First Ever NEW FEST 36! (Virtual Only)

If you know me, you know I’m always looking for new film festivals to attend. And the thing is, there are so many out there that I’ve never heard of or known anything about! NEW FEST in New York is one of those!

To be honest, the only reason I had even crossed paths with annual (36 years!) New York LGBTQ+ festival is because Bridget Everett posted about it! The fact that it was taking place during my visit to New York seemed almost like it was meant to be. With that being said, the Somebody Somewhere season 3 brunch premiere and Q&A sold out faster than you can say “oh hell.” In looking the rest of the festival’s lineup, I would have also really liked to see Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells’ new film, I Don’t Understand You, but it wasn’t in the cards either. Instead we attended a fabulous drag brunch at Kween Astoria.

Thankfully, most of the festivals offerings were also available to stream through the beginning of this week, so I got my hands on lots of goodies. I was so pumped to see that I could still enjoy the new episodes of Somebody Somewhere before its premiere later this month, but I also decided to watch things I wouldn’t normally go for at film festivals. To start, shorts are really my thing, but I saw some names I recognized in the Boy, So Confusing and Comedy Comes Out packages, so I added those to the cart with little hesitation. Then I decided to grab the episodic showcase to see what a few new series were putting out there. I did also snag one film starring Fuller House’s Juan Pablo di Pace.

Somebody Somewhere was, as expected, wonderful. Every time I see new episodes I’m reminded of just how happy this show makes me. Sure, Sam is dealing with a lot of emotions, both repressed and not, but it’s also a show about friendship and relationships in a small town in general. I hope more people check this out as this season will be its last. The shorts packages were more of a mixed bag, but they all offered various genres, lengths, and talent! These all managed to pack a punch in such a short amount of time and almost all of them were really high quality. The Variable was a stand out in the Boy, So Confusing package focusing on an “ethnically ambiguous” actor who is struggling with what the cast directors want at an audition. Stan Behavior, Lesbophilia, and ILY, Bye were all a hoot in the Comedy Comes Out package. Megan Stalter continues to shine in anything she is in.

The episodic showcase was also a relatively new experience for me. I took part once at Sundance, but that was only for a very specific show. Here though, there were five episodes of drastically different genres on display. They weren’t all the highest quality, but I did find all of the stories intriguing. I was particularly fond of Friends of Sophia and Eve’s Rib, so I’d be interested in keeping up with what happens to the futures of those potential series. Dunio was an intricate drama based partially on Juan Pablo di Pace’s own childhood memories that he’s trying to recreate fictionally in this film. We can always polish or tarnish memories however we see fit, so the frustrations he faces in his recreation definitely hit home. Probably not a film I would watch again, but an enjoyable enough viewing.

I was so happy to discover this new film festival, and as long as they continue their virtual component in the future, I know I will be attending! And hopefully I can catch a couple in person, as well!