New Fest Lineup!
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 at 12:00PM by Nathaniel R
Paul Bettany is "Uncle Frank" in a road trip film from Alan Ball
New York City's leading queer film festival is now in its 32nd year. And this year you don't even need to be in NYC to attend since they've gone virtual...
The festival will open with Francis Lee's Ammonite, starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan (which of course we're very excited about) and close with Berlinale's Teddy Award winner No Hard Feelings a romantic drama about young immigrants in Germany. There will also be a legacy screening of the 1995 documentary Bloodsisters about the lesbian leather scene in San Francisco which they're billing as "the hottest history lesson you'll have all year" There's also a one-night only event for a movie shot during the pandemic called Nora Highland, based on a play involving the casting of an iconic queer role and a sneak preview of the newest creation of Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under) which is called Uncle Frank and is a road trip movie about a teenage girl (Sophia Lillis) and her uncle (Paul Bettany).
And that's just the big events. Here are all the competing feature films, documentaries, and "episodics"...
INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
ALICE JUNIOR, directed by Gil Baroni. (Brazil) A high school comedy about a trans social media star
DATING AMBER, directed by David Freyne. (Ireland). Comedy about two queer Irish high schoolers pretending to be dating to get the homophobes off their back.
DRY WIND, directed by Daniel Nolasco. (Brazil). Erotic drama about a lonely factory worker and his sexual fantasies.
ELLIE AND ABBIE (& ELLIE'S DEAD AUNT), directed by Monica Zanetti. (Australia). Fantasy comedy. A queer girl gets a fairy gaymother to help her with her high school prom.
FORGOTTEN ROADS, directed by Nicol Ruiz Benavides. (Chile). A tender and unconventional tale of a widow who uncovers clandestine loves and finds new purpose in a UFO-obsessed Chilean town.
LOS FUERTES (THE STRONG ONES), directed by Omar Zúñiga Hidalgo. (Chile). A romantic "saga" of two beautiful Chilean men.
MONSOON, directed by Hong Khaou. (Hong Kong). Henry Golding stars as man returning home in this romantic travelogue.
RURANGI, directed by Max Currie. (New Zealand). A trans activist returns home to reconnect with his roots and family. Spotlight Film.
SUMMER OF 85, directed by François Ozon. (France). France's celebrated gay auteur François Ozon returns with this romantic drama about a life-changing summer for two teenage boys. Spotlight Film.
TWO OF US (DEUX), directed by Filippo Meneghetti. (France). A comedy about women trying to keep their love life a secret.
TWILIGHT’S KISS (SUK SUK), directed by Ray Yeung. (Hong Kong). Two older closeted Hong Kong men fall in love in this drama.
WELCOME TO THE USA, directed by Assel Aushakimova. (Kazakhstan). An autobiographical drama about an immigrant who wins the Green Card lottery.
WHITE LIE, directed by Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas. (Canada). A lesbian thriller.
U.S. NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
BREAKING FAST, directed by Mike Mosallam. (USA). A romantic comedy about being gay, horny and Muslim in the U.S.
CICADA, directed by Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare. (USA). A romantic drama about two strangers developing a connection
COWBOYS, directed by Anna Kerrigan. (USA). Steve Zahn and Jillian Bell star in this drama about trans kids and conservative parents.
GOSSAMER FOLDS, directed by Lisa Donato. (USA). This drama is set in the 1980's Midwest.
MINYAN, directed by Eric Steel. (USA). Another 80s set drama, this one in Brooklyn about a young Jewish man and his repressed home life.
THE OBITUARY OF TUNDE JOHNSON, directed by Ali LeRoi. (USA). A drama about a Black high school student and an encounter with the police. Spotlight Film
SHIVA BABY, directed by Emma Seligman. (USA). A delightful "cringe comedy" about a queer Jewish girl at a Shiva.
