U.S. Latinx and Latin American Films at NewFest38
MICKEY by Dano García
The 38th Annual NewFest:
New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival
October 15 —25, 2026
Founded in 1988, NewFest is New York’s largest presenter of LGBTQ+ film & media and the largest convener of LGBTQ+ audiences in the city. Cinema Tropical is a community partner.
MICKEY
(Dano García, Mexico, 2026, 75 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
New York Premiere
Filmed over ten years, Mickey follows a trans social media personality from Sinaloa who, alongside the filmmaker she grew up with, draws on digital archives and artistic reenactments to re-signify her past and inhabit the present. The documentary is a deeply personal collaboration between director Dano Garcia and YouTuber Mickey Cundapí, a pioneer of Mexico’s early internet era. Mickey creates social media content under the handle @adiccionallabial (“lipstick addiction”) and has spent the last decade exploring her transition within the conservative context of Sinaloa. Experimenting with images from both IRL and URL, the film—which won the Global Audience Award at this year’s SXSW—moves between tenderness and rage as it guides viewers through Mickey’s memories and process of self-discovery.
GUGU’S WORLD / FEITO PIPA
(Allan Deberton, Brazil, 2026, 93 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
New York Premiere
Eleven-year-old Gugu dreams of becoming a soccer player as he lives under the loving care and unconditional acceptance of his grandmother, Dilma. The pair live by the Araújo Lima Reservoir—now drying up and exposing the town’s ghostly remains—where they share a powerful bond that shields Gugu from the disapproval of his father and the community. As old memories resurface, subtle changes unsettle their routine: Dilma becomes increasingly fragile, and Gugu, determined to keep their world intact, begins to worry about losing the only safe space he’s ever known. Featuring a remarkable performance from Yuri Gomes in the lead role, Allan Deberton’s Gugu’s World is a vibrant coming-of-age story about a young queer boy with exuberant individuality and an irrepressible spirit.
ELEPHANTS IN THE FOG
(Abinash Bikram Shah, Brazil/France/Germany/Nepal/Norway, 2026, 108 min. In Nepali with English subtitles)
New York Premiere
Deep in the forests of rural Nepal, Pirati leads a household of Kinnar women, an ancient third-gender community revered and feared for their perceived spiritual power. As wild elephants descend on the village at night, the villagers take turns patrolling the darkness to protect their crops and homes. Meanwhile, Pirati dreams of escaping this life with the mustachioed Drum Master she loves, beyond the sacred vows that bind her. When one of her daughters disappears during a patrol and the police fail to investigate, Pirati sets out to find answers herself. As the mystery unravels, stirring up dangerous tensions within the family, Pirati is forced to choose between the love she longs for and responsibility for her beloved community. Director Abinash Bikram Shah was the recipient of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
I AM GOING TO MISS YOU / EU VOU TER SAUDADES DE VOCÊ
(Daniel Ribeiro, Brazil, 2026, 87 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
East Coast Premiere
When a long-term relationship begins to unravel, can anything be done to save it? Or will a new love emerge to call everything into question? After seven years, trans couple Amanda and Caio finally move in together. But when the intimacy of daily life exposes differences between them, the relationship starts to fracture. Caught between preserving a shared past and embracing uncertain new paths, Amanda and Caio must confront difficult choices that will redefine who they are individually and together. Set in a gender-affirming world (which includes the election of Brazil’s first trans woman president) and featuring an entirely trans cast, I Am Going to Miss You is a celebratory romantic drama that embraces the complexities of transness as part of everyday life.
ON THE ROAD / EN EL CAMINO
(David Pablos, Mexico, 2025, 93 min. In English, Spanish with English subtitles)
East Coast Premiere
On the dangerous and desolate highways of the Mexican desert, doe-eyed and flirtatious Muñeco hitches a ride with Veneno, a stoic older truck driver. The two quickly form a bond around the loneliness and sexual urges of the road. But soon, they find themselves caught in the web of dangerous Mexican criminal gangs, where desire, violence, and their troubled pasts threaten their lives. Directed with an unflinching eye by David Pablos and produced by Diego Luna, On the Road is a dizzying account of just how inextricable eroticism and sexuality can be from violence and tragedy. The film earned the Queer Lion at last year’s Venice Film Festival.
THE RIVERBANK / A MARGEM DO RIO
(Enock Carvalho & Matheus Farias, Brazil/Germany, 2026, 117 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
East Coast Premiere
Izaquiel works as a cleaner in Recife, a Brazilian city of rivers and mangroves. At night, he dangerously ventures out in search of secret encounters in the forest. When he crosses paths with Jeremias, a magnetic fisherman, Izaquiel’s world is suddenly turned upside down. As violent intruders close in on them, the two descend on a journey of seduction and violence deep into the heart of the mangroves. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at this year’s Locarno International Film Festival, nocturnal queer thriller The Riverbank is an electric debut feature from Brazilian filmmakers Enock Carvalho and Matheus Farias.
NO MONEY NO HONEY
(Nicole Costa, Chile/USA, 2026, 81 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
New York Premiere - Q&A
During the pandemic in New York, travesti sex worker Máxima digs out their old VHS tapes and presses play. This opens a portal into their memory: a river of images spanning a decade across Buenos Aires, Miami, and present-day NYC. NewFest alumna Nicole Costa (The Journey of Monalisa) draws from Máxima’s personal video archives to navigate a fluid story of desire and survival in trans communities throughout the Latin American diaspora. Travesti, a distinct socio-political gender identity originating in South America, is central to the film’s reflections on queerness and migration. The camera observes Máxima closely as they guide us through their life, confronting a complex relationship with their mother and sharing conversations with chosen family on their journey to reconcile with and reclaim the past.
CHAVELA
(Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi, Mexico/Spain/USA, 2017, 93 min. In English, Spanish with English subtitles)
With its lyrical structure, Chavela takes viewers on an evocative, thought-provoking journey through the life of iconoclastic artist Chavela Vargas. Vargas chats with a group of young lesbian admirers in footage from 1991, offering a rare, intimate look at the iconic singer at a pivotal time. This unique interview takes place just before Vargas heads to Spain, having returned to the stage after a 12-year struggle with alcoholism and a painful breakup. It explores her fascinating life, from her birth in Costa Rica to her everlasting presence on Earth in the form of passionate love songs and deep relationships with people.
Virtual Exclusive — Thursday, October 15 through Friday, October 30
TRIVAKRA
(Sofia Angst, Brazil, 2025, 10 min.)
Trivakra moves through the memories of a child, crossed by gender biotechnologies that reshape their body and their history.
DADDY HAS ME DETRANSITIONING
(Yoyo Rita, USA/Mexico, 9min)
Gender deviant Leni, a trans man, goes to the US passport office in female drag to try and get his passport renewed.
CEPHALOPODS
(Vic Casé, Brazil, 15min.)
Duda is just beginning her career as a drag queen in a vast metropolis in a distant future.
CHULO
(Joshua Hernandez, Puerto Rico, 2026, 15min.)
Gael visits their family in Puerto Rico at the height of summer and soon meets Mateo, a handsome local who changes their life forever.
THE FEELS – OR THE DEBILITATED CONDITION OF THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
(Carolina Costa, Mexico, 2026, 11min.)
In a near-future world, a corporation has engineered the ultimate emotional commodity: the feels, curated emotional hits from social media memories, delivered directly into the nervous system.
