Starring: Winston Chao, Mitchell Lichtenstein, Lung Sihung, May Chin, Ya-lei Kuei, Tien Pien

Brokeback Mountain may have changed LGBTQIA+ cinema’s place in the mainstream in 2005, but Ang Lee has long been fascinated with the codes of masculinity, tradition, family, and queerness. For his 1993 romantic comedy The Wedding Banquet, part of his “Father Knows Best” Trilogy, Lee looked back to the ingredients of classic screwballs and farces for the modern New York tale of a gay interracial relationship that’s foisted back into the closet when the family of the Taiwanese half comes to visit. Co-written with longtime collaborator James Schamus and Neil Peng, and starring Winston Chao, Mitchell Lichtenstein (director of Teeth), and Lee mainstay Lung Sihung, The Wedding Banquet is a bracingly funny and tender look at the imperfect path to love and happiness in the new world.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Beginning with early trailblazers like Different from the Others, Kyle Turner has selected 100 of cinema’s greatest queer films to guide you through the eras. From Hitchcock’s Rope and cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show through the New Queer Cinema movement of the 90s to the present day, where LGBTQIA+ narratives have increasingly made their way into the mainstream and dominated award seasons with films like Carol, Tangerine, and Moonlight.

From scrappy auteurs to Academy Award winners, The Queer Film Guide celebrates LGBTQIA+ stories and artists, offering a fresh take on what defines great cinema. Lending a voice to the diverse creators and characters who have shaped the artform, The Queer Film Guide is also a useful resource for people interested in discovering or exploring queer film for the first time.

Starring: Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Hank Azaria, Christine Baranski, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart

To make an additional $10 donation to The Ali Forney Center, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen. Nitehawk will be matching all donations.

In this remake of the classic French farce La Cage aux Folles, engaged couple Val Goldman (Dan Futterman) and Barbara Keeley (Calista Flockhart) shakily introduce their future in-laws. Val’s father, Armand (Robin Williams), a gay Miami drag club owner, pretends to be straight and attempts to hide his relationship with Albert (Nathan Lane), his life partner and the club’s flamboyant star attraction, so as to please Barbara’s father, controversial Republican Sen. Kevin Keeley (Gene Hackman).

Starring: Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, Mink Stole, David Samson, Ken King, Mary Garlington

To make an additional $10 donation to The Ali Forney Center, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen. Nitehawk will be matching all donations.

Screening comes complete with ‘Odorama’ scratch-and-sniff cards!

A frustrated housewife, Francine Fishpaw (Divine), tries to maintain her sanity while taking care of her dysfunctional household. Elmer (David Samson), her husband and the owner of an adult theater, is sleeping with his secretary, and her delinquent teen son, Dexter (Ken King), and pregnant teen daughter, Lulu (Mary Garlington), aren’t helping matters any. But when Francine meets dashing Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter), the owner of a theater specializing in art films, her life appears rosier.

Starring: Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiersten, Karen Fields, Paul DeAngelo, Katherine Kamhi, Mike Kellin, Christopher Collet, Desiree Gould

To make an additional $10 donation to The Ali Forney Center, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen. Nitehawk will be matching all donations.

Following the death of her family, Angela is sent to a camp for the summer. After her arrival, brutal accidents begin to kill the other campers.

This screening is open to all! If you’re unable to purchase a ticket due to financial constraints, please email williamsburg@nitehawkcinema.com for passes.

Starring: Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano, María Barranco, Rossy de Palma, Fernando Guillén Cuervo

To make an additional $10 donation to The Ali Forney Center, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen. Nitehawk will be matching all donations.

When Pepa Marcos’ (Carmen Maura) lover Ivan (Fernando Guillén) suddenly leaves her without any explanation, she embarks on a strange journey to discover why. On the way she meets a variety of eccentric characters, including Ivan’s son from a previous relationship (Antonio Banderas), his fiancee Marissa (Rossy de Palma) and a Shiite terrorist cell who have been secretly holding her best friend Candela (María Barranco) hostage. It’s a film noir take on the romantic comedy.

Starring: Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Bill Hunter

To make an additional $10 donation to The Ali Forney Center, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen. Nitehawk will be matching all donations.

When drag queen Anthony (Hugo Weaving) agrees to take his act on the road, he invites fellow cross-dresser Adam (Guy Pearce) and transsexual Bernadette (Terence Stamp) to come along. In their colorful bus, named Priscilla, the three performers travel across the Australian desert performing for enthusiastic crowds and homophobic locals. But when the other two performers learn the truth about why Anthony took the job, it threatens their act and their friendship.

Starring: Tim Curry, Richard O’Brien, Susan Sarandon, Meat Loaf, Barry Bostwick, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Peter Hinwood

In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon), stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a transvestite scientist. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker (Meat Loaf) and a creepy butler (Richard O’Brien). Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named “Rocky.”

Starring: Sophie Wilde, Miranda Otto, Otis Dhanji, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird

When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley, Ashlyn Sanchez, Spencer Breslin

When a wave of unexplained suicides causes people to flee New York City out of fear of a bio-terrorist attack, the fragile marriage of Elliott (Mark Wahlberg) and Alma (Zooey Deschanel) is put to the test. Questionable scientific theories and a love of mood rings may not be enough to get them to a safe and stable place.

Reviled by critics at a time when many were doubting the storytelling power of M. Night Shyamalan, The Happening has found some reappraisal as an effective thriller with just the right amount of idiosyncrasies to make it a signature Shyamalan creation.

Starring: Susan Berman, Brad Rijn, Richard Hell

The debut feature of Susan Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan) is a must-see for anyone who took the fake-it-till-you-make-it path when landing in New York City. Here we have Wren (Susan Berman), bridge-and-tunneling from Jersey, plastering flyers with her face everywhere in the hopes that she’ll cause a stir. Problem is, she doesn’t quite have a talent pinned down – just a real sharp sense of style with an attitude to match. Capturing a glimpse of the 80s East Village punk scene, Smithereens co-stars legend Richard Hell and features a score by The Feelies.