The 37th New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival unfolded across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and virtually across the United States from October 9 to 21, 2025. This year’s edition offered one of the most ambitious programs in the festival’s history, presenting 144 titles that blended new discoveries, legacy screenings, and a dazzling spectrum of shorts and episodics.

‍NewFest37 presented films and programs from more than 25 countries across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The lineup created a portrait of queer cinema that is as expansive as it is intimate, balancing urgent stories with moments of joy and fantasy.

Opening and Closing Nights

The festival began on Broadway. Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon opened NewFest37 with a bittersweet dive into 1943 New York on the night of Oklahoma!’s premiere. Ethan Hawke stars as lyricist Lorenz Hart, brilliant and queer, yet consumed by resentment after his partner Richard Rodgers, played by Andrew Scott, leaves for Oscar Hammerstein. Written by Robert Kaplow, the film refracts the glitter of Broadway through Hart’s loneliness and wit, with Margaret Qualley and Bobby Cannavale completing the ensemble. Hawke delivers one of his most vulnerable performances, turning Hart’s quips into a shield for longing and loss.

Closing night belonged to Christy, directed by David Michôd. Sydney Sweeney embodies Christy Martin, the small town fighter who became a boxing champion while wrestling with her identity and survival outside the ring. With Ben Foster as her trainer and Merritt Wever and Katy O’Brian in key roles, Christy confronts resilience, violence, and the cost of living truthfully. It was a gripping way to lower the curtain on a festival defined by courage.

Centerpieces

A Deeper Love: The Story of Miss Peppermint (USA)

Director: Oriel Pe’er
Cast: Miss Peppermint, family, collaborators, and community voices

A heartfelt documentary that celebrates Miss Peppermint, the beloved New York drag performer, activist, and television personality. Through intimate interviews and candid moments, the film follows her journey from the stages of Manhattan to becoming one of the most visible Black trans women in American media. It charts her struggles and triumphs, her voice as a political advocate, and her lasting impact on drag culture and LGBTQ+ visibility. A Deeper Love is both a portrait of an icon and a tribute to the communities she represents, reminding audiences of the power of authenticity, activism, and chosen family.

Fucktoys (USA)

Director and Writer: Annapurna Sriram
Cast: Annapurna Sriram, Big Freedia, Sadie Scott, François Arnaud, Brandon Flynn

Annapurna Sriram’s debut feature is a wild blend of satire, fantasy, and sexual comedy. Set in Trashtown, USA, the story follows AP, a part time sex worker who must earn a thousand dollars to lift a curse. Along the way she stumbles through sex parties, eccentric queers, and a love interest obsessed with murder podcasts. The film is filthy, hilarious, and constantly surprising, yet beneath the chaos beats a tender heart. With a bold visual style, a magnetic performance by Sriram, and appearances by Big Freedia and others, Fucktoys offers a fearless vision of queer life that is outrageous and moving in equal measure.

Night Stage (Brazil)

Directors: Filipe Matzembacher, Marcio Reolon
Cast: Paulo Miklos, Bruno Carboni, Juan Paiva, and ensemble

This Brazilian work unfolds in a late night cruising park in Porto Alegre. Over the course of a single night strangers meet and collide, their stories interwoven through sex, music, and fleeting conversation. Night Stage captures the politics of public intimacy, the fragility of queer spaces, and the beauty of encounters that happen in the shadows. Shot with saturated colors and a patient gaze, the film resists neat narratives and instead offers a mosaic of experience, moving between tenderness, lust, loneliness, and danger. It is a cinematic exploration of desire as performance, a nocturnal stage where bodies reveal truths that words cannot.

Come See Me in the Good Light (USA)

Director: Ryan White
Cast: Andrea Gibson, Megan Falley

Ryan White’s moving documentary follows poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley as they confront love, illness, and mortality with unflinching honesty. Known for their spoken word performances, Gibson faces a cancer diagnosis while navigating their relationship with Falley. The film blends archival material, intimate home recordings, and on stage readings, shaping a portrait of two artists who turn pain into poetry and fear into hope. Come See Me in the Good Light is a story of resilience and companionship, about the courage to live openly and brightly even in the face of fragility.

