NewFest Announces Full Lineup For The Second Annual ‘NewFest Pride’ Summer Film Series

NewFest, the New York film and media organizations has announced the full lineup for its second annual NewFest Pride event – a summer film series returning this year from June 2-6 in a hybrid format featuring a mix of exclusive in-person premieres/panels and virtual screenings. The announcement was made today by NewFest’s Executive Director David Hatkoff and Director of Programming Nick McCarthy.

NewFest Pride kicks off the month of Pride by showcasing five new feature films, three screenings of celebrated LGBTQ+ series – including the New York Premiere of the highly anticipated Peacock series “Queer As Folk” from creator/writer/director Stephen Dunn – as well as a Flashback Friday screening and a shorts documentary program focused on LGBTQ+ activists, community leaders and outspoken LGBTQ+ celebrities.

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The five new feature films screening at NewFest Pride will include the previously announced world premiere of Andrew Ahn’s highly anticipated queer romantic comedy FIRE ISLAND, where two friends (Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster) set out to have a legendary summer adventure with the help of cheap rosé and their cadre of eclectic friends. After the initial screening sold out in less than two hours, a late night encore screening was added for 10:00pm on June 2nd.

New feature films also include Chase Joynt’s award-winning documentary Framing Agnes, in which an all-star cast of transgender artists and performers (Angelica Ross, Jen Richards, Zackary Drucker, Silas Howard, Max Wolf Valerio and Stephen Ira) use re-enactment and genre-blurring storytelling techniques to tell the story of a young trans woman who took part in a study in order to receive the gender-affirming care she desperately needed; Sundance and Berlinale sensation Girl Picture, a coming of age film in which three young Finnish women explore their sexuality; Jean Carlomusto’s documentary Esther Newton Made Me Gay, which chronicles the life of cultural anthropologist Esther Newton and her experiences through the women’s liberation movement, lesbian-feminism and trans-masculinity; and the virtual New York premiere of Bretten Hannam’s Wildhood, a Canadian drama where two brothers embark on a journey with a new acquaintance to find lost family, and end up with new discoveries and a reconnection to their indigenous heritage.

On the series side, the festival will host the in-person New York Premiere of the highly anticipated Peacock series “Queer As Folk” from creator/writer/director Stephen Dunn, with the full cast in attendance for a Q&A, as well as virtual screenings of Starz’ award-winning series “P-Valley: Season 2”, featuring a panel with Pulitzer Prize-winner Katori Hall and the series cast, and the season finale of HBO’s historical lesbian drama “Gentleman Jack: Season 2”.

NewFest Pride will also feature the in-person premiere of Authentic Voices of Pride, Presented by Chevrolet, a docu-series tackling some of the LGBTQ+ community’s most important issues featuring Bob the Drag Queen, Marti Gould Cummings, Wanda Sykes, Lance Bass and Wilson Cruz.

“It is an essential time for LGBTQ+ voices to make themselves heard,” said NewFest Executive Director David Hatkoff and Director of Programming Nick McCarthy. “The stories that are part of this year’s NewFest Pride line-up are rebellious, hopeful, romantic and daring, and will remind us this Pride month that our visibility and community spaces are always worth fighting for as we celebrate who we love and who we are.”

FEATURE PREMIERES

FIRE ISLAND, directed by Andrew Ahn, 2022, 106 mins. (USA / Narrative).

Thursday, June 2nd at 7pm (Opening Night Film & Party); SVA Theatre
Thursday, June 2nd at 10pm (Late Night Encore); SVA Theatre

Set in the iconic Pines, the highly anticipated FIRE ISLAND is a hilariously unapologetic, modern day rom-com showcasing a spirited multicultural examination of queerness and romance. Inspired by the timeless pursuits from Jane Austen’s classic PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and written by Joel Kim Booster, this riotous romp centers around two best friends who set out to have a legendary summer adventure with the help of cheap rosé, hot hook-ups, and chosen family. Filmmakers & Cast in attendance.

FRAMING AGNES, directed by Chase Joynt, 2022, 75 mins. (Canada / USA / Documentary).

Sunday, June 5th at 7pm; SVA Theatre (also available virtually)

After discovering case files from a 1950s gender clinic, an all-star cast of trans artists and actors use a talk-show format to resurface the legacy and stories of mid-century trans lives in this Sundance award-winner. Filmmaker Q&A to follow.

