On The Radar: Newfest’s 34th Annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival

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Newfest’s 2022, 34th annual New York LGBTQ+ film festival starts October 13th, ends October 25th, and features the world premieres or New York premieres of many LGBTQIA+ productions. Most, if not all, focus on giving the community diverse visibility and showcases in front of and behind the scene talent.

Like past years, the 34th iteration is doing a hybrid format, meaning it offers virtual options via Newfest’s on-demand platform (restricted to the USA) and the ability to be in attendance for in-person screenings throughout Manhattan, such as the SVA Theatre and LGBT Community Center, as well as Nitehawk Prospect Park in Brooklyn. As with all film festivals, you’ll gain access to films before they reach your local theaters – which may premiere in the coming weeks, months, if not years. So for movie lovers out there, especially those interested in the facets of the LGBTQ+ community and the various narratives you may not have seen yet, this is for you.

Check Out The Full Lineup Here, and general public tickets are already for sale for individual screenings, in-person passes, a virtual access pass, virtual individual tickets, and a combination of those offers here.

Here are our picks of what should be on your radar.

*Movies/ Shorts Restricted To In-Person Viewing Are Noted. Otherwise, the production are considered virtual films or shorts

Black As U R

Acting as both a reflection and confrontation, Michael Rice explores New York’s African-American community’s feelings regarding those who are queer.

I’ll Show You Mine

After building a career sifting through their own trauma, an author has a conversation with their nephew, with wine involved, that dives into his own journey as a model and pansexual influencer.

Featuring: Poorna Jagannathan of “Never Have I Ever.”

Code Switch (Included As Part Of “Black As U R”)

Scene: A Black barbershop, with the usual lively conversations, and there you are, a trans person who doesn’t adhere to gender expression, handling the uncouth and lively debates around you.

FROM X TO Z (Part of Looking Back and Moving Forward: Screening & Conversation)

Two generations collide as a Gen X lesbian finds themselves stuck with a Zennial.

Nana’s Boys

Amari and Q are a gay couple in New York, struggling with what’s next for them, considering Q’s ambitions don’t match Amari’s struggle to make and stick to a plan.

Produced by Nicholas Ashe of “Queen Sugar”

Right Here (Part of “A Very Trans Time”)

After coming out to their parents, an non-binary, Grace somehow ends up at the birthday party of their future self.

Going Away (Part of “A Very Trans Time”)

Secrets are what bond and tear apart friends, and when a crush is revealed between Benji and Luna, it causes a shift in their friendship.

Cosboi (Part of “A Very Trans Time”)

Through car rides with strangers (no clear sign of what is done in said car rides) a teenager explores their identity.

Pierce Me (Part of “A Very Trans Time”)

A chance meeting with someone named Vela, leads to Tommy getting their ears pierced.

Fernanda (Part of “Brooklyn Brunch”)

Like many, the lead wants to make the world a better place, but when you can barely keep your own life together? Priorities matter.

Thank You, Come Again! (Part of “Brooklyn Brunch”)

Grocery lists are made to be the minimum things you can get, not the max, right?

Jelly Bean (Part of “Brooklyn Brunch”)

While dating apps can be scary (for some a last resort), Reyzl is willing to go on them to find love.

Ezra (Part of “All The World’s A Stage”)

While chronically ill, a dancer still has the ability to move and express themselves, and they find solace in continuing to dance in nature.

The Actress (Part of “All The World’s A Stage”)

Covering various moments in film history, trans filmmaker and actor becomes the scene.

Featuring: Isabel Sandoval

Build or Destroy (Part of “All The World’s A Stage”)

Black trans femme performance amidst fiery urban wreckage.

The Birth of a Beautiful Butch (Part of “Experiments on Existence” & “I Like Me For Me”)

School picture day is a snapshot of who you are, and for Alex, the choice between who she sees herself as or how others want her to be seen is daunting.

Lucky Fish (Part of “I Like Me For Me” and “Women’s Night Out Mixtape”)

Two Asian-American teenagers meet in the bathroom of a Chinese restaurant.

As We Hold Hands (Part of “Women’s Night Out Mixtape”)

The relationship between a model and a photographer can be intense, intimate, and personal. All the things needed to fall in love.

All I Ever Wanted (Part of “I Like Me For Me”)

Indoctrinated like most of us by the idea of “The One,” Christine realizes that the gender of her soulmate may not be male but female.

The Spirit God Gave Us (Part of “I Like Me For Me”)

They always say the church is a wonderful place to meet people, but can the same be true if you’re gay?

Starring: Nicholas Ashe

Hidden (Part of “I Like Me For Me”)

Most simply hope their child will end up with someone nice and even dream of grandkids but is Maureen ready for her daughter to end up with someone unexpected?

Hard (Part of “Where The Boys Are”)

Curiosity didn’t lead to a fruitful first time with a girl, so a teenage boy has to question whether his feelings for his best friend are based on a desire for a different kind of intimacy.

Catalina (Part of “Where The Boys Are”)

What better time to deal with unresolved feelings than a weekend trip with your childhood friends?

I Wish I Never Fucking Met You (Part of “Where The Boys Are”)

Whoever said closure was necessary to move on was a liar and psychopath.

Leche Con Cereal (Part of “Where The Boys Are”)

What better way to spend the day sitting in a stranger’s house, “watching it,” than take drugs?

Blood Hana (Part of “Mad As Hell”)

Does God choose your sexuality, or is it free will?

Mom, If I Were A Vampire (Part of “Mad As Hell”)

Wen, an insecure teenage girl who dislikes her disapproving mother, vows to be nothing like her.

Scaring Women At Night (Part of “Mad As Hell”)

Who needs to watch a horror movie when you’re a woman walking home in the middle of the night?

You (Part of “Women’s Night Out Mixtape”)

A girl remembers a past relationship.

Grocery List (Part of “Women’s Night Out Mixtape”)

Grocery shopping is daunting for Lara and Robyn, especially when there are so many betters things to do distractions.

Dress Up (Part of “Women’s Night Out Mixtape”)

On the eve of her sister’s wedding, Karina faces her queer anxieties.

Sleep With Me

Set in the Philippines, Harry, a late-night DJ, hosts an advice show, “Sleep With Me,” made to comfort the brokenhearted. But when she gets the opportunity to have love, so comes the challenge of getting beyond self-imposed and societal limitations to accept what Luna is willing to give.

Five Song Tour (Included As Part Of “Sleep With Me”)

Jules invites her ex-girlfriend to see her perform.

Featuring Britne Oldford of “The Umbrella Academy.”

Blessed and Highly Favored (Part of “Laughing Matters”)

Two spoiled immigrants work on a marijuana farm.

The Ladies (Part of “Laughing Matters”)

Emma scrambles to hide an affair with her grandma’s best friend. Featuring Lisa Ann Walter of “Abbott Elementary.”

The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night (Part of “Laughing Matters”)

Bringing someone home for the first time has always been complicated, but when your family is Pakistani Muslim, you’re queer, and your partner is Puerto Rican? That can be a lot for all parties.

Featuring Vico Ortiz of “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” “Vida,” and “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay.”

Claudia (Part of “Experiments on Existence”)

A teen from El Salvador takes pole dancing classes.

Water Rose (Part of “Excavating Our Story”)

A femme, nonbinary river spirit in historical Korea, meets with a village woman experiencing an abusive marriage.

Anti-Venom For a Snake (Part of “Excavating Our Story”)

After the death of her boyfriend, a drag queen tries to figure a way to pay rent on their own.

The Baldwin Archives (Part of “Excavating Our Story”)

(Appears to be a reenactment of:) Famed author James Baldwin sits with BBC journalist Peter Duval Smith.

How Not To Date While Trans (Part Of “The New Class: Celebrating Emerging Queer Voices”)

You’ve seen “Pose” and many others show what dating as a trans-Black woman is like. Here is a new and modern take.

More Happiness (Part Of “The New Class: Celebrating Emerging Queer Voices”)

Conversations with your mother can be healing, challenging, and eye-opening. For one young woman, a recent conversation with her mother is all three simultaneously.

Mercury Afrograde (Part Of “The New Class: Celebrating Emerging Queer Voices”)

During mercury retrograde, a family’s deepest secrets are revealed.

The Inspection

In Person Only

Chosen families come in all shapes and sizes, and for Ellis, with a distant relationship with his mom and friends dying or ending up in jail, his comes in the form of the United States Marines.

Featuring Jeremy Pope of “Pose,” “Hollywood,” and “One Night in Miami…“, and Gabrielle Union of “Being Mary Jane,” “Breaking In” and so many classics.

Close

In Person Only

Two teenage boys, so close that many mistake them for being in a relationship, find the assumption slowly tearing their friendship apart when they need each other the most.

Before I Change My Mind

In Person Only

Robin, a new kid fully committed to their androgyny, refuses to make their gender clear and rather forge a bond with one of the school’s most charismatic people. All while gaining both positive and negative attention which could complicate this balance they are trying to achieve.

The White Lotus’ Season 2 Premiere

In Person Only

The White Lotus, HBO’s hit series, returns with most of the characters from season 1 not returning, outside of everyone’s favorite Tanya, who now finds herself vacationing in Siciliy with a new set of eccentric staff members and guests to meet.