Narrative Features

A Night Like This (UK)

Director: Liam Calvert
Writer: Diego Scerrati
Cast: Alexander Lincoln, David Bradley, Jack Brett Anderson

A gay actor struggling in London and a privileged man with a failing business collide one December night. Their chance meeting evolves into a candid journey of connection, recalling Before Sunrise and Weekend with warmth and intimacy.

All About Eve (USA)

Director and Writer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Marilyn Monroe, and others.

One night after a performance, aging stage actress Margo Channing meets an adoring fan, Eve, who quickly inserts herself into Margo’s life. Eve’s ruthless ambition soon becomes clear, threatening Margo’s career and closest relationships. Scathing, witty, and endlessly quotable, the film remains one of Hollywood’s sharpest dissections of ambition and aging.

At the Place of Ghosts (Canada/USA)

Director and Writer: Bretten Hannam
Cast: Blake Alec Miranda, Forrest Goodluck, Glen Gould, Brandon Oakes, Cherish Violet Blood

Haunted siblings return to ancestral Mi’kmaw land to face trauma and a dark spirit. Once inseparable, they are forced to confront their caretaker’s cruelty, buried secrets, and their own deepest fears. Hannam shapes an odyssey of healing, where love repressed becomes the fiercest weapon against hate.

Bearcave (Greece)

Directors and Writers: Krysianna B. Papadakis, Stergios Dinopoulos
Cast: Hara Kyriazi, Pamela Oikonomaki

Two young women in a rural Greek town stand at the edge of adulthood. One must take over her family’s declining farm, the other is pressured into a relationship with a celebrated policeman. Their friendship grows into something deeper, defying the traditions of their community. Set in the green mountains of Greece, Bearcave is a raw and unconventional tale of love and fate.

Blue Film (USA)

Director and Writer: Elliot Tuttle
Cast: Kieron Moore, Reed Birney

A jaded camboy agrees to spend a night with an anonymous client, only to realize they share a darker and more complicated past. Tuttle’s chamber drama confronts the thorny edges of desire, exploring how intimacy can wound and reveal.

Born Yesterday (USA)

Director: George Cukor
Writer: Albert Mannheimer
Cast: Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford, William Holden

In this American spin on Pygmalion, Judy Holliday shines as Billie, the mistress of a junkyard tycoon embarrassed by her lack of refinement. With the help of a journalist, Billie awakens to her own intelligence and independence. Sharp and political, the comedy earned Holliday her Oscar-winning performance.

Desert Hearts (USA)

Director: Donna Deitch
Writer: Natalie Cooper
Cast: Helen Shaver, Patricia Charbonneau, Audra Lindley

Set in Nevada in 1959, Professor Vivian Bell arrives for a divorce and meets Cay Rivers, a free-spirited sculptor. Their romance, daring for its time, unfolds with passion and tenderness, redefining what lesbian cinema could be. Nearly four decades on, it remains a landmark of queer love stories.

Dreamers (UK)

Director and Writer: Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
Cast: Ronke Adékoluejo, Ann Akinjirin, Diana Yekinni, Aiysha Hart

Two migrants fall in love in a UK detention center, their fragile connection becoming an oasis amid bureaucracy and fear. With a tender lens, Gharoro-Akpojotor condemns inhumane systems while insisting that love can survive against all odds.

Fantasy ‍

(Slovenia/Albania/Serbia/Bosnia/Macedonia)

Director and Writer: Kukla
Cast: Sarah Al Saleh, Alina Juhart, Mina Milovanović, Mia Skrbinac

Three best friends in Slovenia push back against rigid norms until they meet Fantasy, a vibrant trans woman whose presence disrupts their dynamic. Friendships evolve, desires surface, and identities blur in this charged coming-of-age tale.

Four Mothers (Ireland/UK)

Director: Darren Thornton
Writers: Darren Thornton, Colin Thornton
Cast: James McArdle, Fionnula Flanagan, Dearbhla Molloy

Gay novelist Edward cares for his ailing mother when his friends leave him in charge of their mothers too. Suddenly surrounded by four stubborn older women, Edward must decide when duty to others ends and commitment to himself begins. Warm, witty, and full of heart, Four Mothers is a comedy about family and freedom.

I Wish You All the Best (USA)

Director and Writer: Tommy Dorfman
Cast: Corey Fogelmanis, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Lena Dunham, Alexandra Daddario

Adapted from Mason Deaver’s novel, the film follows Ben, a nonbinary teen cast out by conservative parents. With support from chosen family and a growing bond with a classmate, Ben finds the courage to resist, heal, and live authentically.

