NewFest 2021

View other NewFest Films by strand: Documentary Features, Galas

Boy Meets Boy Boy Meets Boy
Boy Meets Boy and Homebody
All Boys Aren't Blue (Year: 2021; Director: Nathan Hale Williams; Writer: George M Johnson; Stars: Bernard David Jones, Dyllon Burnside, Thomas Hobson, Jenifer Lewis)
A memoir exploring Black masculinity, queerness and gender identity.
Bliss (Glück) (Country: Germany; Year: 2021; Director: Henrika Kull; Writer: Henrika Kull; Stars: Katharina Behrens, Malik Blumenthal, Jean-Luc Bubert, Eva Collé, Ian Hansen, Mike Hoffmann, Ottokar Lehrner, Maria Mägdefrau, Katharina Behrens, Malik Blumenthal, Jean-Luc Bubert, Eva Collé, Ian Hansen, Mike Hoffmann, Ottokar Lehrner)
Two sex workers meet in a Berlin brothel. In a place where the female body is a commodity, they experience moments of happiness.
Boy Meets Boy (Country: Germany; Year: 2021; Director: Daniel Sanchez Lopez; Writer: Daniel Sanchez Lopez, Hannah Renton; Stars: Matthew James Morrison, Alexandros Koutsoulis)
A brief encounter in a Berlin nightclub changes the course of two lives.
Celts (Kelti) (Country: Serbia; Year: 2021; Director: Milica Tomovic; Writer: Tanja Sljivar, Milica Tomovic; Stars: Dubravka Kovjanic, Stefan Trifunovic, Nikola Rakocevic, Slaven Doslo, Jovana Gavrilovic, Milica Grujicic, Olga Odanovic, Nada Sargin, Jelena Djokic, Jovan Belobrkovic, Dubravka Kovjanic, Stefan Trifunovic, Nikola Rakocevic, Slaven Doslo, Jovana Gavrilovic)
Belgrade in 1993. The pent-up tension of uncertain times is released at a children’s birthday party. While the kids celebrate in the living room dressed up as Ninja Turtles, the adults discuss, flirt, smoke and drink in the kitchen.
Cut! (Country: Spain; Year: 2021; Director: Marc Ferrer; Writer: Marc Ferrer; Stars: Silvia Alcaraz, Manuel Delgado, Kike Fernandez, Mark Ferrer, Eduardo Gión, Samantha Hudson)
The director of a low-budget queer thriller tries to solve a violent murder mystery that threatens his set.
Cut! Cut!
Cut! and Sweetheart
Death And Bowling (Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Lyle Kash; Writer: Lyle Kash; Stars: Will Krisanda, Tracy Kowalski, Faith Bryan, Leontine White Foster, Denise Turkan)
In a fictional meta-critique on trans representation, a transgender actor struggles with what it means to be seen after the beloved captain of his lesbian bowling league dies and a mysterious stranger shows up at the funeral.
Firebird (Country: Estonia, UK; Year: 2021; Director: Peeter Rebane; Writer: Tom Prior, Peeter Rebane; Stars: Tom Prior, Nicholas Woodeson, Oleg Zagorodnii, Diana Pozharskaya, Kaspar Vellberg)
A young private in the Soviet Air Force falls for a dashing fighter pilot, but their situation is dangerous and romantically complicated.
Firstness (Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Brielle Brilliant; Writer: Brielle Brilliant; Stars: Tim Kinsella, Spencer Jording, Caleb Cabrera)
A maladjusted dad is trying to heal in an experimental therapy group called Infinite Beginnings. Meanwhile, his non-binary kid is getting close with an older man. Their relationship feels both dreamy and concerning-depending on who is watching.
The First Death Of Joana (A Primeira Morte De Joana) (Country: Brazil; Year: 2021; Director: Cristiane Oliveira; Writer: Gustavo Galvão, Sílvia Lourenço, Cristiane Oliveira; Stars: Letícia Kacperski, Isabela Bressane, Joana Vieira)
Joana, 13, wants to find out why her great aunt died at 70 without ever having dated anyone - but she uncovers more secrets than she expected.
Homebody (Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Joseph Sackett; Writer: Joseph Sackett; Stars: Maria Dizzia, Colby Minifie, Tre Ryder)
Nine-year-old Johnny sends his spirit into his babysitter Melanie and gets to be a woman for a day.
Leading Ladies Leading Ladies
Leading Ladies and The First Death Of Joana
Jump, Darling (Country: Canada; Year: 2020; Director: Phil Connell; Writer: Phil Connell, Genevieve Scott; Stars: Cloris Leachman, Linda Kash, Jayne Eastwood, Andrew Bushell, Daniel Jun)
A rookie drag queen, reeling from a break-up, escapes to the country, where he finds his grandmother in steep decline yet desperate to avoid the local nursing home.
Leading Ladies (Country: Colombia; Year: 2021; Director: Ruth Caudeli; Stars: Diana Wiswell, Silvia Varón, Ana María Cuellar, Marcella Robledo, Ana María Otálora)
