the exclusive clip below, Leah props herself up on her bed and wrinkles her forehead in concern; as she observes her daughter making faces at a darkened doorframe.
Jamie Marks is Dead. 2014. Directed by Carter Smith. USA. NY Premiere: follow-up Q&A with Smith.
A hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Jamie Marks is Dead is an eerie and unconventional rendition of teenage passion and shame; one that begins in a wintry small town with the discovery of bullied teenager Jamie Marks’ body on a creek bed by high-school student Gracie (Homeland’s Morgan Saylor). When the ghost of outcast Jamie (Noah Silver) appears to Adam (Shameless’ Cameron Monaghan), the straight-laced track star becomes caught between two worlds. Despite a budding romance with Gracie, 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—from the same director as 2008’s The Ruins—delivers a somber yet artful tale of sexuality and the tough choices it creates.
52 Tuesdays. 2013. Directed by Sophie Hyde. Australia.
Saving the best for last, 52 Tuesdays is certainly the most anticipated and must-see film from this year’s lineup. A stunning narrative experiment, this Australian picture tells the story of 16-year old Billie (in a breakout performance by Tilda Cobham-Hervey); who becomes blindsided by the news that her lesbian mother is planning to transition from female to male, and that during this time, Billie will live with her father. Billie and her mother—now called James—agree to meet every Tuesday during their year apart, during which time Billie starts a video diary that chronicles her own experiences during James’ transition. 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 Sundance winner for Best Directing, Sophie Hyde’s debut is a fictional story that remarkably bears the textured authenticity of a docudrama. Filmed in intervals throughout the course of a year, the screenplay’s events are interwoven with actual video footage shot by the characters—a remarkable approach that further elevates the film’s psychological realism and cinema verite feel.
Tickets for NewFest are now on sale, and the festival will run July 24-29th. Visit http://www.filmlinc.com/films/series/newfest-2014 for more details and a full screening schedule.
Featured image: Tilda Cobham-Hervey in ‘52 Tuesdays’. Photo by Nat Rogers.
Follow Demi:
Twitter: @DemionFilm
Facebook: facebook.com/demionfilm