If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart in Your Mouth and Smile (Austria)

Director and Writer: Marie Luise Lehner
Cast: Siena Popović, Mariya Menner, Daniel Sea

A deaf mother and her child Anna navigate class struggle and bodily autonomy in Vienna. When Anna begins high school, she faces the cost of fitting in but finds solidarity with a friend whose parent is a trans man. Tender and defiant, this is a cinematic letter of dissent from Vienna’s queer and trans voices.

In Transit (USA)

Director: Jaclyn Bethany
Writer: Alex Sarrigeorgiou
Cast: Jennifer Ehle, Alex Sarrigeorgiou, François Arnaud

In a Maine town, a painter asks a bartender to model for her. Their collaboration unlocks buried emotions and unspoken desire. Bethany crafts a meditation on muses and creativity, where art becomes a channel for intimacy and longing.

Jason and Shirley Revisited (USA)

Director: Stephen Winter
Writers: Sarah Schulman, Jack Waters, Stephen Winter
Cast: Jack Waters, Sarah Schulman

A radical revisiting of Shirley Clarke’s Portrait of Jason. With new footage and re-enactments, Stephen Winter reopens contradictions rather than resolving them. Time folds and ghosts speak back in a work that blurs biography, fiction, and performance.

Lesbian Space Princess (Australia)

Directors and Writers: Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela Varghese
Cast: Shabana Azeez, Demi Lardner

On the planet Clitopolis, Princess Saira struggles with her awkwardness and longs to prove herself. When her ex-girlfriend is kidnapped by Straight White Maliens, she sets off on a journey of love and self-acceptance. A queer animated sci-fi comedy, silly and heartfelt in equal measure.

Love Letters (France)

Director: Alice Douard
Writers: Julie Debiton, Alice Douard, Laurette Polmanss
Cast: Ella Rumpf, Monia Chokri

In Paris, Céline awaits the birth of her first child carried by her wife Nadia. Forced to gather letters to legally adopt her daughter, she is pushed into reflection on what makes a good parent. Bureaucratic struggle evolves into a journey of self-discovery and love.

Only Good Things (Brazil)

Director and Writer: Daniel Nolasco
Cast: Lucas Drummond, Liev Carlos

In rural Brazil in 1984, Antonio, a farmer, takes in Marcelo, a motorcyclist injured on the road. Their romance grows against the backdrop of conservative pressures, destabilizing both their lives in a beautifully bold tale of queer love.

Other People’s Bodies (USA)

Director and Writer: Alan Brown
Cast: McKinley Belcher III, Jasai Chase-Owens, Annie Parisse

At a country estate, Olivia and Seb host a reunion with Olivia’s former dance partner, who is also Seb’s old lover. Old wounds and sexual tensions rise in this reimagining of La Piscine, where desire and betrayal spill over.

Queens of the Dead (USA)

Director and Writer: Tina Romero
Cast: Jaquel Spivey, Katy O’Brian, Dominique Jackson, Margaret Cho

Brooklyn’s wildest queer party descends into chaos as performers and organizers face a zombie outbreak. With camp, horror, and fabulous drag energy, Romero delivers a party turned apocalypse where survival never looked so stylish.

Queerpanorama (Hong Kong)

Director and Writer: Jun Li
Cast: Jayden Cheung, Erfan Shekarriz, Sebastian Mahito Soukup

A gay man cycles through a series of lovers, each time impersonating the last man he slept with. Filmed in black and white with long, unbroken scenes, Queerpanorama meditates on desire, identity, and the masks we wear to be seen.

Same, Again (Spain)

Director and Writer: Ruth Caudeli
Cast: Silvia Santamaría, Ana María Otálora

A theater group’s rehearsal process unravels into confessions of abuse, homophobia, and silenced pain. Entirely improvised with remarkable precision, the ensemble reveals the power of shared truth and collective resilience.

Sauna (Denmark)

Director: Mathias Broe
Writer: William Lippert
Cast: Magnus Juhl Andersen, Nina Terese Rask

In a Copenhagen bathhouse, Johan, a cis man adrift, meets William, a trans man struggling within Denmark’s medical system. Their encounter challenges prejudice and sparks intimacy. A quiet and intimate romance that refuses easy answers.

