Ahead of the curve – if you were at NewFest last July, you’ve got bragging rights, because you had the chance to see Weekend, the most talked about gay film of the year, months before it opened in New York. As well as Circumstance, Gun Hill Road, Tomboy, Weekend and We Were Here long before they were on local movie screens in town.

You had the chance to see the world premiere of One Night Stand - a documentary about a host of Broadway’s finest talent preparing to compete to write and perform a new musical in 24 hours. And you had a chance to hang out with them after the screening at one of our many after show parties.

Yes, NewFest this year saw some amazing films. And some amazing changes too: We opened and closed at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

All this happened because of your support.

Because of your support we were able to provide free tickets to hundreds of LGBT youth through local support organizations. Because of your support we were able to help independent filmmakers reach an audience for stories that might not be seen otherwise.

And we have great plans for next year. But to realize them, we need your help now.

Yes – it’s the annual end of year appeal letter. And we know your mailbox is filled with requests for financial support. So please consider this – in this tight economy corporate support for NewFest has dropped. And more than ever it is your member support that guarantees that New York’s premier LGBT film festival takes place.

Most of the people who help bring NewFest to life are volunteers. Our costs have been cut to the bone. What enables us to continue to bring you the most interesting film out there is the membership and donations that come from our community.

So follow our link to our SUPPORT page at http://newfest.org/wordpress/2011-newfest-donation/.

Your donation is tax deductible. And happiness increasable.

Thanks and Happy New Year.

NewFest Board of Directors

Check out this year’s portraits by NewFest’s photographer in residence, Scott Pasfield, by visiting our Flickr feed! You can get there by clicking here, or through the front page of NewFest.org.

While you’re there, have a look at photos from various events at our festival, featuring the work of photographers Jonathan Tichler, Bob Miranti, and Dave Pittock.

“With first-rate films at venues across our great city, the 23rd Annual NewFest was a huge success,” said NewFest Director of Programming Bryce J. Renninger.  “We are pleased to screen and reward so many great films that are pushing the boundaries of filmmaking and representing queer identities and issues in new and provocative ways.”

JURY AWARDS

NARRATIVE FEATURES

BEST FILM
Circumstance, director: Maryam Keshavarz

BEST PERFORMANCE
Zoe Heran, Tomboy

HONORABLE MENTION
Bélgica Castro, Old Cats

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

BEST FILM
Gone, Directors: John and Gretchen Morning

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Habana Muda, Director: Eric Brach

SHORT FILM

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Smut Capital of America, Director: Michael Stabile

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT
Fourplay: San Francisco, Director: Kyle Henry

HONORABLE MENTION
Oh My God!, Director: Anne Sewitsky

NEWDRAFT SCREENPLAY COMPETITION

Boys in the Trees, Screenwriter: Nicholas Verso
July Flame, Screenwriter: Anton De Ionno

AUDIENCE AWARDS

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (tie)
The Wise Kids, Director: Stephen Cone
Turtle Hill, Brooklyn, Director: Ryan Gielen

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
One Night Stand, Directors: Elisabeth Sperling & Trish Dalton

BEST SHORT FILM

The Devotion Project: More Than Ever, Director: Tony Osso

Playing TONIGHT, Closing Night at NewFest, 7PM.

Set in the Bronx, Gun Hill Road follows Enrique (Esai Morales of La Bamba, NYPD Blue), a macho ex-convict returning home from a three-year prison sentence, who slowly learns that his son Michael (Harmony Santana, at left) is transitioning into Vanessa, a woman.  Unable to accept his child, Enrique clings to his masculine ideals, while his wife Angela (Judy Reyes from Scrubs) fiercely tries to hold her family together by protecting Michael.

A transsexual female on-screen and in real life, newcomer Harmony Santana gives a fearless and authentic performance that will stay with you long after you’ve left the theater.  When asked about casting for the role, Green says, “I knew from the start I wanted to cast the role non-traditionally, i.e. outside of the normal means of finding talent through an agent or casting director.  In order for the film to be successful, I needed to find the genuine article.”

“The search was absolutely grueling. I pulled my hair out for weeks and kicked myself for writing myself into a hole.  We stumbled in and out of 18-and-over nightclubs at 3am, attended every youth organization and function you can think of,” says Green.  ”Eventually, we found Harmony.  Newcomer Harmony Santana was working at a parade booth in Queens.  She was the right age and type, showed up on time to the audition, had that special something I had been looking for, and was dedicated to learning the craft of acting.”

