The 34th Edition of NewFest, New York’s largest presenter of LGBTQ+ film & media and the largest convener of LGBTQ+ audiences in the city kicked off yesterday with the World Premiere of Mama’s Boy A Story of Our Americas. This film, an adaption of Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black’s best selling memoir is typical of what we have come to expect from NewFest. There are 130 films being screened over 12 days, and the other added real treat is that its Virtual Progam can be accessed throughout the whole US.
As usual, Queerguru’s team of reviewers have poured through the entire schedule to come up with our
TOP PICKS OF MUST SEE-MOVIES
All The Beauty & Bloodshed. It’s been 8 years since Sabine Lidl’s captivating documentary on the celebrated photographer and activist Nan Goldin (Remember Your Face) but at only 63 minutes long it left us begging for more. Now it’s the turn of Acadamy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras to turn her camera on this legendary figure whose brilliant work often explores LGBT subcultures, moments of intimacy, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and the opioid epidemic. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is an epic, an emotional and interconnected story about Nan Goldin told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her]personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis.
Chrissy Judy takes a poignant dive into what our friendships do for us – in particular those that involve our queer chosen families. Chrissy (Wyatt Fenner) and Judy (Todd Flaherty) are best friends and have been performing drag together for a while, mostly to rather disinterested audiences in New York City and Fire Island. They’ve both recently turned thirty years old and this milestone has triggered Chrissy into reevaluating his life and priorities. He decides to quit performing drag and to move in with his boyfriend Shawn (Kiyon Spencer) who lives in Philadelphia, and transfer his day job there too.
Todd Flaherty has written, directed, and stars in this film, which is beautifully shot in black and white. Strong art direction, cinematography, and good casting with some handsome men complement an often witty script. The overall message here is that our chosen families, although very important, alone usually won’t give us the full life we want. We need to search out and create relationships, careers, housing opportunities, and all the other elements that make up a nourishing life ourselves.
PS, You may also want to check out Queerguru’s interview with director Todd Flaherty https://queerguru.com/todd-flaherty-talks-about-his-directing-debut-chrissy-judy-that-everyone-else-is-now-talking-about-too/
On a film that loosely follows the seasons, to say that Lukas Dhont’s Close might make you weep is as inevitable as saying winter might follow autumn. The emotions are so finely evoked in this masterful coming-of-age drama they could have been drawn with an eyelash. Close is a wounding masterpiece. It aches tragedy and begs questions. Many people will find its journey difficult but also ultimately compelling. The evocation of childhood is universal however its sadness is very particular.
El Houb (The Love) is a tense family melodrama set within the Dutch-Moroccan community in Holland. Successful young businessman Karim (Fahd Larhzaoui) and his Ghanian boyfriend Kofi (Emmanuel Boafo) are in a state of undress at Karim’s smart apartment when Karim’s father Abbas (Slimane Dazi), a postman, delivers a package and sees Karim in Kofi’s bed. Karim’s conservative, religious, family doesn’t know that he is gay and his father’s sight prompts Karim to decide to come out to them.
The film shows that, however tough it may seem at times, there can be an alternative to suffering in silence within a family. A genuine love story, in all senses of the word. Highly recommended.
Jimmy in Saigon. is a real standout film for me. This is a feature documentary by Los Angeles-based filmmaker Peter McDowell and executive producer Dan Savage. Peter chronicles the story of Jim, his eldest brother, a Vietnam War veteran. Jim was quite an alternative thinker and didn’t play by society’s rules. In early 1970 he dropped out of college even though that meant he was likely to be called up for the US army draft. This happened and he spent six months in Vietnam with the US army. Then, once back in the US for a few months, he surprises everyone by deciding to move back to Vietnam as a civilian, even though there is still a full-on war going on. He doesn’t give any reasons for his return to the war-torn country. What could be drawing him back to Saigon? Back in Vietnam, a year later, in 1972, when Jim was 24, he suddenly dies under mysterious circumstances whilst living in a poor part of Saigon. The family learns about Jim’s death by telegram but are not given many details re the cause of death. RF.
