NewFest
The 34th Annual
NewFest LGBTQ+ Film Festival
The 2022 hybrid edition of The New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival will feature a thrilling lineup of brand-new LGBTQ+ stories available to watch in person throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, and virtually across the U.S. This year’s festival offers screenings of narrative, documentary, and short films; TV series; panel conversations; parties; and more.
We’ll be returning to in-person screenings and events here at The LGBT Community Center, as well as the SVA Theatre, Nitehawk Prospect Park, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).
View Films Screening at The Center
To see the full NewFest program, please visit newfest.org. To request an accommodation for any of the screenings at The Center, please contact Richard Morales at rmorales@gaycenter.org or 646.502.6370 by Thursday, October 6.
DETAILS
Festival will take place October 13-25, 2022
Times will vary.
Presented in Partnership With
NewFest 2022 Film Festival
Schedule of In-Person Screenings at The LGBT Community Center
Friday, October 14, 2022
“A Run for More”
7 p.m. ET
Director: Ray Whitehouse
2022, USA, Running time 100 min
Language: English
This intimate documentary follows Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe—organizer, executive, military wife, and daughter of immigrants—as she attempts to make history as the first openly transgender elected official in Texas. In her race for San Antonio city council, boundary-breaker Gonzales-Wolfe learns that to become a beacon of hope for a persecuted community in a state that is actively restricting trans rights means she’ll have to fight harder than ever before.
Filmed over the course of four years, “A Run for More” tracks Gonzales-Wolfe’s personal journey while saluting the countless activists working towards better representation in city, state, and national elections across the country.
Saturday, October 15, 2022
“Lotus Sports Club” (ក្លិបកីឡាបាល់ទាត់ផ្កាឈូក)“
2:30 p.m. ET
Directors: Vanna Hem, Tommaso Colognese
2022, Cambodia|Netherlands, Running time 72 min
Language: Khmer
Filmed over the course of five years, “Lotus Sports Club ” isClub” is an inspiring coming-of-age-story about the only LGBTQ+-inclusive soccer team in Cambodia. Sixty-one-year-old Pa Vann—the coach and father figure—established the Kampong Chhnang team in 2009 to encourage solidarity among straight, gay, and gender-diverse players. Opening his home to the more vulnerable, outcasted teenagers on the team, Pa Vann creates a safe place for them to be themselves.
Full of love, empathy, and kick-ass soccer tricks, this heartfelt documentary centers around Leak, a young trans man who plays for the under-21 team and has lived under coach Pa Vann’s care for many years. As he ages out of the league, Leak must make a decision that could mean leaving behind the one person he loves the most.
Panel: Reel Storytelling with Instagram
5 p.m. ET
Join NewFest and Instagram for this compelling conversation with established and emerging LGBTQ+ artists and activists. Hear their experiences and expertise on using social media tools such as Instagram Reels, and get inspired to tell your own story and share histories of our community to a wide, accessible audience.
“Nana’s Boys”
7 p.m.
Director: Ashton Pina
2021, USA, Running time 78 min
Language: English
On the morning of his 30th Birthday, Amari struggles to make decisions on what’s next and defining his purpose. Q is on track to become the youngest partner at his law firm and plans an elaborate soiree to celebrate this milestone of his long-time partner. The day takes a rattling turn when an explosion cuts off utilities across New York City and forces the city into a mandatory lockdown.
“Nana’s Boys” features nuanced lead performances from Jared Wayne Gladly and NewFest alum David J Cork (“The Ex Cycle”). Take an intimate look into a relationship tested by memories that could shatter a couple’s life plans altogether.
Sunday, October 16, 2022
“My Emptiness and I (Mi Vacío y Yo)”
3 p.m.
Director: Adrián Silvestre
2022, Spain, Running time 98 min
Languages: Spanish, French
Closed Captioning will be available for this screening.
Working at a queer call center in Barcelona after relocating from France, sensitive dreamer Raphi helps others navigate mental health crises as she works through her own challenges, including coming to terms with being a trans woman in a brand new city. Through it all—embarrassing dates, adapting to the rhythms of a new life, candid conversations with queer colleagues—she chases after an elusive image of modern love that continually shifts and surprises her.
With a star-making performance by Raphaëlle Pérez (who also serves as co-writer), this narrative feature debut from NewFest alum Adrián Silvestre (“Sediments”) is a romantic and illuminating story of one woman’s transfeminine experience.
“Follow The Protocol (Seguindo Todos Os Protocolos)”
6 p.m.
