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Todd Haynes' "Carol" Headlines This Year's NewFest

The Oscar hopeful joins a lengthy list of features, docs and shorts at New York's annual LGBT film festival.

Academy Award-hopeful Carol may have famously skipped the Toronto International Film Festival, but one place it won't be skipping is New York's annual LGBT film festival, NewFest, where it will serve as the festival's centerpiece.

Related: Cate Blanchett Seduces Rooney Mara (And Us) In "Carol" Trailer

The film, starring Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and nominee Rooney Mara, focuses on 20-something Therese (Mara) who falls in love with the older, married, titular Carol (Blanchett) in 1950's New York.

Based on the novel, "The Price of Salt" by Patricia Highsmith, the plot sees both women forming an intimate relationship amongst Carol's impending divorce and Therese's loveless relationship with her boyfriend.

The film has already been acclaimed for its central performances, direction, costumes and production design following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, where it won Best Actress for Mara and the festival's Queer Palm award, given to LGBT-relevant films who compete at Cannes.

Carol is joined by nearly 100 other LGBT-centric feature, documentary and short films.

We chatted with NewFest's Director of Programming, Adam Baran, who shared some of his personal favorites from the lineup.


Eisenstein in Guanajuato

Director/Screenwriter: Peter Greenaway

Based on Russian-filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein's gay coming-of-age trip to Mexico in 1930, where the (then) 33 year old lost his virginity.

"The film is extremely edgy, and very sexually explicit… but at its core it's a film about film, which I think viewers will really enjoy."

The film will kick off NewFest's Opening Night Gala.

Girls Lost

Director: Alexandra-Therese Keining

Adapted from the 2011 novel "Pojkarna" by Jessica Schiefauer, The Hollywood Reporter calls the film, "An original take on adolescent desire and gender identity." Focused on a group of girls (two lesbian, one trans questioning) who find a magical tree that offers them a way to escape from their lives, by becoming boys for a few hours.

"Their transformations bring positive things, but also complications… it's very punk," Baran says, "It features music from the likes of The Knife on the soundtrack, and is extremely compelling."

After enjoying its world premiere at last week's Toronto Film Festival, the film will serve as the festivals closing presentation.

Everlasting Love

Director: Marçal Forés

Described as an "unconventional horror film", a teacher begins a steamy affair with his student, a teenage boy. Baran describes the film as "Hannibal meets Stranger by the Lake". It will serve as one of the features included in the Queer Horror part of the festival, along with You're Killing Me and Sisters of the Plague.

The Glamour and the Squalor

Director: Marq Evans

The DJ behind the success of musical acts like Beck, Nirvana and Weezer gets a close up. The film is a detailed look at the complicated life behind all of Seattle DJ Marco Collins' wild success.

"I think this will be especially poignant given all of the 90's revivalism currently happening at the moment," Baran says. "The film explores his issues with drugs and the repression of his sexuality."

The Year We Thought About Love

Director: Ellen Brodsky

"This is a film I'm really excited about," Baran says, "A LGBT theater group consisting of mainly inner city kids travels around to different high schools and acts out their coming out stories for students. It's truly inspiring."

The Girl King

Director: Mika Kaurismäki

A biopic centered on Queen Kristina of Sweeden set in the 17th century.

"It's this really great look at how courageous she was," Baran says, "She was an open lesbian, and the film explores how that impacted her reign and the decisions she made."

NewFest will run from October 22nd up until the 27th. For more information, check out the full slate of films that will be screened here

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