A reflection on how different perspectives and memories affect one group of queer women.
Love, Spells And All That (Ask, Buyu Vs) (Country: Turkey; Year: 2019; Director: Ümit Ünal; Writer: Ümit Ünal; Stars: Ece Dizdar, Selen Uçer, Aysenil Samlioglu)
After not having seen each other for 20 years, two women are reunited on the small Turkish island where, as teenagers, they first fell in love.
Metamorphosis (Country: Philippines; Year: 2019; Director: JE Tiglao; Writer: JE Tiglao, Boo Dabu; Stars: Gold Azeron, Iana Bernardez, Dylan Ray Talon)
An intersex boy comes of age and explores the ambiguities of his identity and desires.
My Best Part (Garcon Chiffon) (Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Nicolas Maury; Writer: Maud Ameline, Sophie Fillières, Nicolas Maury; Stars: Nicolas Maury, Nathalie Baye, Arnaud Valois, Théo Christine, Laure Calamy)
Jeremie, a young man at his breaking point, leaves Paris to return to his intrusive mother in Limosin.
The Novice The Novice
The Novice and Metamorphosis
The Novice (Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Lauren Hadaway; Writer: Lauren Hadaway; Stars: Isabelle Fuhrman, Amy Forsyth, Dilone Kate Drummond, Jonathan Cherry, Charlotte Ubben)
A queer college freshman who joins her university’s rowing team and undertakes an obsessive physical and psychological journey to make it to the top varsity boat, no matter the cost.
Poppy Field (Country: Romania; Year: 2020; Director: Eugen Jebeleanu; Writer: Ioana Moraru; Stars: Conrad Mericoffer, Alexandru Potocean, Radouan Leflahi, Cendana Trifan, Ionut Niculae, Alex Calin, Rolando Matsangos, George Pistereanu, Florin Caracala, Ela Ionescu, Mihaela Sirbu, Valentina Zaharia, Gabriel Rauta, Stefan Huluba, Bogdan Nechifor)
The struggle of a closeted young genderme.
The Scary Of Sixty-First (Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Dasha Nekrasova; Writer: Dasha Nekrasova, Madeline Quinn; Stars: Betsey Brown, Madeline Quinn, Dasha Nekrasova, Michael M. Bilandic, Aaron Dalla Villa, Jason Grisell, Stephen Gurewitz, Ruby McCollister, Mark H. Rapaport)
Two mismatched roommates discover and relive the murky secrets of their new Upper East Side apartment.
See You Then (Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Mari Walker; Writer: Kristen Uno, Mari Walker; Stars: Pooya Mohseni, Lynn Chen, Nican Robinson, Danny Jacobs, Nikohl Boosheri)
A decade after abruptly breaking up with Naomi, Kris invites her to dinner to catch-up on their complicated lives, relationships, and Kris’ transition.
The Sixth Reel (Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Carl Andress, Charles Busch; Writer: Carl Andress, Charles Busch; Stars: Charles Busch, Julie Halston, Doug Plaut, Tim Daly, Margaret Cho)
A down-on-his-luck movie collector discovers a legendary lost film and becomes entangled in an outrageous adventure to deliver it to the right hands before it is lost forever
Under My Skin Under My Skin
Under My Skin and The Scary Of Sixty-First
Sweetheart (Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Marley Morrison; Writer: Marley Morrison; Stars: Nell Barlow, Sophia Di Martino, Ella-Rae Smith, Jo Hartley, Samuel Anderson, Steffan Cennydd)
A socially awkward, environmentally conscious teenager is dragged to a coastal holiday park by her painfully family, where she becomes unexpectedly captivated by a chlorine smelling, sun-loving lifeguard.
Under My Skin (Country: Australia, US; Year: 2020; Director: David O'Donnell; Writer: David O'Donnell; Stars: Liv Hewson, Chloe Freeman, Lex Ryan, Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Alex Russell, Alexis Denisof)
Denny, a free spirit and artist falls for Ryan, a strait-laced lawyer. When Denny questions gender their love is tested.
News

59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground

More news and features

Playing Now

Eye For Film continues to support festivals both locally and across the world. At the moment, we're covering:

Abertoir

DOC NYC
New York's celebration of factual film

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
One of the largest film gatherings in northern Europe

French Film Festival
The UK's longest running celebration of Francophone cinema

London Korean Film Festival

In the Archive


Archive of festival coverage.

Daily diary and reviews from 2005-2018.

Coverage of the lynchpin German festival.