This Closeness

Tensions rise when a couple stays at the home of a reclusive host, with the three entering an intimate battle to gain and reclaim territory.

Summer Solstice

Trans man Leo’s (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) life is a jumble of auditions, acting classes, barista jobs, and situationships, all of which he hopes will amount to more. Unexpectedly, Leo’s college best friend, cisgender and straight Eleanor (Marianne Rendón), calls Leo announcing that she’ll be driving through NYC, and offers to pick him up for an impromptu trip upstate. They embark on the weekend getaway, marking their first time spent together since Leo began transitioning. Reunited with new gender dynamics between them, and uncovering problems lurking behind Eleanor’s “well-meaning” façade, Leo and Eleanor navigate how their old feelings towards one another exist within this new context, forcing them both to confront buried secrets and emotions. A modern twist on the buddy comedy from a queer and trans perspective, Noah Schamus’ debut feature SUMMER SOLSTICE is a celebration of friendship, resilience, and coming of age again.

The World is Yours x Scarface

Screening of SCARFACE (1983), followed by a post-screening conversation with “The World is Yours: The Story of Scarface” writer Glenn Kenny and a book signing. Copies of the book will be available for pre-order and at the IFC Center concession stand.

An unflinching confrontation of humanity’s dark side, Brian De Palma’s crime drama film SCARFACE gave rise to a cultural revolution upon its release in 1983. Its impact was unprecedented, making globe-spanning waves as a defining portrait of the gritty Miami street life. From Al Pacino’s masterful characterization of Tony Montana to the iconic “Say hello to my little friend,” SCARFACE maintains its reputation as an unwavering game changer in cult classic cinema.

With brand-new interviews and untold stories of the film’s production, longtime film critic Glenn Kenny takes us on an unparalleled journey through the making of American depictions of crime with the new book “The World Is Yours: The Story of Scarface.” The book highlights the influential characters and themes within SCARFACE, reflecting on how its storied legacy played such a major role in American culture, featuring behind-the-scenes story of the iconic film and new interviews with the cast and crew.

Power

Delve into the untold history of American policing in this thought-provoking documentary that asks, “Who is more powerful: the people — or the police?”

Official Selection: Sundance

Stress Positions (Open Captioning)

Please note that there are additional showtimes of STRESS POSITIONS that screen without open captions (on-screen display of dialogue and sounds). For those showtimes, click here.

The bewilderment of the early days of COVID is given a manic queer twist in Theda Hammel’s propulsive, brilliantly discombobulating comedy set in Brooklyn in the summer of 2020. Feeling the sting from a recent separation from his husband, Terry (John Early) is doing his due, über-masked diligence to watch over his nephew Bahlul (Qaher Harhash), a Moroccan male model who is staying with Terry while nursing a broken leg. Meanwhile, Terry is fearful that his punchy best friend, Karla (Hammel, in a vibrant, take-no-prisoners turn), working through her own relationship chaos, will be a bad influence on Bahlul, who proves to be a lot wiser and less naive than his uncle might think. Hammel’s cinematic approach is thrillingly unpredictable both visually and sonically, alternating between cacophonous volleys of dialogue and meditative journeys into her characters’ subjective states, while the heightened delirium of Hammel and Faheem Ali’s script evokes the hapless rules of engagement in the ever-shifting borders of queer politics.

Winner: Amazon Studios Fiction Producers Award, Sundance

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, & Her Lover

Every night, mobster Albert Spica (Michael Gambon, in a villainous performance for the ages) drags his long-suffering wife Georgina (Helen Mirren) and a retinue of henchman (including Tim Roth) to the high-end Le Hollandais restaurant for a sumptuous dinner. When Georgina’s affair with a mild-mannered customer comes to light, Spica commits an act of gruesome violence, and Georgina stages an elaborate, fullcourse revenge. With score from longtime Peter Greenaway collaborator Michael Nyman and costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier, this is bold, confrontational filmmaking that needs to be seen on the big screen.

Taking Venice

At the height of the Cold War, the U.S. government is determined to fight Communism with culture. The Venice Biennale, the world’s most influential art exhibition, becomes a proving ground in 1964. Alice Denney, Washington insider and friend of the Kennedys, recommends Alan Solomon, an ambitious curator making waves with trailblazing art, to organize the U.S. entry. Together with Leo Castelli, a powerful New York art dealer, they embark on a daring plan to make Robert Rauschenberg the winner of the Grand Prize. The artist is yet to be taken seriously with his combinations of junk off the street and images from pop culture, but he has the potential to dazzle. Deftly pulling off maneuvers that could have come from a Hollywood thriller, the American team leaves the international press crying foul and Rauschenberg questioning the politics of nationalism that sent him there.

Official Selection: DOC NYC

Solo

SOLO tells the story of Simon, a rising star in Montreal’s drag queen scene. It’s love at first sight when he meets Olivier, the new recruit at the bar-show where he performs. While Simon believes he is living an electrifying love story, a toxic and destructive dynamic develops between them. At the same time, Claire, Simon’s mother, a famous opera singer, returns to work in the country after 15 years of absence. Fascinated by this woman whom he hardly knows anymore but whom he idealizes, Simon persists in trying to create a bond with her. Weakened by the failure of these two impossible loves, Simon will have no other choice but to realize that he deserves better.

Winner: Best Canadian Feature Film, TIFF

Queen of the Deuce

From the late ’60s to the mid ’80s, in the notorious Times Square area known as the Deuce, the eccentric, Greek-born Chelly Wilson built a porn cinema empire and a reputation as one of the most savvy and charismatic figures on the scene.

With a cigarette in hand and bags of money stashed in the corner, Chelly regularly held court in her bunkerlike apartment above the legendary 8th Avenue all-male Adonis Theatre, summoning a lively cabal of associates, entertainers and fellow poker players, with her female lovers always hovering and grandchildren often underfoot. Yet few in her circle knew of the risks she took to get there.

Official Selection: DOC NYC

Showtimes available Monday, May 20.

Ghostlight

When melancholic construction worker Dan finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to confront a personal loss.

Official Selection: Sundance, SXSW