Drawing on scenes and struggles from her own life, Santana takes us into Vanessa’s pre-date routine and the challenges she faces in an effort to present herself as she feels inside.  Don’t miss this moving portrayal of a transsexual teen that will move and inspire you.  Playing Thursday, July 28 at 7:00PM, Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center. Click here for tickets to the event, which includes an Awards Ceremony and Closing Night afterparty.

Welcome to day seven of NewFest 2011, where we continue to bring you the best of LGBT filmmaking at not one, but two great locations around the city! We’re rolling out the red carpet for you today at Cinema Village (12th Street at University in Manhattan) and BAM Rose Cinemas (in Brooklyn) with these great movies:

Playing TODAY at BAM

Hit So Hard follows the journey of Patty Schemel (pictured at left,) the openly gay drummer of Courtney Love’s seminal rock band Hole. A true survivor of what we now know was the disaffected “slacker” generation, Patty found herself, like her friend Kurt Cobain, embraced by the dark side. Directed by P. David Ebersole. Playing at 6:30PM BAM Rose Cinemas.

Later, we present the latest directorial effort from Pedro Peirano and Sebastián Silva (pictured above), Old Cats. It’s the story of Isidora, an old woman who realizes that her mind is quickly deteriorating… and that her scheming lesbian daughter is jumping at the chance to take way everything she has. You may already be familiar with Silva and Peirano’s work in The Maid, which earned the directors a Best Foreign Language Film nomination at the 2009 Golden Globe Awards. Playing at 9:30PM, BAM Rose Cinemas.

Playing TODAY at Cinema Village

What’s the Name of the Dame. Hilarious drag queens you know and love (Hedda Lettuce, Edie, and many others) perform their own interpretations of ABBA’s greatest hits. Directed by Allan Neuwirth. Playing at 3PM, Cinema Village.

One Night Stand. Broadway superstars Cheyenne Jackson,Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Richard Kind, Mandy Gonzalez, Tracie Thoms, and Nellie McKay write and produce a short musical in just 24 hours! A surprisingly intimate journey from the blank page to the stage, directed by Trish Dalton and Elisabeth Sperling. Playing at 3PM, Cinema Village.

School’s Out. In these eight clever short films, LGBT youth encounter coming out, falling for friends, and just growing up. Playing at 5PM, Cinema Village.

Reel Queers. Why is it always the case that the truth is often just as unbelievable as fiction? See eight fascinating documentary shorts presenting LGBT life in a sexy Scandinavian bathhouse, at the Black Party, at a UK church group, and at Annapolis. Playing at 5:30PM, Cinema Village.

Gone. A mother’s courageous mission to find her adult gay son, missing since taking a trip abroad to Vienna. But do the authorities to whom she pleads for information know more than they’re letting on to? Directed by Gretchen and John Morning. Playing 7:30PM, Cinema Village.

eCupid. Directed by JC Calciano. Newly single and ready for adventure, Marshall finds himself overwhelmed by interested sexy men. But as he quickly discovers, too much of a good thing may not be such a good thing. Co-starring Morgan Fairchild. Playing at 7:30PM, Cinema Village.

Blackmail Boys (pictured below.) Bernard and Richard Shumanski’s sweet and sexually explicit love story becomes an extortion tale for two young men who plot to blackmail a closeted religious figure. Playing tonight at 9:30PM, Cinema Village.

Click here for our entire lineup.

Playing first at our satellite locations is Paul Goodman Changed My Life, directed by Jonathan Lee, screening at 6:30PM at JCC Manhattan. Get your tickets here. Also playing tonight: The Queen Has No Crown, directed by Tomer Heymann (pictured right.) Reserve your seats now for the JCC Manhattan, 9PM showing. All ticket holders to these films are welcome to join us from 8-9PM for a special reception, with open bar courtesy of Stella Artois Beer and 42Below.

Narrative film more your thing? Then head over to Queens, when NewFest takes over the big screen at the Museum of the Moving Image. There, acclaimed filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run,Perfume) returns with an unconventional take on a modern love triangle in 3. Playing at 7PM, Museum of the Moving Image in Queens.

ENCORE SCREENINGS ADDED

Unable to get tickets to some of the movies in our program? You asked, we listened. By popular demand, NewFest is adding several additional screenings to our lineup:

Today: We Were Here. David Weissman’s documentary portrait of 1980s San Francisco, as five men and women (who were there) recall the events and challenges of the early days of the AIDS crisis. Click here for tickets to the encore screening at 3PM, Cinema Village.

