Basil Tsiokos is looking forward to another 20 years of NewFest

Were the World Mine – Photo by Tara White

NewFest 2008, New York’s premiere LGBT film festival is happening right now. And homo-neurotic attended the kick-off and celebration for Tru Loved (more on that later). Amidst the opening-night commotion, NewFest Artistic Director, Basil Tsiokos, answered a few questions about what to expect this year. And you’d better hurry and buy tickets, because the the most anticipated films–like Tom Gustafson’s Midsummer Night’s Dream inspired Were The World Mine (above)–are sold out. Maybe you can find illegal scalp tickets on eBay along with your fake Miley Cyrus backstage passes, but we doubt it.

NewFest Artistic Director, Basil Tsiokos. Photo by Steven Mattson Hayhurst (c)

A: The focus areas are very organic and are based on what’s on the programming lineup. It’s a 20th anniversary so there’s always a bit of introspection when you reach a landmark year like that.

Q: Is a gay and lesbian film festival still necessary or relevant?

A: Sure people go to a gay movie with a friend or boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever. But it’s not the same as going to an event which is staged right around all of that. Here they can come and go all day and enjoy gay and lesbian imagery together. The social aspect is a really big deal I think. NewFest and festivals like ours serve as taste-makers in a way. We’re the ones who decide the films that audiences are going to talk about.

Q: What surprises can we expect from NewFest in 2008?

A: A lot of the films are stand outs. There are some shocking films. Some films that are already sold out that people are going to clamor to go see like Another Gay Sequel, which we’re showing as a work in progress, and our closing night film Were the World Mine. Those films are going to impress people quite a bit. I think they’re fun, and really exciting.

Q: What’s been the reaction so far?

A: What we’ve heard from talking to audience members is that they’re just very happy about the diverse line up we have — the breadth of films, the amount of films. They’re coming from a lot of different places and are about very different subjects. It’s important even as we’re looking back on 20 years, to look forward. That we want to still showcase what’s the best right now, and what’s moving forward.

For tickets visit NewFest.org.

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