NewFest: The New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival has unveiled its lineup for its coming 33rd annual edition, which will take in a hybrid format between October 15 and 26, and features four U.S. Latinx and Latin American films: Caught / Caer by Nicola Mai, Drag Invasion by Alberto Castro, Leading Ladies by Ruth Caudeli, and The First Death of Joana / A Primeira Morte de Joana by Cristiane Oliveira.
In Caught, a trans Latina sex worker is arrested in a sting operation in Queens, NY, but this time it’s all a staged recreation, and when ''Cut!'' is shouted off-camera, the actors relax before the next take. Merging fiction and documentary, Nicola Mai’s innovative hybrid feature explores the epidemics of U.S. incarceration and deportation, making room for the women at the center of the violence to tell their own stories. Created in collaboration with the TRANSgrediendo Intercultural Collective, a grassroots nonprofit defending the rights of trans Latina migrant women in New York City, Caught expresses this struggle for justice and recognition and calls its audience to urgent action.
Bianca Del Rio, Alaska, Jujubee, Valentina, Manila Luzon, Jinkx Monsoon, and Raja — these are just some of the queens featured in Drag Invasion, a fascinating and hilarious glimpse behind the glittery curtain. Following the iconic stars of RuPaul’S Drag Race on tour in Peru, documentarian Alberto Castro celebrates the joy of drag culture while examining how mainstream visibility empowers LGBTQ+ communities throughout the world. Spectacular performances and words of wisdom from the queens are interspersed with candid interviews with queer Peruvians, uncovering the real stories behind the fandom in the context of a homophobic society. This ultimate insider experience into the world of Drag Race becomes a revealing portrait of the international fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
Lies, lust, drugs, and debauchery — and that’s all before dessert! In this sexy new feature from NewFest alum Ruth Caudeli (Eva + Candela, Second Star on the Right), five friends come together for a night of gossip that takes a disastrous turn when long-held secrets bubble to the surface. A point-of-view-shifting snapshot of women navigating guilt in their intimate friendships, the explosive ensemble of Leading Ladies reels the audience further and further into their tangled web.
The First Death of Joana follows a 13-year-old girl who is faced with life’s harsh realities after the sudden death of her beloved great aunt. During long, hot summer days in southern Brazil, she begins to investigate why her aunt never dated anyone and uncovers secrets about her family in the process. As she navigates feelings for her best friend Carolina, Joana realizes she too may be keeping something hidden. Taking audiences on Joana’s exhilarating journey of revelation, director Cristiane Oliveira captures that elusive moment of clarity we are all searching for.