WEDNESDAY: What’s the Name of the Dame. Hilarious drag queens you know and love (Hedda Lettuce, Edie, and many others) perform their own interpretations of ABBA’s greatest hits. Directed by Allan Neuwirth. Playing tomorrow at 3PM, Cinema Village.

One Night Stand. Broadway superstars Cheyenne Jackson, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Richard Kind, Mandy Gonzalez, Tracie Thoms, and Nellie McKay write and produce a short musical in just 24 hours! Directed by Trish Dalton and Elisabeth Sperling. Playing tomorrow at 3PM, Cinema Village.

THURSDAY: TOMBOY. Directed by Celine Sciamma. Laure, a 10-year-old tomboy, finds it so hard to adjust to her new surroundings, she reinvents herself as Michael, a boy… with surprising results.Playing Thursday at 4PM, Cinema Village.

(A)sexual. Learn more about David Jay (pictured at the top of this page) and his organization of self-described asexuals, and watch as they try to explain their way of life to others in one of the most sexualized cities in North America – San Francisco. Playing Thursday, 6PM at Cinema Village. Co-sponsored by IFP.

Turtle Hill Brooklyn. In honor of Will’s 30th birthday, he and his partner invite their closest friends to a casual backyard get-together… but surprise visitors threaten to derail the plans (and their relationship.) Directed by Ryan Gielen. Playing Thursday at 6:15PM, Cinema Village.

Hanna (Sophie Rois) and Simon (Sebastian Schipper) are lovers who have been together for 20 years.  Their lives run their course like two parallel lines that stretch across the years.  They fit together well, but increasingly grow disconnected from each other.

Separately, they meet sexy, blonde scientist Adam (Devid Striesow) and each begins an affair with him – neither Hanna nor Simon know that the other is cheating, much less with the same person, and Adam doesn’t know that his two lovers even know each other, much less involved.

While Tykwer isn’t afraid to examine the farcical possibilities, he’s more interested in the life that Adam injects into Hanna and Simon’s coupling – as well as the possibility that these three people together make a stronger relationship than any two of them do.

It’s a perfect summer movie to see with your boyfriend…and your other boyfriend. Playing Tonight at 7PM, Museum of the Moving Image.

MONDAY: Harlem Stage

Tonight, Glee meets Paris is Burning in the groundbreaking new film Leave It On The Floor, directed by Sheldon Larry. The party starts at 6PM at Harlem Stage, located at The Gatehouse, on 150 Convent Avenue (on the south side of the CUNY campus) when NewFest honors Sheldon Larry with a complimentary open bar. The movie begins at 7:30PM, when we’ll also be screening the short film That’s Entertainment, featuring Kalup Linzy and James Franco. After the feature, you’ll want to stick around for a live Q&A featuring screenwriter Glenn Gaylord and director Larry, along with cast members Ephraim Sykes and Philip Evelyn. Click here for tickets and more information about the Harlem Stage event.

Can’t make it to the Harlem Stage event? Check out our Wednesday screening of Leave It On The Floor at Cinema Village, beginning at 9:30PM. On hand to host the Q&A session afterwards will be Jennie Livingston, director of the landmark drag ball documentary Paris is Burning.

TUESDAY: JCC Manhattan, Museum of the Moving Image in Queens

Uptown’s Jewish Community Center is the place to be Tuesday night for two great documentaries at NewFest. First up is Paul Goodman Changed My Life, directed by Jonathan Lee, playing at 6:30PM. Get your tickets here. Also screening tomorrow night: The Queen Has No Crown, directed by Tomer Heymann (pictured right.) Reserve your seats now for the 9PM showing. All ticket holders to these films are welcome to join us from 8-9PM for a special reception, with open bar courtesy of Stella Artois Beer and 42Below.

Narrative film more your thing? Then head over to Queens, when NewFest takes over the big screen at the Museum of the Moving Image. There, acclaimed filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run,Perfume) returns with an unconventional take on a modern love triangle in 3. Playing tomorrow at 7PM, Museum of the Moving Image in Queens.

WEDNESDAY: BAM Rose Cinemas, Brooklyn

Head to Brooklyn Wednesday for two great films from NewFest. Hit So
Hard follows the journey ofPatty Schemel, the openly gay drummer of Courtney Love’s seminal rock band Hole. A true survivor of what we now know was the disaffected “slacker” generation, Patty found herself, like her friend Kurt Cobain, embraced by the dark side. Playing Wednesday, July 27 at 6:30PM BAM Rose Cinemas.

