NewFest: The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival, put on by NewFest (legal name The New Festival, Inc.), is the largest LGBTQ film festival in the United States and one of the most comprehensive forums of national and international LGBT film/video in the world.[1]
History and operations
David Hatkoff has been the executive director of NewFest since 2019.[2]
Founded in 1988, The New Festival, Inc is a non-profit media arts organization dedicated to showcasing the newest and best LGBT media for the greater New York metropolitan area.
NewFest strives to encourage and foster environments for LGBTQ and allied filmmakers and viewers to represent the diversity and complexity of voices in the LGBTQ community, and to amplify those voices across the nation.[3]
List of events
The largest and most popular program from NewFest is the twelve-day New York LGBT Film Festival. Additionally, year-round events include: the five-day Queering the Canon, the five-day NewFest Pride, and many advance screenings with various studios and streamers.
NewFest also has three artist development programs: The New Voices Filmmaker Grant, supported by Netflix; Sound & Scene, in partnership with Concord Originals; and the Black Filmmakers Initiative.
NewFest works with the NYC Department of Education on programs for high school students.
NewFest has partnered with the LGBT Center in NYC to screen films on a monthly basis at the center, screenings to include discussions with the filmmakers.[4]
In 2020, the festival was one of the key partners, alongside Outfest Los Angeles, the Frameline Film Festival and the Inside Out Film and Video Festival, in the North American Queer Festival Alliance, an initiative to further publicize and promote LGBT film.[5]
Awards
- 2025: Fucktoys, Love Letters, Come See Me in the Good Light, and Rainbow Girls
- 2024: Ponyboi, Baby, Reas, and Zari
- 2023: Fancy Dance, Housekeeping for Beginners, Acsexybility, and Dilating for Maximum Results
- 2022: The Blue Caftan, Swallowed, UÝRA — The Rising Forest, and How Not to Date While Trans
- 2021: A Distant Place, Passing, Miguel’s War, and Fervor
- 2020: Cowboys, Welcome to the USA, and Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story
- 2019: Tremors and Queen of Lapa
- 2018: Jules of Light and Dark, Retablo, and Sidney & Friends
- 2017: The Feels, The City of the Future, and Alabama Bound
- 2011: Circumstance and Gone
- 2010: The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
- 2009: Light Gradient and Prodigal Sons
- 2008: The Lost Coast, The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, and Be Like Others
- 2007: Times Have Been Better and Saving Marriage
- 2006: The Gymnast, Go West, and Camp Out
- 2005: A Year Without Love and Little Man
- 2004: You I Love and Garden
- 2003: Between Two Women, I Exist, and The Gift
- 2002: The Ignorant Fairies and Out in the Cold
- 2001: O Fantasma and Bombay Eunuch
- 2000: Water Drops on Burning Rocks and Our House: A Very Real Documentary About Kids of Gay & Lesbian Parents
- 1997: Chocolate Babies and You Don’t Know Dick: Courageous Hearts of Transsexual Men
- 2025: In Transit, Come See Me in the Good Light, Rainbow Girls”, and “Hustleween
- 2024: Duino, This is Ballroom, Zari, and Alok
- 2023: Fancy Dance, Coming Around, The End, and There Are Things To Do
- 2022: Monsieur Le Butch, and Cans Can’t Stand
- 2021: Sheer Qorma, All Boys Aren’t Blue, The Beauty President, and Invisible
- 2020: Dating Amber and Cured
- 2019: And Then We Danced and A Night at Switch n’ Play
- 2018: Rafiki and Man Made
- 2017: A Date for Mad Mary and Hot to Trot
- 2016: Suicide Kale and Political Animals
- 2015: Those People and The Same Difference
- 2014: The Way He Looks
- 2013: Free Fall, Out in the Dark and Valentine Road
- 2012: My Best Day and Love Free or Die
- 2011: The Wise Kids, Turtle Hill, Brooklyn, and One Night Stand
- 2010: Children of God
- 2009: Mississippi Damned and Florent: Queen of the Meat Market
- 2008: Pageant
- 2007: Out at the Wedding
- 2006: Cruel and Unusual
- 2005: Left Lane: On the Road with Folk Poet Alix Olson
- 2004: Girl Play
- 2003: Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin
- 2002: Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House
- 2001: The Iron Ladies
See also
- List of film festivals in New York
- List of LGBTQ film festivals
- Cinema of the United States
- LGBT culture in New York City
References
- ^ “At NYC’s largest LGBTQ film festival, the future of cinema is bright”. NBC News. October 12, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
- ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (July 23, 2019). “NewFest LGBTQ Film Festival Sets David Hatkoff As Executive Director”. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
- ^ “NewFest”. Outfest. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ “NewFest at The Center”. NewFest. Archived from the original on September 5, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ Ewing, Jeff (June 17, 2020). “Major LGBTQ Film Festivals Partner to Create the ‘North American Queer Festival Alliance’ (NAQFA)”. Forbes. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
- ^ a b “NewFest36 Jury & Awards”. NewFest. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
- ^ a b “NewFest37 Jury & Awards”. NewFest. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
- ^ “NewFest35 Jury & Awards”. NewFest. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
- ^ “AwardsWatch – ‘Swallowed,’ ‘The Blue Caftan’ win top NewFest LGBTQ+ Film Festival awards”. AwardsWatch. October 22, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
- ^ admin (January 1, 1970). “‘Passing’ and ‘Miguel’s War’ Win Top Prizes at LGBTQ Film Festival NewFest”. Entertainment News Boom. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
- ^ “NEWFEST34 SHORTS: Award Encore”. NewFest. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
External links
- newfest
.org, The New Festival, Inc.’s official website - New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival at IMDb