She’s the He (USA)

Director and Writer: Siobhan McCarthy
Cast: Misha Osherovich, Nico Carney

Two high school friends pretend to be trans to meet girls, until one discovers that she is not pretending. A teen comedy that blends irreverence with sincerity, flipping panic into revelation.

Summer’s Camera (Korea)

Director and Writer: Divine Sung
Cast: Kim Sia, Kwak Minkyu

After her father’s death, Summer puts down her camera, only to rediscover passion when she falls for a soccer player. Unraveling a mystery in her father’s photos, she learns new truths about love and family.

Sunset Boulevard (USA)

Director: Billy Wilder
Writers: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D. M. Marshman Jr.
Cast: Gloria Swanson, William Holden

Billy Wilder’s masterpiece tells the story of Norma Desmond, a faded silent movie star who refuses to accept change. A biting satire of Hollywood ambition and decline, with one of cinema’s most legendary performances.

The Celluloid Closet (USA)

Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Writers: Vito Russo, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Cast: Lily Tomlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Harvey Fierstein, Susan Sarandon

Based on Vito Russo’s groundbreaking book, this documentary traces a hundred years of queer representation in Hollywood. Featuring interviews and clips from over 120 films, it reveals how cinema shaped and distorted LGBTQ+ lives on screen.

The Chronology of Water (USA)

Director and Writer: Kristen Stewart
Cast: Imogen Poots, Thora Birch, Tom Sturridge

Kristen Stewart adapts Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir, telling the story of a swimmer who finds solace in literature after a turbulent youth. Fragmented and poetic, the film captures catharsis through art and survival.

The Serpent’s Skin (Australia)

Director and Writer: Alice Maio Mackay
Cast: Alexandra McVicker, Avalon Fast

Anna moves in with her sister and discovers her own supernatural powers through a bond with a tattoo artist. A trans horror vision filled with demons, desire, and rebellion, The Serpent’s Skin embraces both trauma and queer fury.

We Are Faheem & Karun (India)

Director: Onir
Writers: Onir, Fawzia Mirza
Cast: Mir Tawseef, Akash Menon

When a border patrol guard accepts an apple from a man crossing from Kashmir into India, an unexpected romance begins. Against religion, ethnicity, and societal pressures, their fragile but passionate connection becomes an act of defiance.

Documentaries

The nonfiction slate spotlighted community, memory, and activism. Highlights included Night in West Texas, Niñxs, Queer as Punk, Rock Out, and Second Nature, films that stretched from rural landscapes to underground music scenes, always centering queer lives.

Legacy and Retrospectives

The festival honored history with screenings of Desert Hearts, My Beautiful Laundrette (40th anniversary Film Feast), The Celluloid Closet (30th anniversary), and audience favorites Mamma Mia! and Josie and the Pussycats. At BAM, the 1950 Best Actress Trifecta brought All About Eve, Born Yesterday, and Sunset Boulevard back to the big screen. These screenings connected the present moment to cinema’s past, celebrating the history of queer subtext and the stars who carried it.

Episodic Showcase

Queer television found its space too, with pilots like Daddies Boi, DENIM, and All the Things I Leave You, alongside a Netflix preview of BOOTS: The Pink Marine.

Shorts Programs

Avant Queer

These bold films expand the possibilities of cinema with experimental narratives, striking aesthetics, and complex queer characters. Themes of family, connection, and transformation run throughout, showing how emotion and innovation can reimagine both storytelling and queer life.

Two Black Boys in Paradise — dir. Baz Sells, UK
An animated adaptation of Dean Atta’s poem follows Edan and Dula on a tender journey of queer self-acceptance and love.

Strawberry Shortcake — dir. Deborah Devyn Chuang, Taiwan
A surreal coming-of-age where 16-year-old Lolo becomes caught in a Freudian loop between fantasy, reality, and the figure of their mother.

Spa Night — dir. Jeremy Feight, USA
A lonely heart visits a luxe Manhattan spa where lust and longing mix with chaos in a surreal night of glances and encounters.

Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites — dir. Chheangkea, Cambodia/France/USA
When her family gathers for Qingming, a mischievous grandmother slips back from the afterlife after hearing her queer grandson may marry a woman.

Houston, We Have a Crush — dir. Omer Ben Shachar, USA
A lonely alien discovers a phone left behind by an astronaut and falls into an obsessive crush that blurs reality.

The Immaculate Honey — dir. Mauricio Calderon Rico, Mexico
Chucho spends a few days under the care of his mother Alma, a brief time that deepens their fragile bond.

One Day This Kid — dir. Alexander Farah, Canada
A young brown man wrestles with desire, shame, and his father’s expectations as he searches for a self he has never been shown.

All About the T

A trans-led and nonconforming program of bold, unfiltered short films. Rooted in community, resistance, and care, these radical works center self-determination beyond survival. Dissident bodies come together to claim space, embrace each other, and create futures.

Are You Scared To Be Yourself Because You Think That You Might Fail? — dir. Bec Pecaut, Canada
Recovering from top surgery, Mad wrestles with wanting their partner’s attention while learning to accept help from their mother.

A Kin Sin — dir. Gulzar, Canada
While oiling a friend’s scalp, filmmaker Gulzar reflects on gender, culture, and family expectations.

Purebred — dir. Caleb J. Roberts, Ireland/UK
On a sweltering day, Owen, a transgender man, faces the possibility of pregnancy and the complications of love with his on-and-off partner.

Flash Sale — dir. Autumn Boxley, USA
Two trans men in Brooklyn stage an unlikely campaign to raise money for top surgery, confronting bias with humor and grit.

Red Light Green — dir. Eva Wu, USA/Germany
A rotating, hypnotic sensory world unfolds with gyrating nymphs, a tribute to trans, queer, and marginalized communities who live beyond compromise.

Rope — dir. Lucas Manuel-Scheibe, USA
In the midst of bondage play, Aki recalls his grandmother’s disappearance into the sea, a story that mirrors his own drifting from love and constraint.

Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo): Radical Transparency — dir. Drew de Pinto, USA
An intimate portrait of artist Puppies Puppies, who turns her bedroom into a public installation at the New Museum, blurring art and life.

Moonbeams — dir. Elo Santa Maria, USA
Separated in solitary confinement for taking hormones, Frankie and his lover June search for a way back to each other while plotting escape.

Dyke Nyte

Dyke drama and lesbian longing abound in this eclectic set of sapphic shorts, from chaotic meet-cutes at Riis Beach to double date panic, painting debates, and a fearless barrel racer’s return to love.

Girlfriend Girlfriend — dir. Sara Werner, USA
When her new coworker asks an intrusive question, a woman retreats deep into her own mind.

2 Girls Kissing — dir. Noah Schamus, USA
A young director’s nerves unravel when her lead actress, who is also her girlfriend, refuses to answer calls or show up on set.

Riis — dir. Kendall Alex Payne, USA
At New York’s queer beach, a hopeless romantic and friends plot the perfect meet-cute, but dysphoria and chance encounters lead to unexpected bonds.

Happy Place — dir. Sara Monge, USA
Anna goes to a lesbian engagement party hoping to sort out her sexuality, only to stumble into something far more unsettling.

New Acquisition — dir. Caledonia Abbey, UK
A young couple debates whether a painting deserves to hang in their new apartment.

Seek No Favor — dirs. Elle Clay and Leilah Weinraub, USA
Monroe Malone, still recovering from job loss, stumbles into a weave-snatching cartel and an inventive plot that forces him into action.

Double Date — dir. Hannah Wolf, USA
Nervous before a third date, a newly out middle-aged lesbian hires a sex worker to help her prepare.

Calamity Jane — dir. Robin Cloud, USA
After surviving a near-fatal accident, a barrel racer must face her fears in the arena and in love.

Food, Glorious Food

From unexpected dinner guests to absurd family rituals, this collection of shorts shows how food, messy or magical, shapes queer lives. Comfort, chaos, and mystery come to the table in equal measure.

In The Flesh — dir. Emily Frances Kaplan, USA
A perfect housewife secretly obsesses over meat and the butcher who knows how to handle it, until a chance encounter exposes cracks in her home life.

The Eating Of An Orange — dir. May Kindred-Boothby, UK
A surreal exploration of desire and convention unfolds through slugs, rituals, and the act of eating an orange.

home — dir. Donja R. Love, USA
On a pivotal night, a homeless queer teen named T makes a life-changing decision in search of shelter.

