Latest news with #NewFest
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NewFest Sets LGBTQ Shorts Collection For AMC+ ‘Future of Film' Pride Month Initiative
As NewFest kicks off its fifth annual Pride film series in New York City, the country's largest LGBTQ film festival is teaming up with AMC Networks. Part of the network's 'Future of Film' initiative, which showcases emerging talent from festivals across the country, NewFest has curated a collection of six shorts by LGBTQ filmmakers to stream on AMC+ during Pride Month. More from Deadline NewFest Pride & Frameline49 Team Up To Set 'Jimpa' As Opening-Night Film NewFest Reveals 2024 Recipients Of The New Voices Filmmaker Grant In Partnership With Netflix 'The Morning Show' Season 4 Sets Premiere Date; Apple TV+ Gives First Look At Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons & More Newsroom Newcomers 'We're thrilled to partner with AMC Networks to bring NewFest's programming to a national audience through the Future of Film initiative,' said NewFest executive director David Hatkoff and director of programming Nick McCarthy. 'These powerful shorts highlight the depth of queer storytelling and offer a meaningful platform for emerging filmmakers to reach wider audiences. We're grateful to AMC+ for helping amplify these vital voices.' Courtney Thomasma, AMC Networks' EVP of linear and streaming products, said in a statement, 'We're proud to partner with NewFest to celebrate Pride and bring these outstanding stories to AMC+. We can't wait for audiences to discover the works of these talented emerging voices alongside fan favorite series and films all month long.' Available to stream on AMC+ starting June 1, 'Future of Film: Newfest 2025' features films from past NewFest Pride and New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival lineups, including these titles: , directed by Imani Celeste (USA, 2023)NewFest36 Selection Four Black art students tell stories of community, divine intervention, and the artistry that led them to this very moment…smoking weed in a cramped apartment trying not to get caught. , directed by Mo Matton (Canada, 2024)NewFest36 Selection Rhys, a people pleaser, winds up at their boss' gender reveal party with their two partners. The trans throuple soon realizes that they are dealing with more than they were prepared for and their ability to survive the event comes into question. , Sohrob Nayebaziz (USA, 2024)NewFest36 SelectionRecipient of NewFest36's Short Film Jury Special Mention Asher realizes a chair they threw out is worth thousands and will stop at nothing to get it back. , directed by Day (Canada/USA, 2024)NewFest36 Selection The breadth of a trans woman's life is shown as she navigates the complexities of a fading memory. Blending the past and present, glimpses of her struggles with love and her evolving gender identity showcase a heartfelt portrait of humanity. , directed by Twiggy Pucci Garçon (USA, 2023)NewFest Pride 2024 Selection Chosen sisters Mermaid and Milan, emerging runway divas in the drag ballroom community celebrate their joy, siblinghood, and unapologetic personas. The documentary explores the power & beauty of being nonbinary in a community that prizes gender 'realness.' , by Shruti Parekh (USA/India, 2024)NewFest36 SelectionRecipient of NewFest36's Short Film Grand Jury Prize and Narrative Short Audience AwardAmerican teen Neelu feels like a fish out of water amidst preparations for her sister's wedding in Delhi until she forges a brief and unexpected connection with Zeyb, a quiet sari store clerk who moonlights as an internet drag queen. Best of Deadline 'The Morning Show' Season 4: Everything We Know So Far 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NewFest 2025: LGBTQ+ projects we're most excited to watch
Courtesy of NewFest Heightened Scrutiny; Plainclothes; Dreams in Nightmares NewFest Pride is one of very few film festivals with a primary focus on celebrating queer content. Thankfully, the 2025 edition of the festival won't be any different. The 37-year-old film festival, based in New York City, is presenting its annual Pride selection starting on Thursday, May 29. This year, the organization is presenting films that could become sizable box office successes, as well as indie darlings that have received acclaim at other festival circuits. These projects include the Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey-led Sundance Award-winning drama, Plainclothes, an advance screening of HBO Max's And Just Like That... season 3, as well as Jimpa featuring Academy Award winner Olivia Colman. Since 1988, NewFest has proudly hosted global theatrical releases of seminal queer films such as Paris Is Burning, Hedwig & the Angry Inch, God's Own Country, Bottoms, and Problemista, to name a few. Here's a list of LGBTQ+ films we're most excited to watch at NewFest Pride 2025. Courtesy of NewFest John Lithgow and Aud Mason-Hyde in Jimpa. Olivia Colman and John Lithgow star in the festival's opening night film. Colman plays a filmmaker named Hannah, who takes her trans nonbinary teenage child (Aud Mason-Hyde) to visit their gay grandfather, affectionately nicknamed "Jimpa," played by Lithgow. Her child decides they want to stay with Jimpa for a year abroad, Hannah has to learn to let go and confront her past, as well as her idea of parenting. The film also premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews. More information about this screening of can be found on . Courtesy of NewFest Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey in Plainclothes. Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey star in Plainclothes, a steamy drama about cruising in the 1990s inspired by real events. In the movie, Blyth plays an undercover police officer who lures gay men to fall into his trap and quite literally catches them with their pants down. Meanwhile, Tovey portrays a seductive queer cruiser who catches Blyth off-guard and makes him question his duties as a cop in contrast to his attraction to Tovey's character. Out reviewed the film at this year's Sundance, where it won the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast. More information about this screening of can be found on . Courtesy of NewFest Dezi Bing, Denée Benton, and Sasha Compère in Dreams in Nightmares. Starring Dezi Bing, Denée Benton, and Sasha Compère, Dreams in Nightmares has been making the rounds at film festivals, which included a world premiere at the 2024 BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia and a screening at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year. Through NewFest, New York City audiences will now get the chance to see Shatara Michelle Ford's sophomore feature that follows three Black queer friends embarking on a road trip to find their missing friend. More information about this screening of can be found on . Courtesy of NewFest Elliot Page and Chase Strangio in Heightened Scrutiny. With the relentless assault on transgender rights in the U.S. in the last few years, this documentary is particularly timely. Heightened Scrutiny follows Chase Strangio, an ACLU attorney who became the first trans person to argue in front of the United States Supreme Court. In this case, Strangio works to overturn Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The film features commentary and expertise from activists like Laverne Cox and Elliot Page, as well as journalists like Lydia Polgreen and Gina Chua. More information about this screening of can be found on . Courtesy of NewFest Alan Cumming and Charlie Creed-Miles in Drive Back Home. Legendary actor Alan Cumming, who's now also a reality TV superstar as the host of The Traitors, stars in Drive Back Home. The film centers on a man (Charlie Creed-Miles) from a small town in New Jersey — set in the 1970s — who is tasked with bailing his brother (Cumming) out of jail after being caught having sex with a man in a park. The brothers then set out on a road trip that tests their bond as they make their way back home. More information about this screening of can be found on .
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Heightened Scrutiny' details the high-stakes Supreme Court case over trans health care
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in the next few weeks in a high-stakes case that could affect transgender people's access to transition-related care nationwide. The case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, concerns a law in Tennessee that prohibits certain care for minors, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, and whether the restrictions are discriminatory on the basis of sex and transgender status. A new documentary, 'Heightened Scrutiny,' follows Chase Strangio, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney, as he represents trans youth, their families and a doctor who filed suit against the law in April 2023. Strangio became the first openly trans person to argue in front of the Supreme Court during oral arguments in December. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will show at NewFest, a queer film festival in New York, on May 29, and then at other film festivals across the country. The film's director, Sam Feder, said it is a follow-up to another documentary he directed called 'Disclosure,' which was released in 2020 and evaluated how trans people are depicted in film and television. 'The motivation to make that film was to explore how the rise in visibility could lead to backlash,' Feder said. 'I did not know it would be as terrifying as it is now.' 'Heightened Scrutiny' features interviews with trans activists including actress Laverne Cox, and with journalists including Jelani Cobb, dean of the Columbia Journalism School and a writer for The New Yorker; Lydia Polgreen, a New York Times opinion columnist; and Gina Chua, one of the most high-profile trans media executives. Much of the documentary focuses on the effects of increasing media coverage, particularly from The New York Times, on minors' access to transition-related care. Julie Hollar, a senior analyst at the media watchdog group FAIR, says in the documentary that she evaluated the Times' front page coverage for 12 months, and during that time, she said, the Times 'actually published more front page articles that framed trans people, the trans movement, as a threat to others than they did articles about trans people being threatened by this political movement.' The New York Times did not respond to a request for comment. Amy Scholder, who produced both 'Heightened Scrutiny' and 'Disclosure,' said that while researching media coverage of trans people over the last few years, she was astonished by how quickly much of the public appeared to go from celebrating trans visibility after 'Disclosure' to questioning it. 'It was disconcerting how many avowed feminists were questioning health care for trans adolescents and questioning the participation of trans people in sports, and especially adolescents in sports — things that just seemed so against my understanding and experience of what it means to be a feminist,' she said. She compared the public response to laws targeting trans youth to what she experienced during the AIDS epidemic, when people distanced themselves from the crisis because they didn't think it affected them or didn't want it to. 'Then the irony is,' Feder said, 'people thought it didn't affect them, but you chip away at anyone's bodily autonomy and you're chipping away at everyone's bodily autonomy.' The documentary shows that media coverage that is critical of transition care for minors has been referenced by state legislators trying to pass laws to restrict the care, and by states that are defending those laws in court, with Strangio saying at one point during the film that he had never previously seen news articles referenced so regularly as evidence in lawsuits. Feder said the film was originally going to focus entirely on media coverage, but Strangio's story allowed them to show viewers the real-world consequences of that coverage. They followed Strangio from July, just after the Supreme Court announced that it would hear the Skrmetti case, to Dec. 4, the day Strangio argued the case. The film shows Strangio the day after the election, a month before his oral arguments at the high court, when he says he's 'had moments of 'I can't do this again,' but then I wake up this morning and I think, 'F--- it, we fight.'' 