LGBTQ Film Festival to Return
Newfest to bring more than 130 fi lms, docs, and more
BY GARY M. KRAMER
The 33rd annual edition
of NewFest, the New
York LGBTQ Film Festival,
will feature more
than 130 fi lms, documentaries,
episodic showcases, and short fi lm
programs October 15-26 both in
select theaters and on NewFest’s
virtual platform.
The festival is bookended by two
documentaries. The opening night
fi lm, “Mayor Pete,” focuses on Pete
Buttigieg’s recent presidential
campaign. The festival closes with
director Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s
“Flee,” a remarkable animated profi
le of a gay Afghani refugee.
Here are six noteworthy fi lms
premiering at this year at New-
Fest:
My Best Part
Out gay French actor Nicolas
Maury (“Call My Agent”) directs,
stars, and co-writes the sad-sack
comedy “My Best Part” about Jeremie
(Maury), a sensitive gay actor
who is hoping to land a role in an
upcoming production of “Spring
Awakening.” He heads to his mother
Bernadette’s (Nathalie Baye)
bed and breakfast to chill out and
prepare for his audition. He is also
escaping his breakup with Albert
(Arnaud Valois). If Maury’s gentle
fi lm makes its points broadly in
the setup, once Jeremie settles into
his retreat, he starts to improve.
He has some lovely heart-to-heart
chats with his mother as well as
Kévin (Théo Christine), a handsome
young man who is working
on his mother’s property. These
moving exchanges redeem the fi lm
as much as they redeem Jeremie,
whose jealousy is at the heart of
his emotional problems. “My Best
Part” is an assured directorial debut
by Maury, who leans into his
character’s insecurities, but fi nds
himself in the process. Viewers
may resist him, but those who accept
him and go on his journey will
be rewarded.
The Sixth Reel
“The Sixth Reel” is the latest
cinematic piffl e from the iconic
drag performer Charles Busch.
“Death and Bowling”
Jimmy (Busch) is a small time
dealer in classic movie ephemera.
When his friend Gerald dies,
Jimmy and Gerald’s niece, Helen
(Julie Halston), hold an estate sale
and stumble upon the last reel of
a thought-to-be-lost Lon Chaney
fi lm. This discovery soon creates
a madcap scramble among rival
collectors. Will Michael (Tim Daly)
the NYU professor donate it to a
museum? Will Doris Pang (Margaret
Cho) sell it to the highest bidder?
Jimmy dons drag (in classic
Charles Busch fashion) to fi nd
out. If this slight comedy is about
as unstable as nitrate fi lm stock,
Busch, working with his co-writer/
co-director Carl Andress, generates
a few smiles from some bitchy
one-liners, and the game cast feeds
into these Hollywood dreams.
Celts
Set in 1993 Croatia, “Celts” unfolds
almost entirely in Marijana
(Dubravka Kovjani ) and Otac’s
(Stefan Trifunovi ) house during a
costumed-themed birthday party
for their eight-year-old, Minja (Katarina
Dimi ). While the kids are
all playing rowdily in one room,
the couple’s friends and adult family
members gather in the rest of
the house and misbehave. Director/
T4T PRODUCTIONS
co-writer Milica Tomovic’s
captivating fi lm has limited queer
content, Anka (Milica Grujicic) and
Nesa (Slaven Doslo) sneak away for
a kiss when the power goes out,
and Marijana’s sister, Ceca (Jelena
Djokic), is jealous that her ex, Zaga
(Nada Sargin), brought her new lover
Tanja (Jovana Gavrilovic) to the
party. However, the minidramas
that unfold are involving because
Tomovic makes viewers care about
these ingratiating characters who
are eking out life the best they can
under strained circumstances.
Death and Bowling
“Death and Bowling” is writer/
director Lyle Kash’s tender, experimental
drama about X (Will
Krisanda), a trans actor who
“wants to be seen.” He fi nds considerable
acceptance in the Lavender
League, a lesbian bowling
team. However, when Susan (Faith
Bryan), the beloved captain, dies,
X is bereft. He develops a connection
with Alex (Tracy Kowalski), a
stranger who attends the funeral
and reading of the will. X and Alex
soon share their pain — and a bed
— and before scattering Susan’s
ashes. “Death and Bowling” has a
slight plot, but it is highly stylized,
with bright colors, dream-like sequences,
FILM
and two fi lms-within-afi
lm. However, it is most notable for
employing an almost exclusively
trans cast, (all of whom are terrifi
c), and crew.
Being Thunder
“Being Thunder” is a respectable
documentary about Sherente Harris,
a genderqueer Indigenous teenager
in the Narragansett tribe. Director
Stéphanie Lamorré observes
Sherente’s courage to live authentically
while seeking to gain the
acceptance of others. Sherente’s
family is remarkably supportive,
and scenes of them together show
their collective strength and resilience
— especially when Sherente
faces discrimination at Powwows,
or recounts stories of racism and
homophobia. The fi lm chronicles
Sherente’s efforts to get into college
and observes family and tribal
ceremonies. It is a drawback that
“Being Thunder” is crudely fi lmed
and edited, but Sherente’s spirit
still comes across clearly.
Raw! Uncut! Video!
“Raw! Uncut! Video!” is a Fun!
Celebratory! Documentary! about
Palm Drive Video, a gay porn company
run by Jack Fritscher of
“Drummer” magazine fame, and
his partner Mark Hemry. The men
made fetish, kink, and fantasy videos
between 1985-1997 with the
slogan, “Our camera goes where
you’d like to put your nose.” Their
approach invited audience “interaction,”
which was critical during
the AIDS crisis, when safe sex
was best done alone, and at home.
“Raw! Uncut! Video!” features
plenty of clips from Palm Drive
productions (some pretty graphic)
as well as interviews with stars of
their fi lms, porn historians, and
fans. There are also brief discussions
of the crackdown on pornography
and how the company dissolved
as the internet started up.
Directors Ryan A. White and Alex
Clausen generate considerable
pleasure with their fi lm that details
Fritscher and Hemry’s efforts
to make sex-positive fi lms for eager
and grateful consumers.
NEWFEST | October 15-26 Various
Theaters and online
GayCityNews.com | October 7 - October 20, 2021 27
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