Coney Island Baby — dir. Fernando Lopez, USA
A recently released father struggles to reconnect with his daughter on a trip to Coney Island, only to discover the park is closed.

Carrotica — dir. Daniel Sterlin-Altman, Germany
A teenage boy secretly writes explicit gay erotica as his mother falls for a carrot, in a strange tale of desire and absurdity.

Meal Pal — dir. Chen Xie, China/USA
Two lonely strangers meet in a motel after midnight and share a magical, fleeting encounter.

Long Pork — dir. Iris Dukatt, USA
In a post-Roe America, a butcher faces the man responsible for her daughter’s death and takes bloody revenge that sparks a revolution.

Sunday Sauce — dir. Matt Campanella, USA
At Sunday dinner, an Italian American father’s repression unravels when his secret online crush shows up at the table.

Here Come the Dolls

An audacious program celebrating the brilliance of trans women and those who love them. From vengeful resurrections to secret cults, shoplifters turned revolutionaries to harrowing births, these genre-defying films crown the Dolls as auteurs, protagonists, dreamers, and disruptors.

Miss — dir. Alexandra Stergiou, USA
Four days after coming out, Sophie takes her first steps in public as a woman with her partner Jess at her side, seeking courage in an unexpected place.

Dolls — dir. Geena Rocero, USA
A junior investigator infiltrates a workshop for trans women called DOLLS, only to uncover a sinister presence beneath the surface.

Purple Patrol! — dir. Jessica Q. Moore, USA
A vigilante trio summons otherworldly powers to defend their queer community in a comic book–styled battle for survival.

Rainbow Girls — dir. Nana Duffuor, USA
Amid San Francisco’s tech-fueled gentrification, three Black trans youth stage a daring heist against the city’s most exclusive luxury stores.

TransVengeance — dir. Kaye Adeladie, Canada
A trans woman dies during surgery but rises again, proving that death itself cannot stop a fierce determination to exist.

The Dysphoria — dir. Kylie Aoibheann, Australia
Attempting a Satanic ritual to affirm her body, a woman accidentally summons a demonic force demanding an unbearable price.

Artifice — dir. Theo Rose, USA
A mystic performer confronts her own shadow in a surreal blend of projection, pronouns, and hauntings at a local café.

Birth of the Hive Queen — dir. Tempest Creation, USA
Amina, a trans sex worker, undergoes a grotesque and defiant birth that transforms her body and destiny.

If You Wanna Be My Loverboy

Desire between men drives this program, from bathhouse shadows and Fire Island feuds to forbidden hookups, interstellar love, and erotic rituals. These shorts revel in fantasy, taboo, and the raw thrill of longing.

Orion’s Quest — dir. Steven Chew, USA
On the eve of an eclipse, an extraterrestrial being explores the love lives of Black gay men, seeking to understand human intimacy before his mission ends.

Fan Letter — dir. Zeb Daemen, Belgium
A 1950s heartthrob finds a long-lost letter that reignites an old romance, forcing him to confront the price of fame and the risks of living truthfully.

Pining — dir. David Jaffe, USA
On Fire Island, a salty millennial clashes with a Gen Z intruder while vying for the attention of an influencer, in a battle of seduction and territory.

The Upper Room — dir. Joel Perez, USA
Two Pentecostal youth pastors secretly meet, their afternoon encounter shaking both their faith and their forbidden desire.

Lisbon — dir. Matthew Jacobs Morgan, UK
Desperate for cash, a queer man agrees to a hookup with an older stranger, but the twisted request he faces forces him to confront mortality and connection.

A Garden Under the Earth — dir. Pedro Lavin, USA/Mexico
In surreal digital fragments, two fairies engage in an escalating erotic ritual that blurs the line between myth and desire.

Within a Quiet Body — dir. José Manuel Vélez, USA/Chile
A jaded cleaner in a gay sex club seeks release in encounters that mix pain and longing, testing the limits of his repression.

Brief Somebodies — dir. Andy Reid, Canada
While rehearsing a sexual assault scene, two actors find unexpected intimacy that becomes more complicated once the cameras roll.

In Your Face!

Forget respectability. These shorts are loud, surreal, and unapologetically over the top. From neon-drenched nightmares to body horror and camp comedies, they’re impossible to ignore, bursting with style and queer vision.