Keep The Cameras Rolling is the moving story of HIV/AIDS educator and activist Pedro Zamora’s life and death. Pedro shot to the world’s attention in 1994 as the first person on weekly TV to be completely open about his HIV/AIDS status. Starring in season 3 of the then hugely popular MTV’s ground-breaking reality TV series, The Real World – the world’s first reality TV series – the very handsome, articulate Pedro did more to educate the world on living with HIV than anyone had done in the preceding decade of AIDS.
The opening scene of Lonesome resembles a Hollywood Western as our protagonist Casey (Josh Lavery) keeps pace with the sun while running away from his reality. He dons a cowboy hat and the classic blue jeans and white T-shirt combo that immediately endow him with an eye-candy-cum-rebellious persona. His face has the sharpness as well as the vulnerability of youth. Staying true to his young age, he doesn’t miss a chance to sleep with men, even at his lowest moments. His story is that of a rural gay man making his way into the big city. However, what he lacks is hope. His only redeeming quality is his libido. Lonesome treads familiar territory but is boosted by the decadent charm of Josh Lavery and the director’s reluctance to hold back during the ‘depraved’ moments of the narrative. DL.
Mama’s Boy;. A Story From Our Americas. I fell in love with Dustin Lance Black on Apr 18, 2014 . He was in LA accepting his Academy Award for writing the screenplay for MILK in which he made a promise to all the queer kids watching, that things would get better. Documentary filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau starts his adaption of Black’s memoir with that footage but then goes on to show what poor humble conservative Mormon background he came from. The charismatic Black narrates the story of his fascinating life journey giving so much credit to his mother that had to overcome so much adversity in her life. Trust me after seeing this excellent film, you will love Dustin Lance Black even more
P.S. You may also like to see this interview that Dustin Lance Black gave to Queerguru when the book was first published two years ago
Nelly and Nadine is the unlikely love story between two women falling in love on Christmas Eve, 1944 The film captured me from the beginning; a sequence of a newsreel from April 28th, 1945 shot at Malmö Harbor, Sweden, in which a large group of women reaches freedom after German concentration camps. We see them smile and say hello to the camera, there is Nadine with her white scarf, striped uniform, and that mysterious gaze.
The film has been made with exquisite delicacy to tell a story of survival in the 20th Century. It is also a tale of profound love and intimacy that portrays moments in Nelly & Nadine´s apartment in Caracas, Venezuela, and Sylvie´s home, a place sweeter than home in the French countryside. Magnus Gertten, the director, invites us to a rendezvous as in a family talking about people we know and love deeply.
Queer Arab love stories are brought to life in Egyptian film director Mohammad Shawky Hassan’s colorful new film, Bashtaalak Sa’at (Shall I Compare You to a Summer’s Day?). A lively, handsome group of young queer Arab men, mostly Egyptian and Lebanese, and clad just in their underwear or less, recount their tales of love and lust amongst each other using a variety of inspired means including Arabic poetry, animation, beautiful vocal harmonies, and naked re-enactments. The result is an entertaining, playful portrayal of modern queer life and love in the eastern Mediterranean – contemporary pop culture presented with a nod to traditional Arabic storytelling.
(The Blue Caftan) is director Maryam Touzani’s beautifully poetic drama about the relationship between a closeted Moroccan tailor, Halim, (Saleh Bakri), his dying wife Mina (Lubna Azabal), and their gay male apprentice Youssef (Ayoub Missioui). Beautifully shot and lit by cinematographer Virginie Surdej, with excellent, very tender, performances by the three main actors, Touzani’s intimate, authentic film is paced to reflect the slow-burn of the lives and relationships she is exploring. Her film is a great close-up study of the combinations of despondency, laughter, grief and joy life can entail. BEG, STEAL OR BORROW TO GET A TICKET FOR THIS ONE!
For the full reviews of these films and over 1500 other queer movies check out 