Later, we present Old Cats, the latest directorial effort from Pedro Peirano and Sebastián Silva (pictured below, The Maid.) It’s the story of Isidora, an old woman who realizes that her mind is quickly deteriorating… and that her scheming daughter is jumping at the chance to take way everything she has. Playing Wednesday, July 27 at 9:30PM, BAM Rose Cinemas.

Click HERE for more films on our program. ]]> http://newfest.org/wordpress/2011/07/25/tonight-at-harlem-stage/feed/ 0 http://newfest.org/wordpress/2011/07/24/broadway-comes-to-newfest/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=broadway-comes-to-newfest http://newfest.org/wordpress/2011/07/24/broadway-comes-to-newfest/#comments Sun, 24 Jul 2011 15:06:26 +0000 admin http://newfest.org/wordpress/?p=3901 Calling all Broadway babies, showtune lovers, stage door Johnnies and theater queens. The performers you're used to seeing just behind the footlights of the stage are coming to the silver screens of NewFest! In our Sunday Salute to Broadway, every seat in the house has a front row, center orchestra view. First, join for a Sunday matinee. In Carol Channing: Larger Than Life, you'll fall in love all over again with this legendary lady of Broadway. Hear the stories behind Carol's best-known roles... including bombshell Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! and eccentric flapper widow Muzzy Van Hossmere in Thoroughly Modern Millie (the big screen role that landed her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination.) But director Dori Berinstein doesn't stop there. You'll also learn the unbelievable untold story of Channing's late-in-life love affair and other untold tidbits from her decades on the stage. Get your tickets now before this parade passes you by. Playing Sunday, July 24 at 2PM, SVA Theatre. ((Story continues))]]> Calling all Broadway babies, showtune lovers, stage door Johnnies and theater queens. The performers you’re used to seeing just behind the footlights of the stage are coming to the silver screens of NewFest! In our Sunday Salute to Broadway, every seat in the house has a front row, center orchestra view.

First, join for a Sunday matinee. In Carol Channing: Larger Than Life, you’ll fall in love all over again with this legendary lady of Broadway. Hear the stories behind Carol’s best-known roles… including bombshell Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! and eccentric flapper widow Muzzy Van Hossmere in Thoroughly Modern Millie (the big screen role that landed her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination.) But director Dori Berinstein doesn’t stop there. You’ll also learn the unbelievable untold story of Channing’s late-in-life love affair and other untold tidbits from her decades on the stage. Get your tickets now before this parade passes you by. Playing Sunday, July 24 at 2PM, SVA Theatre.

We’re just getting started. Hang around, and you’ll also see hunky Broadway leading man Cheyenne Jackson in not one, but two great new films. First up is Steven Williford’s The Green. Here Cheyenne joins fellow Broadway headliner Jason Butler Harner in the story of a gay couple leaving The Big Apple for small-town life in Connecticut… only to face cruel and untrue accusations that threaten to pull their lives apart. The top-notch cast also features Julia Ormond, Bill Sage, Karen Young and Illeana Douglas. Playing tonight at 6PM at the SVA Theatre, and again on Tuesday, July 26 at Cinema Village.

Singing and dancing more your style? There’s plenty of that and more in Elisabeth Sperling and Trish Dalton’s One Night Stand. Twenty-four hours to write and produce a short musical… and the pressure is ON. Will our team be able to pull it off? No need to worry when you’ve got the megawatt talent of Cheyenne Jackson, Jesse Tyler Ferguson,Richard Kind, Mandy Gonzalez, Tracie Thoms, Nellie McKay, and Rachel Dratch in front of the cameras. Playing Sunday at 8:15PM, SVA Theatre.

Other highlights from our Sunday program include:

Weekend. Our Centerpiece Film, Directed by Andrew Haigh. Ticket price includes admission to Centerpiece After Party at Chelsea Art Museum, 556 W.22nd St at Eleventh Ave. Playing tonight at 8PM, SVA Theatre in Chelsea. Generously co-sponsored by our friends at Gayletter.com.

Gone. Directed by Gretchen and John Morning. Documentary. A mother (and former police officer) encounters a series of red herrings and dead ends as she searches for her missing son in Austria. Playing today at 12:30PM, Cinema Village; and again on Wednesday, July 25 at 7:30PM.

Our Lips Are Sealed. Directed by John Gallino. Playing 12:30PM, Cinema Village.

eCupid. Directed by JC Calciano. Playing today at 1:30PM, SVA Theatre; and Wednesday, July 27 at 7:30PM, Cinema Village.