'That's part of what is so extraordinary about him — he has that fight in him,' Scholder said. 'He knows how to be strategic, and he's such a brilliant legal mind and has always reminded us that we're going to take care of each other, and that these laws, for better or worse, will never actually take care of us.' Feder said that going forward, he hopes the film provokes conversations about how laws restricting transition-related care could have widespread effects outside of the trans community. He also said he hopes people will 'examine and understand how they want to be able to make decisions about their own body.' 'We're seeing state after state ban abortion, and soon it's going to be all contraception, and then it's who are you going to be able to marry, do you have any privacy in your own home? It's going there. This is one example of how we are a moment of complete civil liberty freefall,' he said. This article was originally published on
NBC News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
'Heightened Scrutiny' details the high-stakes Supreme Court case over trans health care
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in the next few weeks in a high-stakes case that could affect transgender people's access to transition-related care nationwide. The case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, concerns a law in Tennessee that prohibits certain care for minors, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, and whether the restrictions are discriminatory on the basis of sex and transgender status. A new documentary, 'Heightened Scrutiny,' follows Chase Strangio, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney, as he represents trans youth, their families and a doctor who filed suit against the law in April 2023. Strangio became the first openly trans person to argue in front of the Supreme Court during oral arguments in December. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will show at NewFest, a queer film festival in New York, on May 29, and then at other film festivals across the country. The film's director, Sam Feder, said it is a follow-up to another documentary he directed called ' Disclosure,' which was released in 2020 and evaluated how trans people are depicted in film and television. 'The motivation to make that film was to explore how the rise in visibility could lead to backlash,' Feder said. 'I did not know it would be as terrifying as it is now.' 'Heightened Scrutiny' features interviews with trans activists including actress Laverne Cox, and with journalists including Jelani Cobb, dean of the Columbia Journalism School and a writer for The New Yorker; Lydia Polgreen, a New York Times opinion columnist; and Gina Chua, one of the most high-profile trans media executives. Much of the documentary focuses on the effects of increasing media coverage, particularly from The New York Times, on minors' access to transition-related care. Julie Hollar, a senior analyst at the media watchdog group FAIR, says in the documentary that she evaluated the Times' front page coverage for 12 months, and during that time, she said, the Times 'actually published more front page articles that framed trans people, the trans movement, as a threat to others than they did articles about trans people being threatened by this political movement.' Amy Scholder, who produced both 'Heightened Scrutiny' and 'Disclosure,' said that while researching media coverage of trans people over the last few years, she was astonished by how quickly much of the public appeared to go from celebrating trans visibility after 'Disclosure' to questioning it. 'It was disconcerting how many avowed feminists were questioning health care for trans adolescents and questioning the participation of trans people in sports, and especially adolescents in sports — things that just seemed so against my understanding and experience of what it means to be a feminist,' she said. She compared the public response to laws targeting trans youth to what she experienced during the AIDS epidemic, when people distanced themselves from the crisis because they didn't think it affected them or didn't want it to. 'Then the irony is,' Feder said, 'people thought it didn't affect them, but you chip away at anyone's bodily autonomy and you're chipping away at everyone's bodily autonomy.' The documentary shows that media coverage that is critical of transition care for minors has been referenced by state legislators trying to pass laws to restrict the care, and by states that are defending those laws in court, with Strangio saying at one point during the film that he had never previously seen news articles referenced so regularly as evidence in lawsuits. Feder said the film was originally going to focus entirely on media coverage, but Strangio's story allowed them to show viewers the real-world consequences of that coverage. They followed Strangio from July, just after the Supreme Court announced that it would hear the Skrmetti case, to Dec. 4, the day Strangio argued the case. The film shows Strangio the day after the election, a month before his oral arguments at the high court, when he says he's 'had moments of 'I can't do this again,' but then I wake up this morning and I think, 'F--- it, we fight.'' 'That's part of what is so extraordinary about him — he has that fight in him,' Scholder said. 'He knows how to be strategic, and he's such a brilliant legal mind and has always reminded us that we're going to take care of each other, and that these laws, for better or worse, will never actually take care of us.' Feder said that going forward, he hopes the film provokes conversations about how laws restricting transition-related care could have widespread effects outside of the trans community. He also said he hopes people will 'examine and understand how they want to be able to make decisions about their own body.' 'We're seeing state after state ban abortion, and soon it's going to be all contraception, and then it's who are you going to be able to marry, do you have any privacy in your own home? It's going there. This is one example of how we are a moment of complete civil liberty freefall,' he said.
