STREAMING CINEMA
Queer Film Bonanza Right at Home
Virual NewFest October 16-27, with some drive-in screenings
BY GARY M. KRAMER
NewFest, New York’s LGBTQ
Film Festival, is
alive and well, despite
COVID, and will largely
be streamed virtually, with moviegoers
avle check out the 120 features,
documentaries, shorts, and
episodic programming from the
safety and comfort of their living
rooms. And like the New York Film
Festival, there are a handful of
drive-in screenings, as well.
The festival opens October 16
with a chance to see the highly anticipated
“Ammonite,” by out gay
director Francis Lee (“God’s Own
Country”), starring Kate Winslet
and Saoirse Ronan as lovers in
1840s England. It closes 11 days
later with the award-winning “No
Hard Feelings,” which chronicles
the relationship that develops between
Parvis (Benny Radjaipour)
a gay Iranian who was raised in
Germany, and the siblings Bana
(Banafshe Hourmazdi) and Amon
(Eidin Jalali), whom he befriends
in a detention center where he
works. The fi lm depicts Parvis’ romance
with Amon — who wants to
keep things secret —and Bana’s
concerns about deportation. The
attractive cast provides a strong
sense of what life is like for people
forced to live in such limbo.
The at-home version of NewFest
does have its advantages — folks
are less likely to get shut out of a
fi lm that might sell out in a theater,
and one can pause for a bathroom
break, or rewind and watch
a scene again and easily catch a
missed line of dialogue (each fi lm
has a premiere time and is then
available for streaming during the
remainder of the festival; except
where noted, all fi lms reviewed are
available as of Oct. 16, 10 a.m.).
But it also sad to miss the communal
experience of seeing a fi lm with
friends in a theater on a big screen
and being able to talk about it together
when it’s over.
Here are some highlights (and a
few lowlights) from this year’s program.
The Latin American fi lms are
Tai Bo and Ben Yuen in Ray Yeung’s “Twilight’s Kiss (Suk Suk).”
strong. Two Brazilian imports are
sure to generate smiles and sexual
excitement, respectively. The
fabulous “Alice Júnior” is a fun,
fast-paced comedy about the title
character (Anne Celestino Mota),
a never-been-kissed trans teenager
who moves with her father
Jean Genet (Emmanuel Rosset)
to a small town. Alice isn’t happy,
and even less so when she is told
to dress as a boy at school. But she
is feisty, and viewers will delight in
watching her become empowered
while lobbying for bathroom rights,
fi ghting off bullies, and raising
feminist consciousness.
Viewers of “Dry Wind” will likely
become obsessed with Maicon
(Rafael Teóphilo), the smoldering,
leather-clad lust object of Sandro
(Leandro Faria Lelo), a factory
worker in Brazil. The problem is
that Sandro is sexually involved
with Ricardo (Allan Jacinto Santana),
and Maicon is interested in
Ricardo, as well. This gorgeously
fi lmed drama plays like a hothouse
porno, complete with an unsimulated
fellatio scene in a nightclub
and a hot encounter with a tattooed
muscled cop.
Another don’t-miss fi lm is the
Chilean entry “The Strong Ones”
by Omar Zúñiga Hidalgo, whose
2015 short, “San Cristóbal” formed
COURTESY OF NEWFEST
the basis for this feature. Lucas
(Samuel González) pays a visit to
his sister in Niebla, a coastal town,
and meets Antonio (Antonio Altamirano).
The attraction between
the two men is electric, and they
soon become lovers. Their stolen
kisses and sex scenes are hot because
the actors — who co-starred
in the short — have tremendous
chemistry; viewers will melt just
watching these guys gaze at each
other. But their relationship may
be temporary as Lucas is heading
off to Montreal for graduate
work. “The Strong Ones” may be
a familiar romantic drama, but it
is enhanced by the gorgeous, rugged
setting and the two gorgeous
leads.
Also from Chile is one of the New-
Fest’s two fi lms about lesbians of a
certain age.“Forgotten Roads”is
a stirring drama about Claudina
(Rosa Ramírez Ríos), a widow who
moves in with her daughter Alejandra
(Gabriela Arancibia) after
her husband dies. Claudina soon
befriends Alejandra’s neighbor,
Elsa (Romana Satt), a gregarious
woman who awakens the widow’s
spirits much to Alejandra’s chagrin.
This magical — and, at times,
magical realist — fi lm is slow but
enchanting.
Likewise, in director Filippo Meneghetti’s
poignant fi lm, “Two of
Us,” aging neighbors Nina (Barbara
Sukowa) and Madeleine (Martine
Chevallier) are secretly a couple.
When circumstances separate
the lovers, Nina contrives ways of
reconnecting with Madeline. Meneghetti,
making his feature debut,
shoots many scenes in close-up,
and this intimacy showcases Sukowa’s
deeply moving performance
as a determined woman in love.
Chevallier is heartbreaking, expressing
her emotions, sometimes
just with her eyes.
Another fi lm about an older
same-sex couple is one of the two
gay Asian entries. Out gay writer/
director Ray Yeung’s gentle, bittersweet
romance,“Twilight’s Kiss
(Suk Suk)” is an elegiac drama
about Pak (Tai-Bo), a taxicab driver,
who meets Hoi (Ben Yuen) in a
park where Pak was cruising. The
closeted older men slowly embark
on a friendship that soon turns
into a sexual relationship. Yeung’s
sensitive fi lm captures the quotidian
aspects of lives that undergo
deep yet profoundly subtle changes.
A shot of Pak and Hoi’s hands
clasping or feet touching brims
with genuine affection, and an episode
where Hoi visits the home of
his friend Chiu (Kong To), speaks
volumes about loneliness and aging.
Also from Asia is writer/ director
Hong Khaou’s thoughtful, refl
ective drama, “Monsoon” about
Kit (Henry Golding), a gay man
returning to Vietnam after three
decades away. The reason for his
journey becomes clear as Kit talks
about family, war, and history with
Lee (David Tran), his cousin, Lewis
(Parker Sawyers), an American he
starts dating, and others. Exquisitely
fi lmed, “Monsoon” is full of
quiet moments that let the impact
of the characters’ memories and
emotions resonate.
Another fi lm with a homecoming
theme is the absorbing “Rurangi”
(starting Oct. 21, 8 p.m.).
Caz (Elz Carrad) is a trans man
whose life in Auckland comes
➤ NEWFEST, continued on p.25
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