SHORTS: QUEER KID POWER

In partnership with the NYC Department of Education

For the fourth consecutive year, NewFest is delighted to collaborate with New York City’s Department of Education and participating schools on an inclusive shorts program curated specifically with LGBTQ+ youth and teen audiences in mind.

These affirming short films from emerging filmmakers provide access for queer young folks to see themselves reflected in film across genres and themes – including inspirational stories about first crushes, gender expression, navigating multiple identities and finding one’s voice through it all.


CARINO (Cariño)
Dir. Carlos Taborda, Ashley Williams, & Roshel Amuruz, USA, 4 mins
World Premiere
A young boy sets out to return a picture that has fallen from the pocket of a boy he admires.



GROWING FANGS
Dir. Ann Marie Pace, USA,18 mins
Val García, a Mexican-American teen who is half human/half vampire, has had to keep her identity a secret from both worlds.



PURE
Dir. Natalie Jasmine Harris, USA, 12 mins
New York City Premiere
On the eve of her cotillion ball, a young Black girl grapples with her queerness and questions her purity.
Followed by a Q&A with Natalie Jasmine Harris
Closed Captioning will be available for the virtual screening of this film



THE LITTLE PRINCE(SS)
Dir. Moxie Peng, USA, 17 mins
When Gabriel, a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob at school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel’s “feminine” behavior.



HOW TO RAISE A BLACK BOY
New York City Premiere
Dir. Justice Jamal Jones, USA, 13 mins
An imaginative, free-spirited fairytale about love, secrets, and breaking away.



WHO HOLDS US (from REEMERGENCE: A Queer Visual Album)
Dir. Zhailon Levingston, USA, 5 mins
A short musical about a future where love and community reign supreme.
Followed by a Q&A with Truth Bachman
Closed Captioning will be available for the virtual screening of this film


Presented in Partnership with: