This year’s edition of New Directors/New Films — the 55th — features several films by queer filmmakers or about LGBTQ+ topics.
The festival opens with, “Leviticus,” a highly anticipated coming-of-age horror film about queer youths being threatened by a supernatural force that embody what they desire. Programming also includes Pete Ohs’ “Erupcja,” about Bethany (Charli XCX) reconnecting with Nel (Lena Góra), during a trip to Warsaw — just as Bethany’s boyfriend (Will Madden) is about to propose — and the documentary, “Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest” by Viv Li, which contrasts her experiences in the Berlin’s queer community with her place in a traditional Chinese family.
New Directors/New Films gives viewers a sneak peek of out gay actor and writer John Early’s arch feature directorial debut, “Maddie’s Secret” before it is released in June. The title character (Early, in drag) is a recipe developer who secretly struggles with bulimia. The film cleverly plays up the foodie influencer and TV show craze as well as the classic “woman’s picture” tropes. Early’s fabulous performance pays homage to women in TV movie-of-the-week issue dramas. It is amusing when Maddie lies to her husband Jake (Eric Rahill) that she is pregnant after he catches her vomiting, or when Maddie stares blankly at the camera after being triggered by a shocking past trauma. But “Maddie’s Secret” falters a bit in its second half when Maddie must confront her issue as well as her shrewish mother (Kristen Johnston). Early’s satire is earnest, but never campy, which is its greatest strength. “Maddie’s Secret” may be a little one-note, but it plays that note perfectly.
John Early will participate in a post-screening Q&A after the 8:45 p.m. show on April 12 and the 8:00 p.m. show on April 13.
One festival highlight is “Strange River,” director Jaume Claret Muxart’s hypnotic film about 16-year-old Dídac (Jan Monter), who is on a bike-and-camping vacation in Germany with his family. When he floats away in a river one day, he encounters a nude boy, “Alexander” (Francesco Wenz), who may or may not be real. Dídac is intrigued by the stranger whom he searches for — and sees — at various times throughout the trip.
Dídac is growing away from his family, and his budding sexuality may be an impetus for his longing and feeling different. While both his parents, Monika (Nausicaa Bonnín) and Albert (Jordi Oriol Canals), are encouraging about Dídac’s kiss with Gerard, a boy back home in Barcelona, Dídac bemoans that he feels the frustration of not being desired. This also may be why he becomes obsessed with Alexander, who does not speak but looks at Dídac with wonder and affection in his eyes.
The scenes of the teens together are quietly intimate, and “Strange River” becomes more spellbinding (if also narratively ambiguous) as Dídac and Alexander “cruise” each other before they connect, holding hands, kissing, and taking a boat trip, leaving Dídac’s family behind. Their loving interactions are wordless — which suggest they are Dídac’s imagination — but also powerful, which makes the film especially satisfiying. Muxart coaxes an impressive performance from Jan Monter (his screen debut), that captures the restlessness of adolescence and the thrill of discovering first love. This film is magical.
Jaume Claret Muxart will participate in a Q&A after the 8:30 p.m. show April 11 and the 6:45 p.m. show April 12.
Shorts Program I includes “Unleaded 95” a raucous short by Emma Hütt and Tina Muffler that takes place on the night of Aino’s (Mina Halide Guschke) bachelorette party. Her friend Toni (Lu Pipulca) has sex with women in a gas station bathroom — shot from the toilet’s point of view — while her other friend, Lolly (Amel Baccouche) is secretly involved with Aino’s mom, Karo (Sylvia Schwarz). After a fight with Karo, Lolly meets and goes off with Konstantin (Julian Moritz) and his friends, before arriving at Aino’s party. Shot in a raw, gritty style, “Unleaded 95” features a series of intense moments that provide a kind of emotional rollercoaster for both the characters and the audience.
The filmmakers will participate in a post-screening Q&A on April 12 at 4:15 p.m. and April 13 at 8:30 p.m.
In Shorts Program II, “Taxi Moto” is an outstanding meta-movie. Pacy (writer/director Gaël Kamilindi) is a frustrated filmmaker whose upcoming shoot was cancelled because of its queer content. He meets with Joe (Erwan Kepoa Falé) to review the script; as they speak the dialogue, images of the action are superimposed. Later, the men wander through a forest and discuss their sexuality, their childhood memories, gay marriage, as well as the influential queer African film, “Dakan.” They also debate about including a kiss in their film. Viewers will want Pacy and Joe to kiss given the irresistible chemistry between them — especially in a sequence where they dance together in the rain. Kamilindi deliciously blurs the lines between truth and fiction here, making both the film he wants and the film he couldn’t. It’s a dazzling short that is as political as it is personal.
“Buckskin,” is non-binary filmmaker Mars (Marianne) Verrone’s elegiac documentary portrait of their grandfather, Dr. Carroll B. Williams, Jr., a forester who was one of the first Black men in the profession. Williams was nicknamed “buckskin” because of the color of his skin. Verrone shrewdly has footage of insects scavenging while Williams describes one episode of racism. The filmmaker features images of redwoods — because they are the masters of the forest and remind Verrone of their grandfather — as well as reflections by Williams to address issues of memory, knowledge, and conservation as well as thoughts on legacy and end of life. “Buckskin” also uses text on screen, superimpositions, and visual collages to make salient points about minorities and the environment — especially when Williams discusses his Kiowa heritage. This is a moving film lovingly made.
Mars Verrone will participate in a post-screening Q&A on April 18 at 3:00 p.m. and April 19 at 3:30 p.m.
New Directors/New Films closes with the US premiere of writer/director Rosanne Pel’s latest feature, “Donkey Days.” Anna (Jil Krammer), a lesbian, navigates tricky family dynamics with both her sister Charlotte (Susanne Wolff), and their mother, Ines (Hildegard Schmahl). Pel’s episodic drama features many awkward scenes of the family members fighting. Anna finds some comforts, such as a kiss with her girlfriend, Noe (Amke Wegner), but even they argue. Anna tries to process her anger towards her family, especially when she makes an unexpected discovery about her mother’s connection to a donkey. Anna gets into a kinky threesome in one scene and has a surrealistic experience crawling through a tunnel in another. The humor is dark, but Krammer makes Anna a character to root for, even as everyone behaves badly.
Rosanene Pel will participate in a Q&A April 18 at 6 p.m., and introduce the 8:45 show, and have a talkback after the April 19 5:30 p.m. screening.
For tickets, showtimes, and more information, visit https://www.filmlinc.org/new-directors-new-films/
“New Directors/New Film” | April 8-19 | Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art
