NewFest positions this as a triumphant celebration of queer cinema's vitality, with executive director David Hatkoff framing it as 'a rousing call that contemporary queer cinema is fully alive and thriving.' The festival wants audiences to see it as community empowerment — five days of inclusive storytelling where Pride 'lives at the intersection of party and protest,' as Hatkoff put it.
Sources close to the festival say there's genuine excitement about Gregg Araki's return after over a decade, but insiders note the casting of Charli XCX signals a calculated mainstream crossover play. The pop star's Hollywood ambitions have been an open secret, and landing a role in an Araki film is quite the flex. Meanwhile, 'Stop! That! Train!' is being whispered as RuPaul's most ambitious acting turn yet — though we'll see if critics agree.
Festival runs May 28-June 1, 2026 at SVA Theatre in NYC with virtual access May 28 through June 1. Opening night 'Stop! That! Train!' features RuPaul as President Gagwell on a train facing a 'Stormaganza' disaster. Centerpiece film 'I Want Your Sex' stars Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman (son of Philip Seymour Hoffman), Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, and Charli XCX.
NewFest isn't waiting for permission — and neither should you. With Araki returning to form after a decade away and RuPaul fully leaning into cinematic chaos, this lineup promises exactly the kind of unfiltered queer storytelling that makes festivals worth attending.
NewFest is refusing to play it safe this Pride season. The New York City LGBTQ film festival unveiled its 2026 lineup Thursday, and it's pulling out all the stops with a five-day program that kicks off May 28 at SVA Theatre — calendar be damned. Leading the charge is Adam Shankman's "Stop!
That! Train!", an opening night spectacle starring RuPaul as President Gagwell aboard the Glamazonian Express. The film, described as a queered parody in the tradition of "Airplane!", sees stewardesses, scientists, and a presidential figure scrambling to prevent disaster when a catastrophic Stormaganza threatens to derail their high-speed journey.
It's ambitious, it's ridiculous, and if Shankman's track record with "Hairspray" is any indication, it could be glorious chaos. But the real intrigue lies in Gregg Araki's return after more than a decade away from feature filmmaking. The legendary queer auteur behind "The Doom Generation" brings "I Want Your Sex" as the festival's centerpiece on May 30 — a comedy-thriller described as 'deliciously diabolical' that toys with kinky dynamics, workplace boundaries, and the absurdity of contemporary art world culture.
The cast alone is worth dissecting: Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman (the late son of Philip Seymour Hoffman), Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, and — most surprisingly — pop star Charli XCX. Yes, the "Von Dutch" singer is making serious inroads into acting, and landing an Araki role is quite the statement piece for her Hollywood ambitions. The festival doesn't shy away from politics either.
Luchina Fisher's documentary "The Dads" arrives May 29, following a group of fathers building a movement to support their trans and gender-expansive children as anti-trans legislation escalates across the United States. The timing is deliberate — this isn't just art for art's sake; it's protest wrapped in projection reels. For those who prefer their Pride free (literally), there's an outdoor screening at Pier 17 on May 31 featuring "Heated Rivalry" — the Crave Original already available on HBO Max that becomes NewFest's open-air debut.
June 1 brings another free public screening: Alexandria Stapleton's "The Britney Griner Story," chronicling the basketball star's harrowing imprisonment in Russia and the geopolitical battle to secure her release. "Our community doesn't wait for permission to celebrate, so we're starting Pride in May — calendar be damned," executive director David Hatkoff said Thursday. Programming director Nick McCarthy added that this year's lineup signals 'contemporary queer cinema is fully alive and thriving,' serving as a space where audiences can 'laugh, shout, reflect' while gathering as a community.
The festival runs May 28 through June 1 at SVA Theatre, with virtual access available throughout. Tickets and details are available now — assuming, of course, that anyone can get them before they sell out.
