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.
History and operations David Hatkoff has been the executive director of NewFest since 2019.
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.
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.
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.Ewing, Jeff (June 17, 2020). "Major LGBTQ Film Festivals Partner to Create the ‘North American Queer Festival Alliance’ (NAQFA)". Forbes. Retrieved May 28, 2026.
Awards Grand Jury Award winners Sources:
1997: Chocolate Babies and You Don't Know Dick: Courageous Hearts of Transsexual Men 2000: Water Drops on Burning Rocks and Our House: A Very Real Documentary About Kids of Gay & Lesbian Parents 2001: O Fantasma and Bombay Eunuch 2002: The Ignorant Fairies and Out in the Cold 2003: Between Two Women, I Exist, and The Gift 2004: You I Love and Garden 2005: A Year Without Love and Little Man 2006: The Gymnast, Go West, and Camp Out 2007: Times Have Been Better and Saving Marriage 2008: The Lost Coast, The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, and Be Like Others 2009: Light Gradient and Prodigal Sons 2010: The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls 2011: Circumstance and Gone 2017: The Feels, The City of the Future, and Alabama Bound 2018: Jules of Light and Dark, Retablo, and Sidney & Friends 2019: Tremors and Queen of Lapa 2020: Cowboys, Welcome to the USA, and Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story 2021: A Distant Place, Passing, Miguel's War, and Fervor 2022: The Blue Caftan, Swallowed, UÝRA — The Rising Forest, and How Not to Date While Trans 2023: Fancy Dance, Housekeeping for Beginners, Acsexybility, and Dilating for Maximum Results 2024: Ponyboi, Baby, Reas, and Zari 2025: Fucktoys, Love Letters, Come See Me in the Good Light, and Rainbow Girls
Audience Award winners Sources:
2001: The Iron Ladies 2002: Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House 2003: Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin 2004: Girl Play 2005: Left Lane: On the Road with Folk Poet Alix Olson 2006: Cruel and Unusual 2007: Out at the Wedding 2008: Pageant 2009: Mississippi Damned and Florent: Queen of the Meat Market 2010: Children of God 2011: The Wise Kids, Turtle Hill, Brooklyn, and One Night Stand 2012: My Best Day and Love Free or Die 2013: Free Fall, Out in the Dark and Valentine Road 2014: The Way He Looks 2015: Those People and The Same Difference 2016: Suicide Kale and Political Animals 2017: A Date for Mad Mary and Hot to Trot 2018: Rafiki and Man Made 2019: And Then We Danced and A Night at Switch n' Play 2020: Dating Amber and Cured 2021: Sheer Qorma, All Boys Aren't Blue, The Beauty President, and Invisible 2022: Monsieur Le Butch, and Cans Can't Stand 2023: Fancy Dance, Coming Around, The End, and There Are Things To Do 2024: Duino, This is Ballroom, Zari, and Alok 2025: In Transit, Come See Me in the Good Light, Rainbow Girls", and "Hustleween
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
External links , The New Festival, Inc.'s official website