NewFest & BAM Reveals Its Queering The Canon: Totally Radical Lineup

NewFest, one of the world’s most respected LGBTQ+ film festivals, is back and coming sooner than you think with its third annual retrospective screening series.

This year’s theme is one that we could not be more excited for. “Queering the Canon: Totally Radical” features a series of films that are “proudly queer, playfully rebellious, and full of fury.”

The programming kicks off on Thursday, April 6 with the New York Premiere of the 4K Restoration of Gregg Araki’s The Doom Generation and will include five feature films with select filmmaker Q&As, plus a virtual panel about the legacy and future of radical queer cinema.

Courtesy of NewFest

While virtual options are available, getting to see these films in person will be an incredible experience. All presentations at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) will screen in either 35mm or DCP Restoration.

This year’s collection of films is made up of “rollicking adventures and cult curios that include dynamic dystopias, outcasts reclaiming their space, a revolutionary women collective, and an imaginative alt-musical about AIDS, which will include in-person Q&As with legendary filmmakers Gregg Araki, Silas Howard, Harry Dodge, and John Greyson, and feature a special guest introduction by award-winning filmmaker Isabel Sandoval.”

“With the third annual Queering the Canon, we’re ready to rock the foundations as we honor the legacy of indie film iconoclasts and channel the dynamic energy of our contemporary audiences,” said Nick McCarthy, NewFest’s Director of Programming. “From vibes of punk nihilism to radical tenderness, this line-up features combustible combos sure to ignite intergenerational conversation. We’re ecstatic to be back at BAM for this sensationally subversive series that is gonna be all the rage.”

Individual tickets and all-access passes are on sale now at newfest.org. Check out the full lineup below.

THE DOOM GENERATION (1995)

Courtesy of NewFest

Dir. Gregg Araki

Thursday, April 6th at 7pm (BAM)

In-person filmmaker intro and Q&A with writer/director Gregg Araki

Young punk lovers take a highway to hell after picking up a devilishly handsome drifter in this rapturous restoration of Gregg Araki's iconic 90s work. New York Premiere of 4K DCP Restoration (Director’s Cut).

BORN IN FLAMES (1983)

Courtesy of NewFest

Dir. Lizzie Borden

Friday, April 7th at 7pm (BAM)

An underground feminist landmark of cinema, Lizzie Borden’s BORN IN FLAMES is brazenly queer, and unapologetically down to disrupt and dismantle the patriarchy. Set in a near future downtown New York ten years after a socialist revolution, radical feminist factions strategize and debate their own agendas as women’s equality remains unfulfilled. With guerilla style filming and a docu-narrative approach, the pulsing energy of NYC and layered political viewpoints might just have you ready to start your own radical queer biker gang. 35mm Restoration.

FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES (1969)

Courtesy of NewFest

Dir. Toshio Matsumoto

Saturday, April 8th at 7pm (BAM)

Guest introduction by filmmaker Isabel Sandoval

Set in the queer underground of 1960s Japan, this ravishing film follows Eddie, a trans woman navigating a love triangle in the gay bar scene alongside a revolutionary student movement. 4K DCP Restoration.

BY HOOK OR BY CROOK (2001)

Courtesy of NewFest

Dir. Harry Dodge, and Silas Howard

Sunday, April 9th at 7pm (BAM)

In-person intro and Q&A with writer/directors Silas Howard & Harry Dodge, and producer Steak House

Harry Dodge and Silas Howard craft a trans-butch buddy outsider story ahead of its time. An adrift Shy (Howard) wanders into a clumsy life of crime and collides with the dizzying dreams of charismatic Valentine (Dodge), who is searching for the mother he’s never met. The two team up in their own anti-authoritarian way on the outskirts of society, as they perform petty crimes, stir up individual romances, and grow deeply bonded. Through their attempts at a better life, their soul-searching leads them to discover what “chosen family” and radical tenderness means. This SXSW audience award-winner received acclaim at its Sundance 2001 world premiere, and features iconic rocker Joan Jett amongst the ensemble of this groundbreaking and enduring achievement. 4K DCP Restoration.

ZERO PATIENCE (1993)

Courtesy of NewFest

Dir. John Greyson

Monday, April 10th at 7pm (BAM)

In-person intro and Q&A with writer/director John Greyson

An audacious musical satire of love and loss, sex and science, history and hysteria in the age of AIDS. DCP Restoration.

Virtual Panel: “Queering the Canon: Totally Radical”

Courtesy of NewFest

Moderated by: Kyle Turner (critic, author; The Queer Film Guide: 100 great movies that tell LGBTQIA+ stories)

Accessible starting April 6th on NewFest’s YouTube and streaming platforms

For Queering the Canon, NewFest and BAM turn their eyes to the totally radical. But what does that mean in today’s media and cultural landscapes that have substantially changed since the days of Gregg Araki and Lizzie Borden? What does radical mean now, what does it mean then, and what can it mean for the future of queer cinema? Where do we find these moments of radicality: in form, in content, in context? This panel discussion will address these questions and more with a set of superbly thoughtful cinephiles, experts, and iconoclasts. Featuring Tre’vell Anderson, and more.