Director: Fábio Leal
2022, Brazil, Running time 75 min
Language: Portuguese
Francisco is a bit much—at least according to his boyfriend, friends, and social media followers, who are all getting annoyed with his call-out posts and COVID anxieties. When his boyfriend breaks up with him, Francisco decides it’s time for some rebound sex, even if it means following the CDC guidelines as closely as humanly possible.
As you might imagine, things do not go as planned for our hypochondriac horndog in “Follow the Protocol,” a humorous and messy reflection on what sexual relationships and loneliness look like amid a global pandemic.
Friday, October 21, 2022
“ESTHER NEWTON MADE ME GAY”
7 p.m.
Director: Jean Carlomusto
2022, USA, Running time 90 min
Language: English
A rare look at queer history and gender studies through a living icon who studied queer space from urban gay bars to Fire Island, encompassing amazing archival footage and inspiring intergenerational testimonials.
This celebratory documentary explores the life and times of a trailblazing cultural anthropologist and expert on LGBTQ+ spaces. Drawn to the drag scene as a student in the 1950s and identifying as both butch lesbian and between genders, Esther Newton has spent six decades writing about and forging queer communities, from clandestine gay bars in the city to the wilds of Fire Island.
Lovingly captured by director Jean Carlomusto, “Esther Newton Made Me Gay” is a rare look at queer history and gender studies through a living icon, encompassing amazing archival footage and inspiring intergenerational testimonials.
Saturday, October 22, 2022
“I’ll Show You Mine”
5:30 p.m.
Director: Megan Griffiths
2021, USA, Running time 102 min
Language: English
Having built a career examining her own trauma, an author sits down to interview her nephew about his history as a hugely successful male model and pansexual influencer. As the wine flows, inhibitions are loosened, distant memories come into sharp focus, and each reveals much more than they anticipated.
This intimate drama from director Megan Griffiths and Duplass Brother Productions weaves an engrossing, confrontational story of familial power structures and secret sexual proclivities. With dynamic performances from Poorna Jagannathan (“Never Have I Ever”) and Casey Thomas Brown, “I’ll Show You Mine” is a wildly engrossing and surprising two-hander.
Sunday, October 23, 2022
Shorts: Excavating our History
1 p.m.
Total running time 79 min
Dig up and dive into hidden queer histories that started revolutions, saved lives, and changed society.
To this day, many queer stories remain untold. Those who came before us not only lived, loved, and made art, but also sparked revolutions and transformed society. Yet we still do not know so much of this history.
Take a trip to the past with this illuminating collection of narrative and non-fiction short films to discover hidden narratives about those who paved the way forward and influenced our modern experiences of queer life.
FILMS IN THE SHORTS PROGRAM
“Dear Kin”
Dir. Alex Sallee, USA, 3 min
A letter to past, present, and future Indigenous queer relatives.
“Water Rose”
Dir. Sunmin Kim, USA/South Korea, 4 min
A village woman in an abusive marriage meets a femme nonbinary river spirit.
“Make Me a King”
Dir. Sofia Olins, UK, 16 min
Ari performs as a Jewish Drag King in honor of their hero, Pepi Littman.
“Anti-Venom for a Snake”
Dir. Cameron Kostopoulos, USA, 21 min
A provocateur drag queen struggles to pay rent after her boyfriend dies.
“Ayor”
Dir. Tom Bakker, Netherlands, 11 min
In 1970, two men make a statement against gay discrimination.
“Love, Barbara”
Dir. Brydie O’Connor, USA, 15 min
A short documentary about the legacy of pioneering lesbian experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer.
“The Baldwin Archives”
Dir. Tory Devon Smith, Laura Seay, USA, 9 min
Famed author James Baldwin sits with BBC journalist Peter Duval Smith.
“Mars One (Marte Um)”
3:30 p.m.
Director: Gabriel Martins
2022, Brazil, Running time 115 min
Language: Portuguese
A working-class Black family tries to keep their spirits up after the election of a right-wing president in Brazil’s official selection for the Oscar’s International Feature Award. As they figure out ways to cope and continue dreaming in the months that follow, the shifting political tides threaten to engulf them.
Each member of the family, including aspiring soccer player Deivinho and lesbian student Eunice, seeks to assert their independence and identity, all the while relying on each other more than ever before. Winner of Outfest’s Jury Prize for Best International Feature, “Mars One” is a searing indictment of Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters, and is a powerful story as personal as it is political.