Are You Fucking Kidding Me?! — dir. Zen Pace, USA
A broke clown’s birthday gig spirals into disaster when he learns his mother is dying, turning slapstick into something far darker.

Poreless — dir. Harris Doran, USA
A queer Muslim beauty entrepreneur suffers an allergic reaction before pitching to investors in a campy SHARK TANK–like showdown.

La Dichotomie — dirs. Suzie Toot, Dan Ingram, Oscar Ruso, USA
Drag star Suzie Toot dazzles her cartoon audience while artclown Gloomie Toot spirals into jealousy and madness in a surreal Tech-NO-color spectacle.

The Flamingos on the Wall — dir. Ben Evory, USA
At a Bushwick costume party, “Princess Diana” crashes the scene to settle old scores with “Judy Garland” over wallpaper and betrayal.

Blue Violet — dir. Josie Charles, UK
What begins as a sweet gift for a beloved turns sinister when Blue’s preparations take a chilling turn.

Free the Buns — dir. Blanche Enaka, USA
Three teens plot revenge on their racist teacher by stealing her emotional support rabbit, with chaotic results.

Nest — dir. Willem Koller, New Zealand
A pregnant trans woman endures a horrific birth, only to confront her husband’s disgust and make a devastating choice about survival.

Attagirl! — dir. Klimovski, USA
A ruthless bookie hunts down a debtor through New York’s streets, and when she catches him, the price he pays goes far beyond cash.

Laugh Riot

From romps to satire, this program proves that queer humor thrives in chaos. Botched robberies, family meltdowns, bed bugs, and even gay Jesus take the screen in comedies that find laughter in the hardest moments.

She Raised Me — dir. Ben Lewis, USA/Canada
A struggling writer discovers he is dating the son of his favorite actress and scrambles to hold onto both the romance and the connection to his idol.

Clean Slate — dir. Emily May Jampel, USA
Two Asian nonbinary best friends face off when they both audition for the same breakout role, testing loyalty against ambition.

Munchies — dir. Brittany Alexia Young, USA
A group of stoned college girls stumble into a convenience store robbery, forcing them to sober up fast to survive the night.

BUGGED — dirs. Kieran Altmann, Katie Schiller, USA
Two queers desperate to sublet their Bushwick apartment try to charm potential tenants while hiding a bed bug infestation.

Gay Jesus — dir. Aaron Jin, USA
Jesus returns to Earth to save humanity but finds himself grappling with his own internalized doubts in this playful satire.

They’re Packing — dirs. Noah Wolfe, Gabi Carrubba, USA
Queers head upstate to learn how to shoot a gun, but one stray shot sends their bonding trip into darkly comic disarray.

Mango Chile Pie — dir. Karan Sunil, USA
Three estranged sisters get stuck in their family fire station on the anniversary of their mother’s death, reopening old wounds with biting humor.

Queer Teen Power

Now in its eighth year, this program created with NYC’s Department of Education gives LGBTQ+ teens a chance to see themselves on screen. These affirming shorts celebrate identity and resilience, from magical drag foxes to intergenerational bonds and rebellious journeys of self-discovery.

Baba I’m Fine — dir. Karina Dandashi, USA
A teen hides her heartbreak while spending the day with her unsuspecting father.

A Friend of Dorothy — dir. Lee Knight, UK
A lonely widow’s quiet life changes when a teenage boy accidentally kicks his football into her garden, sparking an unexpected friendship.

One For The Team — dir. Rain Valdez, USA
Trans lacrosse star Nico transfers to an elite high school to save his scholarship, but must choose between fitting in with a toxic boys’ club or standing by his values.

Dragfox — dir. Lisa “Lee” Ott, UK
Sam encounters a mysterious fox who leads them on a magical journey of identity, difference, and belonging.

Dandelion — dir. Fiona Obertinca, USA
In 1970s Los Angeles, queer teen Margaret is expelled from Catholic school and sent on a nightlong journey with a social worker, where escape and acceptance collide.

The Queer Rebellion

From ACT UP’s historic protests to today’s Black trans leadership, these shorts honor queer defiance across decades and identities. Through activism, euphoria, and experimental visions of liberation, they celebrate community power, radical imagination, and the refusal to be erased.

