Forgotten Roads
NewFest, New York’s LGBTQ Film Festival, has announced the lineup for its 32nd annual edition, which includes a dozen U.S. Latinx and Latin American productions within its lineup of over 120 films from 29 countries, available to stream throughout the United States between October 16-27.
NewFest will host the New York premiere of five feature films from Chile and Brazil: Forgotten Roads / La nave del olvido by Nicol Ruiz Benavides, The Strong Ones / Los fuertes by Omar Zuñiga Hidalgo, Alice Júnior by Gil Baroni, Dry Wind / Vento seco by Daniel Nolasco, and Your Mother’s Comfort / Aconchego da tua Mãe by Adam Golub.
Forgotten Roads, the debut feature by Ruiz Benavides, tells the story of the meek 70-year-old Claudina, who makes a journey to her daughter and grandson’s house in Lautaro, after her husband dies unexpectedly. While she certainly doesn’t expect much from rooming in a house somewhat hostile to her presence, a budding romance with Elsa, the married next-door neighbor who moonlights as a gay lounge singer, is one of the unexpected surprises that line her new path. Nicol Ruiz brings her hometown to life in this delicate, young-at-heart romance, depicting Lauturo through its colorful corner stores, gossiping wives, and bordering-on-religious obsession with the UFOs that only come out by night.
Alice Júnior
Winner of the top prize at Mix Brasil, Alice Júnior is a one-of-a-kind charmer infuses the spirit of classic high school films such asAL Mean Girls and The Perks of Being a Wallflower with an electricity that will leave you buzzing with warmth and energy. Forced to leave the coastal city of Recife when her father gets a job in a small conservative town in the South of Brazil, Alice Júnior's life is suddenly thrust into uncertainty and drab dread. Powered by a spirited style rife with color, kitsch, and creativity, Alice Júnior is a celebration of rebellious youth and the potential for future generations to rethink outdated perspectives of gender, sexuality, and differences as a whole.
In Dry Wind from Brazil, a lonely factory worker's sexual fantasies come to life in this hardcore journey of desire and neon-soaked dreams. Exploring the fine line between innocent admiration and all-consuming desire, the film beckons viewers to dream just a little harder.
The Chilean film The Strong Ones tells the romantic saga of a fisherman and an architect in the beautiful landscape of Southern Chile as they find love at the edge of the world. This confidently directed festival favorite, which took home both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at Outfest, spotlights the searing sexiness and electric chemistry of the two charismatic leads (Samuel González and Antonio Altamirano), while impressive cinematography highlights the majestic landscapes.
The Strong Ones
The Brazilian documentary Your Mother’s Comfort is an essential and up-close documentary by award-winning Israeli-American filmmaker Golub that follows Indianara Siqueira’s relentless organizing leading up to one of the most turbulent times in recent global memory. Indianara is a trans sex worker and founder/mother of the lifesaving communal LGBT Casa Nem in Rio de Janeiro, who is determine to resist the potential election of an authoritarian, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, racist, and science-denying regime of "Brazilian Trump" Jair Bolsonaro. Unapologetically honest, thrilling, and personal, this film won the Outfest Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary.
Additionally, NewFest will also screen some Latinx and Latin American shorts: the Brazilian short Breakwater by Cris Lyra, about a group of young lesbians from São Paulo go on a trip to a remote beach for the new year's celebration; Caro Come Out by Brit Fryer and Caro Hernandez, that is an experiment, and a comedy, about coming out to an entire Cuban family; the coming-of-age story Plus by Andrew J Rodriguez on learning self-acceptance, self-worth, and the value of support systems; and the Colombian short Screenshots for a Goodbye by Ruth Caudeli telling the story of Andrea and Maca, who are facing the day after a break-up and struggle with all the difficulties that come with a goodbye between lovers.
Other shorts include Abram Cerda’s Shéár Avory: To Be Continued, a coming-of-age story of Shéár Avory, a 17-year-old aspiring social justice advocate in Los Angeles who navigates housing instability and familial dependency on their journey to adulthood; Lorena Russi’s The Secret Gardener, about a garden party goes off the rails when ladies who brunch devolve into ladies who munch; and Nava Mau’s Waking Hour about a young trans woman, meets Isaac at a party. When he invites her to go home with him, Sofia must talk herself through her options.
