The 36th Annual NewFest:
New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival
October 10 —22, 2024
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.
THE SILENCE OF MY HANDS / EL SILENCIO DE MIS MANOS
A film by Manuel Acuña
(Mexico, 2024, 80 min. In Mexican Sign Language and Spanish with English subtitles)
International Premiere — Q&A
Saira, an immigrant living in California, and Rosa, the first deaf law student in Guadalajara, Mexico, are trying to make a long-distance relationship work. As they navigate the physical distance in their relationship, the couple relies on their trust and deep level of communication to face their challenges head-on.
DUINO
A film by Juan Pablo Di Pace
(108 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
New York Premiere — Q&A
Thirty years after spending a summer in an international school, artistically frustrated film director Matías (writer and co-director Juan Pablo Di Pace) receives an unexpected wedding invitation that reconnects him with old friends. Reunited with Swedish dreamboat Alexander for the first time since their elusive and undeclared first love, Matías is forced to face the demons of his past and close a chapter that still haunts him. Past and present are intrinsically linked in this delightfully romantic drama, as the decisions made under the spell of youth carry sobering repercussions decades later.
Saturday, October 12, 6pm — SVA Theater
Thursday, October 10 — Tuesday, October 22 — Online Streaming
BABY
A film by Marcelo Caetano
(Brazil, 107 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
North American Premiere
At 18 years old, Wellington has been released from a juvenile detention center in São Paulo. With no family, friends or resources to survive on his own, he turns to Ronaldo, a beguiling and experienced older man who introduces him to new and exciting ways to survive in the underbelly of the city. The fun doesn’t last, however, as the passion in their relationship inevitably turns tumultuous. The bustling streets of Brazil come to life with dizzying vibrancy, allure and danger in this sublime feature from this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Baby presents the city as a journey of self-discovery, with desire, emotion and pain hiding in every corner.
PONYBOI
A film by Esteban Arango
(USA, 103 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
East Coast Premiere — Q&A
This exhilarating neo-noir feature based on the NewFest31 award-winning short film is a wild, neon-lit ride through the underbelly of New Jersey. Breakthrough writer and producer River Gallo stars as Ponyboi, who is forced to navigate the intricate terrain of gender affirmation within a perilous battle for survival at some of the Garden State’s shadiest locations, from laundromats to mob dens to 24-hour diners. When they become entangled in a drug deal on Valentine’s Day that goes horribly wrong, chaos and violence erupt and Ponyboi must confront both personal and existential trials.
Fresh off a fiery world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Ponyboi features daring direction from Esteban Arango and memorable performances from a starry cast including Dylan O’Brien, Indya Moore, Victoria Pedretti and Emmy Award winner Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus). This thrilling film mesmerizes by combining a no-holds-barred narrative with suspense, sensuality, high-stakes conflict and relentless action.
THIS IS BALLROOM / SALÃO DE BAILE
A film by Juru and Vitã
(Brazil, 2024, 92 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
East Coast Premiere
Join the ultimate celebration of freedom and self-expression with This Is Ballroom. The beats never cease in this trans-led documentary that transports viewers directly to the pulsating heart of the vibrant ballroom scene in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. The film captures the unique energy of Brazilian ballroom, which bursts with the same explosive energy that propelled the ballroom scene during its early days in New York City . Directed by locally immersed artists Juru and Vitã, this stimulating experience will have you “holding that pose” throughout a euphoric musical and cinematic journey.
Monday, October 14, 7pm — BAM
Thursday, October 10 — Tuesday, October 22 — Online Streaming
HIGH TIDE
A film by Marco Calvani
(USA, 101 min. In English and Portuguese with English subtitles)
New York City Premiere — Q&A with director and protagonist Marco Pigossi
As the season comes to an end on the shores of gay mecca Provincetown, a Brazilian drifter and a sensitive American hunk he meets on the beach begin to fall in love. As their relationship grows deeper, High Tide reveals itself as a complex and inventive narrative about how issues like immigration and race can come between lovers. Deeply attuned to the local idiosyncrasies of its town and community, the film is filled with frank discussions about taboo subjects like interracial sexual objectification and queer alienation. Buoyed by its sterling ensemble, including Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny), film and theater veteran Bill Irwin (Rachel Getting Married) and Independent Spirit Award winner Mya Taylor (Tangerine), High Tide will leave you longing for the halcyon days of summer.
REAS
A film by Lola Arias
(Argentina/Germany/Switzerland, 82 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
New York Premiere
A breathtakingly imaginative nonfiction musical that took this year’s Berlin Film Festival by storm, REAS explores the vital dynamics fostered between long-term and newly admitted inmates at a women’s prison in Buenos Aires. Through fantastical yet grounded re-creations of day-to-day life in the prison—including budding romances, voguing workshops and the formation of a rock band—the formerly incarcerated non-professional ensemble delivers a compelling performance that challenges and affirms their ostensibly oppressive experiences. Anchored by themes of memory, hope and transcendence, Reas is a collaborative work of reclamation, charting the persevering power of community and the exhilarating catharsis that comes from the combined strength of human spirit and artistic expression.
EMILIA PÉREZ
A film by Jacques Audiard
(France, 132 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
From renegade auteur Jacques Audiard comes this double Cannes prize-winning powder keg of a film – an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations. Through liberating song, dance, and bold visuals, this odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness and hopes of liberation. Fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self on a path to personal and holistic emancipation against all odds. Written and directed by Audiard (Rust and Bone, A Prophet), this exhilarating pop opera features sterling support from superstar co-stars Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Edgar Ramírez.