My Last Round. Directed by Julio Jorquera. Screening at 2PM, Cinema Village.

2 Frogs in the West. Directed by Dany Papineau. A young French-Canadian woman leaves her family behind for the West Coast, but when tragedy strikes, she’s forced to make the biggest decisions of her life. Playing 2:30PM, Cinema Village.

Shut Up, Little Man! An Audio Misadventure. Directed by Matthew Bate. Plays 3PM, SVA Theatre.

Hooters! Directed by Anna Margarita Albelo. Playing 4PM, Cinema Village.

Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same. Directed by Madeleine Olnek. Playing Sunday, July 24 at 4PM, SVA Theatre.

Turtle Hill, Brooklyn. Directed by Ryan Gielen. Playing today at 5PM, and on Tuesday at 10PM. Both shows at Cinema Village.

Eating Out: Drama Camp. Directed by Q. Allan Brocka. Playing Sunday, July 24 at 6PM; and Thursday, July 28 at 4PM . Cinema Village.

For more information about the many other fine films playing today at NewFest, visit our Film Guide.

Our warm congratulations go out to the following Outfest winners, whose films you’ll see this in the days ahead at NewFest. (Descriptions of the awards were provided to us by the judges at Outfest.)

Outfest Jury prizes:

Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Documentary Feature Film: Habana Muda, Directed by Eric Brach. Playing NewFest Friday, July 22 at 6:30PM, Cinema Village.

(Pictured at left) This year’s winning documentary is a beautifully crafted narrative that reveals multiple worlds and gives us access to intimate moments and complex relationships. It’s a very personal story that rises above the issues it explores, and entertains us in every moment.

Grand Jury Award for Outstanding International Dramatic Feature Film: Weekend, Directed by Andrew Haigh. NewFest’s Centerpiece Film. Playing Sunday, July 24 at 8PM, SVA Theatre in Chelsea.

This year’s winning international dramatic feature film is a touching, authentic portrayal of gay life as we truly experience it: not stylized, not glamorized, but heartfelt, perceptive and absorbingly real. From the first frame it manages to get beneath the artifice we are used to. In its own quiet, unflinching way it leaves you a little bit changed, and yet more yourself than you ever were.

Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film: Nikohl Boosheri, Circumstance. Playing NewFest Saturday, July 23 at 3PM, SVA Theatre; and Monday, July 25 at 3PM, Cinema Village.

(Pictured left.)For her fierce and sensual portrayal of a young woman struggling to balance the tumultuous landscape of her sexuality in a world in flux around her.

Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Screenwriting: Stephen Cone, The Wise Kids; Grand Jury Award for Outstanding U.S. Dramatic Feature Film: The Wise Kids, Directed by Stephen Cone. Playing NewFest Saturday, July 23 at 3PM, Cinema Village.

We were very moved by this film not only as a love letter to the community it depicts but as a universal portrayal of characters both coming of age and coming of middle age. We also believe this film represents American independent cinema at its best and marks the discovery of a filmmaker with a compelling cinematic voice.

Outfest Audience prizes:

Audience Award for Outstanding Documentary Feature Film: We Were Here, Directed by David Weissman & Bill Weber. Part of NewFest’s Opening Night presentation. Playing Thursday, July 21 at 7PM, Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center.

Audience Award for Outstanding Dramatic Feature Film: 3, Directed by Tom Tykwer. Playing NewFest Tuesday, July 26 at 7PM, Museum of the Moving Image in Queens.

Audience Award for Outstanding First U.S. Dramatic Feature Film: Circumstance, Directed by Maryam Keshavarz. Playing NewFest Saturday, July 23 at 3PM, SVA Theatre; and Monday, July 25 at 3PM, Cinema Village.

Outfest Special Programming Awards:

Special Programming Award for Artistic Achievement: The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye, Directed by Marie Losier. Playing NewFest Sunday, July 24 at 10:30PM, SVA Theatre.

For matching the conceptual daring and aesthetic bravado of its subjects’ lives with an equally powerful filmmaking style and for never losing sight of the love story that flourished in an atmosphere of gender experimentation and conceptual music.

Special Programming Award for Emerging Talent: Madeleine Olnek, Writer/Director, Co-dependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same. Playing NewFest Sunday, July 24 at 4PM, SVA Theatre.

For her witty and creative vision, her skill at eliciting memorable performances, for deftly blending old school science fiction and deadpan comedy, and for believing that true love exists even if it means going to another planet to find it.

As always, for more information on these and other films, please consult the Film Guide listings on this website.