NEW YORK — One of the world’s most respected LGBTQ film festivals is about to begin.
Over the next 12 days, the 34th annual edition of the New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival will celebrate the power of queer, trans and nonbinary storytelling with U.S. and world premieres, star-studded red carpets, fabulous parties — and even a singalong homage to the late LGBTQ ally Olivia Newton-John in the 1980 camp classic “Xanadu.”
This year, more than 130 films and episodic series from 23 countries will make sure that “LGBTQ+ voices are amplified, heard, empowered and celebrated,” according to David Hatkoff, executive director of NewFest, the New York City-based nonprofit that has been bringing the festival to life since 1988.
From an award-winning documentary examining homophobia within the Black community; to an inspiring look at a group of conservative moms who became fierce LGBTQ advocates after their children came out as queer or trans; to an autobiographical tale about homophobia and the U.S. military, this year’s festival comes at a pivotal moment in the fight for equality in the U.S. when “across the country, there’s legislation that’s trying to stifle queer voices,” Hatkoff told the Daily News.
“That was our mandate this year — as it is every year, but especially during a time when our stories are being silenced: To make sure that we’re shouting from the rooftops that these stories matter, and that they deserve to be heard and celebrated,” he added.
That enthusiasm was reflected in the record number of film submissions the festival received this year: Nearly 1,000 of them, up from around 750 last year, according to Nick McCarthy, NewFest’s director of programming.
“This year, we’re seeing a more robust creativity within the queer community,” McCarthy said, noting that while that makes the selection process “tougher,” showcasing the diversity within the community has always been part of the festival’s mission.
“We want to celebrate voices from underrepresented communities within our community. So this year, again, over 50% (of entries) are directed by women, nonbinary and two-spirit filmmakers,” McCarthy said, using an umbrella term often used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe those who identify as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit.
“And 64% of the lineup is by and about underrepresented voices in the community — that would be women, people of color, trans, nonbinary, indigenous, bi and disabled,” he added.
Kicking off Thursday with the world premiere of “Mama’s Boy” — a HBO documentary that centers around the upbringing of Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and his relationship with his conservative Mormon mother — this year’s in-person premieres will take place in Manhattan at the SVA Theatre and the LGBT Community Center; and in Brooklyn, at Nitehawk Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Highlights from this year’s program include “The Inspection,” a story about a gay Black man who’s rejected by his mother directed by NewFest alumni Elegance Bratton and starring Jeremy Pope and Gabrielle Union; the Harry Styles-starred bisexual drama “My Policeman;” and the U.S. premiere of “Rule 34,” an award-winning Brazilian psychosexual drama about a law student and women’s rights activist who turns to online sex work at night — “a really powerful film by filmmaker Julia Murat,” according to McCarthy.
Among the festival’s documentary offerings, some of the highlights include “Black As U R,” Brooklyn-based filmmaker’s Micheal Rice provocative examination of homophobia and transphobia within the African-American communities in the Black Lives Matter era; “Keep the Cameras Rolling: The Pedro Zamora Way,” about the late Cuban-American activist who became one of the first openly gay men with AIDS to be featured in the media when he was cast on MTV’s “The Real World: San Francisco” in 1994; and “Mama Bears,” a powerful film about a network of women, many of them coming from conservative Christian backgrounds, whose love for their queer and trans children turn them into fierce LGBTQ advocates.
“It’s just a really moving, galvanizing look at how the parent-child relationship can really affect someone’s worldview,” Hatkoff said.
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(For tickets and a full list of screenings and events , visit NewFest.com.)
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