"Film festivals for the LGBT community are not just about cinema”, Lesli Klainberg, NewFest’s Executive Director commented in a phone interview. “They have always functioned as community building events where like-minded audiences can commune in the presence of filmmakers in a shared experience.” This cinematic sharing begins later this week as NewFest: The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Film  Festival kicks off an ambitious season of films currently playin...

NewFest (www.NewFest.org), the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender film festival is coming to locations across the city, July 21-28. The festival will open and close at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and will be headquartered throughout the week at Chelsea's SVA Theater and Cinema Village. Special satellite screenings will be held at The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Jewish Community Center on the Upper West Side, and Harlem Stage. Pri...

  EYES WIDE OPEN (Israel)  After a mercilessly cold and snowy winter, spring has finally sprung in New York, with its explosion of flowers, smells and colors. Amidst the ruby reds, the dazzling yellows and the intoxicating shades of green, there is a distinct shade of lavender, as gay and lesbian films make their annual pilgrimage to the city and its environs in the run-up to the area's gay pride celebrations in June. First out of the starting gate is the Jacob Burns Film C...

In what has so far been a very wet beginning of the summer season, the month of June is heralding the start of the gay film festival season in the mecca cities of New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In New York, the 21st edition of NewFest, the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Film Festival, had its gala opening last Thursday night at its new home in the heart of the city gay-centric Chelsea district, the School of Visual Arts Theater. Boasting the second largest screen in Ma...

New York audiences interested in a uniquely gay European point of view have several films to sample at the NewFest, New York's key gay and lesbian film festival event. The Festival obviously values this European perspective, having chosen a UK film as its Opening Night attraction. MR. RIGHT, written and directed by Jacqui Morris, was an audience pleaser as it unfolded its interlocking stories of a group of gay men and their "fag hag" compatriot in the gay-centric Soho neighborhood of London. In ...

  by Sandy Mandelberger, Film New York Editor New York audiences interested in a uniquely gay European point of view have several films to sample at the NewFest, New York's key gay and lesbian film festival event. The Festival obviously values this European perspective, having chosen a UK film as its Opening Night attraction. MR. RIGHT, written and directed by Jacqui Morris, was an audience pleaser as it unfolded its interlocking stories of a group of gay men and their &...

  by Sandy Mandelberger, Film New York Editor In what has so far been a very wet beginning of the summer season, the month of June is heralding the start of the gay film festival season in the mecca cities of New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In New York, the 21st edition of NewFest, the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Film Festival, had its gala opening last Thursday night at its new home in the heart of the city gay-centric Chelsea district, the Scho...

 by Sandy Mandelberger, Festival Circuit Editor Friday, June 5-----While June is still celebrated as “gay pride month” in North America, the LGBT (that’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender for you neophytes) film calendar actually has become a year-round phenomenon, making every season a new reason to think pink. In all, there are close to 100 separate LGBT film festivals in the U.S. and Canada. The most well-known take place in such gay meccas as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco...

By Maria Esteves - July 12, 2007 NewFest 2007: The 19th Annual New York LGBT Film Festival N.Y. Premiere THE GODFATHER OF DISCO documentary film, directed by Gene Graham was held at AMC Loews 34th St Theater, Friday, June 1, 5:45 p.m. A special Q&A immediately followed. The N.Y. Premiere after party was held at The Zipper Factory Theater Tavern, 7:30pm. I had the privilege of interviewing emerging award-winner director Gene Graham, Sunday, July 1, 1:00pm. Q: What inspired the making of ...

Thursday, June 14------The 19th Annual NewFest (New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Film Festival) came to a close this past Sunday, setting records for attendance and kicking off the gay and lesbian pride celebrations in June. “We had another strong turnout to this year’s festival,” said Basil Tsiokos, Artistic Director of NewFest.  “We’re proud to have provided a great kickoff to Gay Pride Month.” Awards were announced before the Closing Night Film screening of SAVE ...

Friday, May 25-----June is the traditional month for celebration of Gay Pride in New York (and around the country, for that matter). It was on a hot and steamy night in June of 1969 that gay men and women, and several decorous drag queens, openly rioted against police harassment during a periodic police raid of the Stonewall, a gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village. The Stonewall Riots became the touchstone for the modern gay rights movement that continues to battle for expanded privileges...

NewFest: New York's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival, concluded its expansive 10 day program with the announcement of winners of its NewFest 2005 Filmmaker Awards at a closing ceremony on Sunday evening, June 12. The Awards, announced by Festival Director Basil Tsiokos, followed the New York premiere screening of Closing Night Film SUMMER STORM by German director Marco Kreuzpaintner.The Showtime Vanguard Award, which celebrates visionary achievement, was awarded to GOOD BOYS, ...

NEWFEST KICKS OFF GAY PRIDE MONTHJune is, among other things, Gay Pride Month, a time for the gay and lesbian communities around the US to celebrate their hard-won rights and freedoms. Celebrations range from street fairs to parades to fashion shows and music concerts. And film festivals. In June alone, gay and lesbian film festivals will be held in such gay strongholds as New York, Provincetown and San Francisco. In the coming months, more than 40 such events will be held around the US. These f...