DEADLINE: NewFest Unveils Full Lineup For 3rd Annual ‘Newfest Pride’ Summer Film Event
May 9, 2023
New York’s NewFest has announced the full lineup for their third annual NewFest Pride Summer Film Series. The event kicks off LGBTQ+ Pride Month from June 1 – 5 in New York, and will feature a mix of exclusive in-person premieres/panels, virtual screenings, and social events. The announcement came today from NewFest’s Executive Director David Hatkoff and Director of Programming Nick McCarthy.
“The LGBTQ+ community is once again under attack, making it all the more essential that NewFest continue to loudly and proudly amplify queer voices,” said NewFest Executive Director David Hatkoff. “We can’t wait to kick off Pride month by bringing the community together for bold new films, necessary conversations, and celebratory social gatherings. Think you can silence us? Ha. Think again.”
“From family dramas to documentaries to absurdist comedies, this year’s line-up includes an expanse of highly anticipated films that capture the varied ways our community expresses pride” said NewFest Director of Programming Nick McCarthy. “We’re excited to honor trailblazers such as Jewelle Gomez and celebrate emerging LGBTQ+ filmmakers such as Aitch Alberto, Julio Torres, Vuk Lungulov-Klotz and Emma Seligman through their authentic and unapologetically queer stories.”
NewFest Pride will showcase nine highly anticipated feature films, including the New York Premiere of the series’ opening night film Fairyland, written and directed by Andrew Durham, produced by Sofia Coppola, and starring Emilia Jones, Scoot McNairy, Geena Davis and Adam Lambert. Fairyland has its world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and is an adaptation of Alysia Abbot’s memoir about growing up with her queer father in 1970s-1980s San Francisco.
The series lineup includes the New York premiere of A24’s Problemista, written and directed by Julio Torrres; the New York premiere of Orion Pictures’ Bottoms, a hilarious and raucous romp directed by NewFest alumni Emma Seligman (SHIVA BABY), and written by Seligman and Rachel Sennott. Bottoms will be followed by NewFest’s Women’s Night Out party.
Additional films in the lineup include the New York premiere of Jewelle: A Just Vision, from award-winning filmmaker Madeleine about novelist, playwright, essayist, poet, and journalist Jewelle Gomez; Mutt directed by NewFest alumni Vuk Lungulov-Klotz; and the New York premiere of Aristotle & Dante Discover The Secrets of The Universe, directed by Aitch Alberto and produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda....
ARISTOTLE & DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE, directed by Aitch Alberto, 2022, 96 mins. (USA / Narrative).
Saturday, June 4th at 4:30pm; SVA Theatre
New York Premiere
Based on a beloved, award-winning novel and produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Valerie Stadler, Dylan Sellers, Chris Parker, Ben Odell and Eugenio Derbez, writer/director Aitch Alberto’s winning coming-of-age tale celebrates the kinship between two Mexican-American teenagers in 1987 El Paso. Aristotle Mendoza wants to blend in and be left alone but everything changes when he meets Dante Quintana at the local swimming pool. Free spirited Dante is everything Ari isn’t, and his wanderlust for life and artistic spirit shake something loose in Ari. When their journey together is suddenly disrupted, Ari must decide if he is going to live in the world of infinite possibilities that Dante represents. Featuring a wonderful ensemble including Max Pelayo, Reese Gonzales, Derbez, Eva Longoria, Veronica Falcón, and Kevin Alejandro, Aristotle & Dante Discover The Secrets of The Universe reveals the difficult yet magical road to becoming one’s authentic self.
