NewFest

Latest reviews

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  Sediments

  Review preview for Sediments

  In its quiet, observational way, Sediments gets closer to the experience of what it means to be trans than any number of more direct interrogations.

  Just as the Earth is, our inner selves are made up of many layers that make up our identity and tell the story of our existence.
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  Homebody

  Review preview for Homebody

  A tender-hearted comedy with a deep understanding of what it feels like to be a child.

  Nine-year-old Johnny sends his spirit into his babysitter Melanie and gets to be a woman for a day.
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  Bliss

  Review preview for Bliss

  Bliss is one of those films whose craft may not immediately be apparent to the average viewer, but it’s a beautifully constructed piece of work.

  Two sex workers meet in a Berlin brothel. In a place where the female body is a commodity, they experience moments of happiness.
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  The Novice

  Review preview for The Novice

  This is a stunning first feature.

  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.
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  Passing

  Review preview for Passing

  The role is a gift for Negga, who has always evinced considerable talent but has not previously had the chance to demonstrate her abilities to this extent.

  Two African-American women who can "pass" as white choose to live on opposite sides of the colour line in 1929 New York in an exploration of racial and gender identity, performance, obsession and repression.
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  Invisible: Gay Women In Southern Music

  Review preview for Invisible: Gay Women In Southern Music

  Like the best country songs, it uses a simple format well, and it’s the sincerity, charm and good humour of its contributors that carries it.

  This documentary explores a group of gay women songwriters who have successfully navigated the male dominated country music genre and have written number one hits for some of country music's greatest stars.
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  Under My Skin

  Review preview for Under My Skin

  A sensitive and insightful tale with a lot of emotional resonance.

  Denny, a free spirit and artist falls for Ryan, a strait-laced lawyer. When Denny questions gender their love is tested.
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  Metamorphosis

  Review preview for Metamorphosis

  To demonstrate so clearly that an intersex body can be a source of pleasure and joy, in a context shaped not by pornographers but by intersex people themselves, is nothing short of revolutionary.

  An intersex boy comes of age and explores the ambiguities of his identity and desires.
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  Cut!

  Review preview for Cut!

  All the archetypes of giallo are here, just filtered through a queer lens.

  The director of a low-budget queer thriller tries to solve a violent murder mystery that threatens his set.
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  Make Me Famous

  Review preview for Make Me Famous

  In telling the story of a man hitherto forgotten by history, director Brian Vincent captures a side of that celebrated scene never seen before, putting all the rest in context and exploring the nature of fame from an unusual perspective.

  A madcap romp through the 1980s NYC art scene amid the colorful career of painter, Edward Brezinski, hell-bent on making it.

A–Z of NewFest 2021 reviews →

Features

• A different kind of horror
  Mark Rapaport on taking risks and The Scary Of Sixty-First
• All or nothing
  Lauren Hadaway on obsession, self harm and shooting The Novice
• Raising their voices
  TJ Parsell on Nashville, misogyny and Invisible: Gay Women In Southern Music
• In the picture
  Brian Vincent on the art of Edward Brezinski and Make Me Famous
• Bowled over
  Lyle Kash on creating new narratives and making Death And Bowling
• A Lebanese story
  Eliane Raheb on showing the filmmaking process and making Miguel’s War
• First contact
  Brielle Brilliant on forming connections, becoming more free, and Firstness
• Looking back, moving forward
  Stephanie Lamorre on filming Narragansett life for Being Thunder
• A natural thing
  Park Kun-young on A Distant Place and the ongoing struggle for acceptance in South Korea
• Between two women
  Mari Walker, Pooya Mohseni and Lynn Chen discuss getting real in See You Then
• Shouting and silence
  Eugen Jebeleanu on homophobia, Poppy Field and moving from theatre to film