ESTHER NEWTON MADE ME GAY, directed by Jean Carlomusto, 2022, 90 mins. (USA / Documentary).

Sunday, June 5th at 3:30pm; SVA Theatre (also available virtually)

Exploring the life and times of cultural anthropologist Esther Newton. The film tells her story of awakening to gay life in the 1950’s, the women’s liberation movement and lesbian-feminism, drag culture and forging a butch identity which for her is now in conversation with trans-masculinity. Keenly attuned to the cultural and societal forces that shaped her life, Esther guides us through an anthropology of herself. Filmmaker Q&A to follow.

GIRL PICTURE, directed by Alli Haapasalo, 2022, 100 mins. (Finland / Narrative).

Saturday, June 4th at 7pm; SVA Theatre (also available virtually)

A charmingly honest portrait of three young women exploring their sexuality, this Sundance award-winning sensation breathes new life into the coming-of-age genre with sensitivity and wit.

WILDHOOD, directed by Bretten Hannam, 2021, 99 mins. (Canada / Narrative).

Virtual Only, June 2 – 6th

Fleeing a rural east-coast trailer park in Canada, Link embarks on a journey to find his birth mother with his half-brother after their father had lied for years about her whereabouts. Along the way as they journey across the gorgeously captured landscape of Mi’kma’ki, Link finds community, identity, and budding romance as he makes a new friend and reconnects with his Indigenous heritage.

TELEVISION SERIES PREMIERES

GENTLEMAN JACK – Season 2, Presented by HBO

Virtual Only, June 2 – 6th

Join NewFest Pride for an advance screening of Season 2: Episodes 7 + 8, followed by a conversation with creator/writer Sally Wainwright and cast Lydia Leonard.

Yorkshire, 1834. All eyes are on Anne Lister and Ann Walker as they set up home together at Shibden Hall as wife and wife, determined to combine their estates and become a power couple. Anne Lister’s entrepreneurial spirit frightens the locals as much as her unconventional love life and, with Halifax on the brink of revolution, her refusal to keep a low profile becomes provocative and dangerous.

Season 2 of GENTLEMAN JACK remains delightfully witty and again uses the real life diaries of Lister – part of which were written in code – as its source, with every part of Lister’s story based in historical fact and the five million words she wrote in her journals.

P-VALLEY – Season 2, Presented by Starz

Virtual Only, June 2 – 6th

Join for an advance screening of Season 2: Episode 1, followed by a conversation with creator/writer Katori Hall and cast Nicco Amman and J. Alphonse Nicholson

Return to the Pynk and your favorite characters for a sizzling second season of the sensational series from

Pulitzer Prize winner Katori Hall.

QUEER AS FOLK, Presented by Peacock Monday, June 6th at 7pm; SVA Theatre

A vibrant reimagining of the groundbreaking British series created by Russell T. Davies, QUEER AS FOLK explores a diverse group of friends in New Orleans whose lives are transformed in the aftermath of a tragedy. The series comes from Creator/Executive Producer Stephen Dunn, Executive Producer/Writer Jaclyn Moore and stars breakout talents Devin Way, Fin Argus, Jesse James Keitel, CG, Johnny Sibilly, Ryan O’Connell, as well as icons Kim Cattrall and Juliette Lewis. Filmmaker and cast Q&A to follow.

SPECIAL SHORTS PROGRAM + PANEL

Authentic Voices of Pride: Screening & Conversation, Presented by Chevrolet

Saturday, June 5th at 3:30pm; SVA Theatre

LGBTQ Nation’s “Authentic Voices of Pride, presented by Chevrolet” docu-series tackles some of the LGBTQ+ community’s most important issues. Each episode highlights a different issue bringing context and original reporting, profiling how real people, activists, policy makers and thought leaders are creating change, and driving a conversation. At this special event screening we’ll share 4 documentary shorts, including a World Premiere, and hear from some of the individuals who shared their stories. We’ll discuss the importance of community and see how these individuals have dedicated themselves to making the world a better place for future LGBTQ+ generations.

Cast: Bob The Drag Queen, Nina West, Honey Mahogany, Marti Cummings, Maebe A. Girl, Liliana Reyes, Stacey & Cheralyn Stevenson, Wilson Cruz, Lily Berlin

Followed by a panel discussion featuring Marti Cummings, Stacey Stevenson, Lilianna Reyes and more. Moderated by Alex Berg.

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