SUBLET, directed by Eytan Fox. (Israel/USA). Tony Award-winner and out gay actor John Benjamin Hickey stars in this intergenerational romantic drama about a middle aged man and his young Israeli lover.
TAHARA, directed by Olivia Peace. (USA). A comedy about a Jewish teenager navigating toxic friendships and crushes.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
AHEAD OF THE CURVE, directed by Rivkah Beth Medow and Jen Rainin. (USA). The journey of the historic lesbian publication Curve Magazine. Spotlight Film.
ALWAYS AMBER, directed by Hannah Reinikainen and Lia Hietala. (Sweden). A social media documentary about genderqueer Amber.
CURED, directed by Bennett Singer and Patrick Sammon. (USA). Inside the struggle that led to removing homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses with the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in the 1970s.
THE FLASHPOINT, directed by Wojtek Jankowski. (Poland, India). The rise of right-wing bigotry in Poland.
IF IT WERE LOVE, directed by Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare. (USA). A hybrid dance performance documentary about 15 young dancers.
JULIA SCOTTI: FUNNY THAT WAY, directed by Susan Sandler. (USA). A portrait of 65-year old transgender New York comedian Julia Scotti.
KEITH HARING: STREET ART BOY, directed by Ben Anthony. (U.K.). About the iconic NYC artist and the city he loved. Spotlight Film
KELET, directed by Susani Mahadura. (Finland). A portrait of a Finnish ballroom star and trans model who dreams of making the cover of Vogue magazine. Spotlight film.
KEYBOARD FANTASIES: THE BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND STORY, directed by Posy Dixon. (USA). A portrait of a cult electronic music legend.
KILLING PATIENT ZERO, directed by Laurie Lynd. (Canada). Unravelling the myth of the man scapegoated for spreading the AIDS epidemic.
MAKING SWEET TEA, directed by Patric Chiha. (USA). Follows the lives of six Gay men in the South.
MAURICE HINES: BRING THEM BACK, directed by John Carluccio. (USA). The legacy of an underappreciated Broadway legend.
TRUMAN & TENNESSEE: AN INTIMATE CONVERSATION, directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland. (USA). A dual portrait doc about two iconic American artists.
YOUR MOTHER’S COMFORT, directed by Adam Golub. (Brazil). A trans advocate fighting the hate-filled regime in Brazil.
EPISODICS
DINETTE: SEASON 2, directed by Shaina Feinberg. (USA). A NYC comedy webseries about trying to save a beloved eatery.
EQUAL, directed by Stephen Kijak & Kimberly Reed. (USA). An HBO Max docuseries honoring LGBTQ icons.
SIDEWAYS SMILE: SEASON 1, directed by Hang Nguyen. (USA). An Asian American NYC comedy webseries that explores queer sexuality.
All of that plus dozens of short films. You can buy tickets (which go on sale today) and read more about the films at their official site. The virtual screenings are available in the US only. Sorry international readers!
Reader Comments (5)
IF IT WERE LOVE's one of the best films I've seen all year. I wish more people talked about the cinema of Patric Chiha, a wonderful Austrian filmmaker whose work often dances across the line separating fiction and documentary, film and theatrical performance.
I want to see the one with guy holding the cat.
I have seen a few of these this week during Frameline, SF's LGBT etc. film fest
"Monsoon" is absolutely lovely -- graceful, thoughtful, meditative, and given the magnitude of Henry Golding's stardom, a very aggressive gay role. It might not be to everyone's taste, though (i.e. if you like plot-driven narratives, you might find this one tedious)
"Cowboys" is an honest, moving depiction of a rural family whose child comes out as trans. Tough, honest, well acted.
"Forgotten Roads" is a small gem.
I really want to see "Summer of 85"
Don't miss Suk Suk (translated to 'Uncle' in Mandarin)...I was lucky to have caught it at a special screening before COVID-19. What I loved about it is that the many things unsaid by the main characters and their spouses actually spoke volumes, sometimes more than what had been said.