MAY DECEMBER + Queer Visionary Award (Todd Haynes)

Prior to the special screening of MAY DECEMBER, NewFest will host Academy Award® nominated director Todd Haynes in a conversation and present him with the NewFest35 Queer Visionary Award.

NewFest will be honoring Haynes for his legacy and contributions to cinema — from New Queer Cinema and beyond, including his canonical directorial achievements such as POISON, VELVET GOLDMINE, FAR FROM HEAVEN, and CAROL (NewFest27’s Centerpiece Film).

Popular television actor Elizabeth (Academy Award® winner Natalie Portman) heads to Savannah, Georgia to research a new film that follows a scandalous tabloid romance. That love affair — between Gracie (Academy Award® winner Julianne Moore) and Joe (Charles Melton) — was once a fixture of the gossip pages. After all, Joe is significantly younger than Gracie, who served time in prison when they were caught together. When she was released, the pair were married, and they now have two children together who are about to graduate from high school.

At first glance, their untraditional marriage looks more predictable than Elizabeth expected. But soon, her observation brings long-dormant feelings to the surface, and the decades-old scandal reveals deeper and deeper layers. The new work from brilliant director Todd Haynes (recipient of the NewFest35 Queer Visionary Award), MAY DECEMBER is a deliciously witty film about performance and exploitation that juggles surreal melodrama with humane perception.

This film will be followed by a Q&A.

Todd Haynes

Samy Burch

Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton