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Upcoming Events
May 2019
Coming Out Again
Lianna (1983)
Dir. John Sayles, 1983, USA, 110 mins, 35mm
Lending unfussy naturalism and emotional heft to its central lesbian relationship, Sayles’ sophomore feature remains a rarely-screened landmark of Sapphic cinema. Faculty wife and mother Lianna (Linda Griffiths) falls hard for her night-school psychology professor (Jane Hallaren) and is forced to come to terms with a newfound identity when her philandering husband (Jon DeVries) kicks her out of the house. Set in and around a New Jersey university, the film is bathed in autumnal hues and features Sayles himself as a sleazy suitor.
Q&A with director John Sayles and producer Maggie Renzi
June 2019
Special Pride Screening
Queer Shorts with Vimeo
Pride screening in partnership with Vimeo
Vimeo and NewFest are delighted to present this wide-ranging blend of documentary and narrative films revolve around gender and identity, showing an inclusive array of protagonists facing personal obstacles & experiencing universal life lessons. These endearing films showcase the humanity within our community, as well as how our biological and chosen families celebrate our authentic selves.
Q&A with filmmakers and select cast to follow
Partner Screening
Queer Brunch with Nitehawk: PUNKS (2000)
Dir: Patrik-Ian Polk, USA, 2000, 104 mins, 35mm
NewFest partners up with Nitehawk Cinema to present a special Queer Brunch 35mm screening of PUNKS, the rarely seen iconic film from 2000. Each audience member will receive a complimentary copy of the book, PRIDE: Fifty Years of Parades and Protests, and buttons courtesy Abrams Books. Celebrated for its candid and realistic depiction of African-American gay men, the groundbreaking PUNKS premiered at Sundance in 2000 and won awards on the film festival circuit before becoming mostly undistributed and unavailable to see anywhere.
OutCinema
OutCinema 2019
Check out the line-up for OutCinema 2019!
Launched in 2016, OutCinema highlights celebratory LGBTQ+ film and aims to bring together queer audiences for three special evenings of premieres, Q&As, and parties. Presented in partnership with NYC Pride and SVA Theatre,, OutCinema celebrates pride and community on back in and out of the theater for three rousing evenings in Pride month–and each evening’s screening is followed by a massive open bar afterparty at the SVA Theatre! The 4th Annual OutCinema will run June 17 – 19th, 2019.
To be the first to hear more announcements, sign up for our mailing list. For more information on OutCinema, click here
Read more / Trailer »OutCinema Opening Night Film & Party
Adam
Dir. Rhys Ernst, USA, 2019, 95 mins
New York Premiere
Hot off its World Premiere at Sundance Film Festival, this highly anticipated comedy from Emmy-nominated director Rhys Ernst (TRANSPARENT) and the Oscar-nominated producers of SHORTBUS and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is a new queer classic in the making. It’s 2006 and awkward high schooler Adam decides to spend the summer in New York City with his cool older sister, who is highly engaged in the queer activist scene. And even though school is out, Adam receives an edifying crash course on friendship, romance, and community through a distinctly queer lens in this crowd-pleasing coming-of-age tale. Featuring an exciting fresh ensemble including Nicholas Alexander, Margaret Qualley, Leo Sheng, Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Chloë Levine, and MJ Rodriguez (FX’s POSE).
Q&A with director Rhys Ernst and select cast
*All tickets include screening, talkback and open bar afterparty*
OutCinema Film & Party
Deep in Vogue
Dirs. Amy Watson & Dennis Keighron-Foster, UK, 2019, 61 mins
East Coast Premiere
Inspired by the 80s ball scene in New York City–which was made iconic by the 1990 documentary PARIS IS BURNING–there’s a thriving Northern Vogue ball scene flourishing across the pond in Manchester, UK. This electrifying documentary celebrates the personal and political stories behind the thriving scene, and how we seek aspirational outlets, safe spaces, respect, and visibility in the face of marginalization. Meet the House Mothers and members who go to battle on the runway, all the while exploring personal and political issues. But no matter who takes the crown, DEEP IN VOGUE reminds us of the inherent joy within the freedom to express oneself fully. And turn some stunning looks while doing so.
Q&A with filmmakers and talent, moderated by special guest Twiggy Pucci Garçon (KIKI)
Preceded by short: Invisible Women Dir. Alice Smith, 25 mins
*All tickets include screening, talkback and open bar afterparty*
OutCinema Film & Party
Wig
Dir. Chris Moukarbel, USA, 2019, 90 mins
Featuring Lady Bunny, Charlene Incarnate, Flotilla DeBarge, Kevin Aviance, Neil Patrick Harris, Willam, Linda Simpson, Naomi Smalls, and Tabboo!
Wigstock was an annual drag festival which glamorously signaled the end of summer for the gay community in NYC for almost twenty years. Late one night in 1984, Lady Bunny and a few friends drunkenly wandered from the Pyramid Club in the East Village to Tompkins Square Park and staged an impromptu drag show in the bandshell. This would soon become an annual drag bacchanal, that lasted up until 2001. And now, Lady Bunny has brought it back. This past summer, the festival returned, bringing together legendary queens with some of the new children of drag, into one of the largest drag performances ever staged. WIG is a fascinating documentary that explores the origins and the influence of the historic festival through rich archival footage, as well as provides a look into the contemporary drag movement that the festival served as a foundation for. WIG is a celebration of New York drag culture, and those personalities and performances that contribute to the ways we understand queerness, art, and identity.
Q&A with Lady Bunny, director Chris Moukarbel, and more!
