NZIFF returns to screens around New Zealand from 31 July with one of its boldest queer line-ups yet. From internet sensations to hidden gems, these are the films everyone’s going to be talking about.
The film that broke Sundance, literally. A leaked gay sex scene starring Dylan O’Brien and writer-director James Sweeney lit up TikTok and forced the festival to pull it from online. Suddenly, everyone wanted to know what Twinless was about.
It starts as a deadpan comedy about twin grief, then spirals into something darker and more complex. O’Brien plays Roman, a grieving twin who meets Dennis in a support group, and what follows is a codependent, erotic mindfuck. The leak sold the fantasy; the film delivers something far stranger and more unforgettable.
She’s clingy, anxious, and the dullest royal in Clitopolis, and now she has to save the galaxy. Dumped on her 23rd birthday, Princess Saira is forced to leave her queer utopia and face the dreaded Straight White Maliens to rescue her ex.
Lesbian Space Princess is a loud, proud, and gloriously chaotic animated romp through gay space and beyond. There are horny weapons, talking ships, and a kinky, heartfelt quest from two brilliant Aussie women who know what the girls want.
It’s Call Me by Your Name but with class tension, repression, and actual consequences. In the heat of the French summer, rich-kid Enzo tries to blend in on a building site, but the older workers see right through him – especially Vlad, a Ukrainian who barely speaks but sees everything.
Their slow-burn connection is all curiosity, contempt, and unspoken longing. When it finally erupts, it leaves both men exposed and nothing the same.
It starts with a hook-up and turns into something far more dangerous. Mathias is a fame-hungry theatre kid. Rafael is a closeted politician. What brings them back together isn’t just chemistry, it’s the thrill of risk: of being caught, of wanting too much.
Night Stage is a bold, horny thriller about sex, power, and performance. Public sex, bad decisions, and sweaty chaos collide in a story about the cost of playing it straight and what happens when someone makes you want to stop pretending.
Every lesbian’s had a crush on a teacher. Johanne had one at 17, then wrote a memoir so intense her mum and grandma had to read it.
Dreams (Sex Love) follows Johanne’s obsession with her French teacher, blurring fact and fantasy through voiceover and flashback. Her family reflects, too, adding tenderness and humour to this messy chronicle of first love. Late-night diary entries, burning glances, and that aching, all-consuming want.
Brazilian director Marcelo Caetano captures São Paulo from all angles in Baby, the tale of a tumultuous partnership in love and business between a young offender fresh out of youth detention, and an older sex worker with a side hustle in drug dealing and pick-pocketing.
Tom Blyth is Lucas, a closeted rookie cop sent to cruise public toilets as part of a 1997 sting operation in upstate New York. Then he meets Andrew (Russell Tovey in full daddy mode), and the mission starts to unravel.
Shot in grainy 4:3 camcorder, Plainclothes feels illicit, sweaty, and wired with shame. Every look simmers with gay panic, and the tension threatens to tip into either sex or violence at any moment. It’s tense, raw, and unforgettable.
Whether you’re chasing the buzz of a viral hit, craving the chaos of queer space opera, or drawn to raw, intimate storytelling, this year’s NZIFF queer line-up promises something unforgettable for every kind of cinema lover. Mark your calendar for 31 July, grab your tickets early, and be part of the conversations these films are bound to spark long after the credits roll.
