Brazilian film The City of the Future / A Cidade do Futuro by Cláudio Marques and Marília Hughes Guerreiro won the Jury Award for Best International Narrative at the 29th edition of NewFest, New York City's annual LGBT film festival.
Set in a remote part of Brazil, The City of the Future follows the triad of Mila, Igor, and Gilmar, who are determined to break away and form their own nontraditional family, defying the definitions that society has attempted to impose on them. As they prepare for the birth of their child, the three contemplate their intertwining relationships. Directors Cláudio Marques and Marília Hughes Guerreiro have boldly collaborated on a naturalistic film that shuns convention, instead embracing love in all its dazzling iterations.
The jury also gave a special mention to Chilean Manuela Guevara for her riveting performance in The Devil's Magnificent / El diablo es magnífico by Nicolás Videla, which has its world premiere at the festival. Guevara co-wrote the film, in which she plays Manu, a trans immigrant who must return to her native Chile after 10 years in France. In the days leading up to her departure, Manu’s platonic friend Daniel proposes marriage with the intention of solving her visa issues. Manu strongly considers the offer, but she’s wholly disheartened at the prospect of a life without love, romance, and sex—that is, until she meets a fellow foreigner who instills in her the hope for a romantic future.
The 29th edition of NewFest took place October 19 - 24 in New York City.