*All tickets include screening, talkback and open bar afterparty*
Coming Out Again
Gay USA (1977)
Dir. Arthur J. Bressan Jr., 1977, USA, 78 mins
Filmed in a single day on June 26, 1977 in multiple locations throughout the country, this tremendous time capsule captures a variety of pride parades across the landscape of American and offers an overview of the issues facing the community. A myriad of camera operators and interviewers took to the streets in New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles, and the footage was lovingly compiled and edited together by Arthur J. Bressan Jr. (BUDDIES), creating a kaleidoscopic portrait that continues to prove why celebrating our collective pride, and expressing it to the world, still matters.
With Roe Bressan in person
Recent Events
NewFest at The Center Presents
50 Years of Fabulous
Screening Room at The Center
New York Premiere Dir. Jethro Patalinghug, USA, 2018, 82 mins 50 YEARS OF FABULOUS recounts the rich history of the Imperial Council, the oldest LGBT charity organization in the world. Founded in San Francisco by renowned activist, drag queen and per...
Find out more / TrailerHosted Screening
Rafiki
Quad Cinema
Dir. Wanuri Kahiu, Kenya/South Africa/Germany/Netherlands/France/Norway/Lebanon, 2018, 83 mins Fresh from its triumphant Cannes premiere, RAFIKI is a must-see film that delivers a beautifully acted, nuanced portrayal of being queer in Nairobi. This v...
Find out more / TrailerComing Out Again
Fun Down There (1989)
Quad Cinema
Dir. Roger Stigliano, 1989, USA, 89 mins, 16mm 30th Anniversary screening in 16mm Winner of Berlinale’s prestigious Teddy Award in 1989, Roger Stigliano’s debut film takes a charmingly droll and optimistic approach to the coming-out-while-coming-...
Find out more / TrailerHosted Screening
Sauvage / Wild
Film Forum
Dir. Camille Vidal-Naquet, France, 2018, 99 mins “The kindness – and unkindness – of strangers looms large in the life of a feral male prostitute in SAUVAGE / WILD, an incredibly frank and involving immersive portrait impressively anchored by a...
Find out more / TrailerNewFest at The Center Presents
Wild Nights With Emily
Screening Room at The Center
Dir. Madeleine Olnek, 2018, USA, 84 mins Free Pre-Release Screening In quiet mid-19th century Amherst, Emily Dickinson (Molly Shannon) is writing prolifically, baking gingerbread, and enjoying a passionate, if clandestine affair with her sister-in-la...
Find out more / TrailerPartner Screening
Paternal Rites
Museum of Moving Image (MoMI)
Dir. Jules Rosskam, 2018, USA, 82 mins Paternal Rites is a first-person essay film that examines the secret underbelly of a contemporary Jewish American family as they grapple with the aftereffects of physical and sexual abuse on their present-day li...
Find out more / TrailerNewFest at The Center Presents
The Most Dangerous Year
Screening Room at The Center
New York Premiere Dir. Vlada Knowlton, USA, 2018, 90 mins As a dark wave of anti-transgender “bathroom bills” began sweeping across the nation, The Human Rights Campaign published a report identifying 2016 as the most dangerous year for transgend...
Find out more / TrailerComing Out Again
Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1970)
Quad Cinema
Dir. Douglas Hickox, 1970, UK, 94 mins, 35mm Joe Orton’s dark comedy made his career in its 1964 UK stage premiere; proved too hot for Broadway; and posthumously made it to the screen as a career boost for helmer Hickox (soon to direct Theater of B...
Find out more / TrailerPartner Screening
Knife+Heart
Roxy Cinema Tribeca
Dir. Yann Gonzalez, France, 2018, 103 mins A Cannes 2018 Official Selection, this steamy and seedy ode to cinema and postured pulp comes from visionary director and NewFest alum Yann Gonzalez (YOU AND THE NIGHT). Vanessa Paradis stars as a no-nonsens...
Find out more / TrailerComing Out Again
Winter Kept Us Warm (1965)
Quad Cinema
Dir. David Secter, 1965, Canada, 81 mins, 16mm The first English-language Canadian film to screen at the Cannes Film Festival, this endearing University of Toronto-set debut focuses on the blooming relationship between shy freshman Peter (Henry Tarva...
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The Gospel of Eureka
Screening Room at The Center
Dirs: Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher, USA, 2019, 75 mins Pre-Release Screening Welcome to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a one-of-a-kind oasis in the Ozarks where Christian piety rubs shoulders with a thriving queer community in this celebratory and hu...
Find out more / TrailerComing Out Again
Dallas Doll (1994)
Quad Cinema
Dir. Ann Turner, 1994, Australia, 104 mins, 35mm In this riotous riff on Pasolini’s TEOREMA that deserves be a cult classic, the incomparable Sandra Bernhard stars as an American golf pro in Australia seducing her way through a bourgeois family and...
Find out more / TrailerPartner Screening
The Heiresses
Film Forum
Dir. Marcelo Martinessi, Paraguay/Germany/Brazil/Uruguay/Norway/France, 2018, 98 mins Silver Bear, Berlinale 2018 Chela and Chiquita have been partners for decades, lifelong members of Paraguay’s moneyed elite - until the money runs out. Now they s...
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Man Made
Screening Room at The Center
Winner! Audience Award for Best Documentary, NewFest 2018 Dir: T Cooper, USA, 2018, 98 mins From surgeries and T parties to the struggles and joys of transitioning, follow four men as they prepare for Trans FitCon, the only bodybuilding competition e...
Find out more / TrailerPartner Event
Live Podcast: This Movie Changed Me
The Greene Space
Live Podcast Recording with writer, performer and comedian Justin Sayre One fan talking about the transformative power of one movie. This Movie Changed Me offers an unexpected take on pop culture, transporting listeners inside the world of movies by ...
Find out more / Trailer