LGBTQ+ Film Festival NewFest Announces Queering Rom-Coms Event

The New York LGBTQ+ film and media organization, NewFest, announced Thursday an upcoming retrospective legacy series called "Queering the Cannon: Rom-Coms" in partnership with the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

The event will be held in-person and online from April 28 to May 2. Six films will be included as well as a panel on trans rom-coms and filmmaker Q&As, according to a news release.

Last year, NewFest organized "Queering the Cannon," which focused on BIPOC New York stories. This year's focus will be on queer romantic comedies and the six films that will be screened include Greg Berlanti's The Broken Hearts Club, Julia Dyer's Late Bloomers, Patrik-Ian Polk's Punks, Alice Wu's Saving Face, Maria Maggenti's The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love, and Thomas Bezucha's Big Eden.

The films feature celebrities such as Billy Porter, Timothy Olyphant, Joan Chen, Lynn Chen, Jennifer Coolidge, Arye Gross, Justin Theroux, Laurel Holloman, and Louise Fletcher.

Organizers said in the release that the legacy of these LGBTQ+ stories deserves to be recognized and celebrated.

"With several starry big-budget LGBTQ+ rom-coms set for release this year, now is the perfect time to look back and honor films that take a subversively queer approach to the rom-com genre," said NewFest executive director David Hatkoff and director of programming Nick McCarthy in the release. "'Queering the Canon: Rom-Coms' will spotlight films -- all with happy endings! -- that did not receive the widespread recognition they deserved when originally released. We are pleased to partner with BAM once again to tap into some nostalgia and bring queer joy to audiences in Brooklyn and throughout the US."

For more information about the event and to purchase tickets visit newfest.org.