Silence = Death — dir. Trace Pope, USA
In 1990, during an ACT UP demonstration at the NIH, a young gay filmmaker risks everything to deliver a message directly to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Echoes: The B Side — dir. Mars Storm Rucker, USA
An experimental work blending nostalgia, vintage aesthetics, and afro-futurist vision to explore the medicalization of trans lives and the technology of Black liberation.

Hustleween — dir. Samara Pérez Santiago, Puerto Rico
A vibrant portrait of an annual celebration by EspicyNipples that transforms memory into Black trans euphoria, resistance, and joy.

American Problems, Trans Solutions — dir. Naz Habtezghi, USA
Journalist Imara Jones spotlights three Black trans leaders fighting for housing, economic empowerment, and migrant rights across the United States.

Sound and Scene Showcase Encore

NewFest presents a virtual encore of shorts created through Sound & Scene: the NewFest + Concord QTBIPOC Short Film Initiative, pairing filmmakers with music by Billie Holiday, Joan Sebastian, MUNA, Phil Collins, and REO Speedwagon. These films highlight family, memory, and queer connection through music and storytelling.

Betty St. Clair — dir. Syra McCarthy, USA
In the green room of an AAPI drag show, Betty struggles to wrangle her chaotic troupe before stepping on stage at a community center filled with bewildered seniors.

Them That’s Not — dir. Mekhai Lee, USA
A surprise prison furlough brings an estranged father and his daughter together at their family matriarch’s repass, forcing them to confront grief and distance.

Asha — dir. Moitri Ghosh, USA
In the middle of her daughter’s birthday party, Asha is thrown off balance when her estranged mother arrives with an unexpected gift.

Miénteme (Lie to Me) — dir. Nico Blanco, USA
At an elegant engagement party, the sudden appearance of a guest from the past threatens to unravel the celebration’s flawless facade.

Take a Look at Me — dir. Kevin Xian Ming Yu, USA
Zhang visits the family of his late lover in Queens and forges a fragile bond with Ming’s genderqueer child, Andy, across grief and generations.

New Voices Filmmaker Grant Showcase

A partnership between NewFest and Netflix, this program highlights the grant recipients of 2025. For the fourth year, New Voices supports emerging LGBTQ+ filmmakers with resources to tell their stories. The showcase presents the latest shorts from this year’s grantees, followed by conversations about their work and future projects.

Kasbi — dir. Farah Jabir, USA
A middle-aged Pakistani housewife, restless and searching for herself, hires a confident young sex worker to spend the night with her.

Will You Look at Me — dir. Shuli Huang, China
Returning to his hometown, a young filmmaker confronts long-suppressed feelings in an emotional conversation with his mother about identity and love.

Anino — dir. MG Evangelista, USA
Bullied at school and grieving her mother, a quiet teen raised by her grandmothers discovers an ancestral power that bursts forth with fury and freedom.

Yú Cì (Fish Bones) — dir. Kevin Xian Ming Yu, USA
Bowen, a nonbinary Asian American, tries to reconnect with their estranged father as they tend to him after a poisonous fish bite.

Closing Thoughts

With 144 titles spanning continents and centuries, NewFest37 balanced celebration and confrontation, honoring queer cinema’s past while launching bold new voices into the future. From Ethan Hawke’s quippy lyricist to Sydney Sweeney’s boxer, from Viennese family dramas to Greek love stories, the festival reminded us that queer storytelling is vast, fearless, and endlessly inventive.

Venues and Tickets

Screenings for NewFest37 took place across Manhattan and Brooklyn, with select titles available virtually nationwide. Venues included SVA Theatre, BAM Rose Cinemas, Nitehawk Prospect Park, and The LGBT Community Center, alongside online access through NewFest’s digital platform.

Tickets ranged from individual screening passes to all-access packages, with special events such as the Opening Night and Closing Night galas paired with parties at iconic New York venues. Youth-focused programs like Queer Teen Power were free for LGBTQ+ students and educators through the Department of Education partnership.

For more details and future editions, visit newfest.org.

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Suggested Stories

• Our review of This Bitter Earth at Soho Theatre, where theatre meets love and memory
• The Venice Film Festival lineup, an international spotlight on bold cinema
• Our feature on A Cell Phone Movie at Raindance, a new take on digital intimacy
• Our review of Manok, a Filipino drama of family, faith, and queer desire
• Our piece on Grease the Musical, a fresh look at a classic through queer eyes

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