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A new queer film festival is coming to Fire Island this month
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Sep 13, 2026
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Courtesy of The Film Collaborative
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Sep 13, 2026
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A new film festival is coming to Fire Island with plans to spotlight its history as a haven for queer communities.
The inaugural Grove & Pines Film Festival is a three-day event that will take over Cherry Grove and the Pines starting Sept. 18.
The neighboring Long Island communities of Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove, which are located roughly 60 miles east of Manhattan and are accessible by boat, have served as a refuge for LGBTQ+ people for generations. Gay men and women — including many New Yorkers — flocked to Cherry Grove in the pre-Stonewall era, where they found opportunities for self-expression at a time when same-sex relationships were stigmatized and criminalized, according to The New York Historical.
The queer film festival is also debuting as the Trump administration continues to roll back federal protections and resources for LGBTQ+ Americans, including in the arts. A queer film festival in Phoenix canceled its programming after organizers said federal directives targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives put its funding at risk. In New York City, some artists said they are shying away from work relating to sexuality or gender because of fears of harassment and further funding cuts.
While the lineup features nearly every medium, from animation and short-form films to documentaries, the stories are centered on queer experiences, according to Brad Loekle, who serves on the festival’s board of directors.
“We built this very much knowing what the world was at — and in part, as a response to it,” he told Gothamist. “Pretty much everyone on our board is old enough to remember when things weren’t as good as they have been in recent years for our community.”
Loekle recalls traveling to Fire Island and performing as a comedian there in his teens and 20s. It’s also where he met longtime friends including Laura Lucchetti, who also serves on the board of directors, and Brian Hoff, who serves as secretary for the nonprofit behind the festival.
“Last year, Laura and Brian came up to me and said, ‘I think it’s time that Cherry Grove and the Pines have a film festival, just like Provincetown, just like Palm Springs, and just like so many wonderful queer communities around the country and the world,’” he said. “This is what we can do to give back to our communities and to kind of honor our personal history and our artistic history.”
But building a film festival from the ground up is no small feat. Loekle said he and the rest of the board spent countless hours putting the event together.
The team combed through hundreds of submissions and assembled a lineup of judges from across the industry.
Attendees can expect a wide array of stories, including “A Deeper Love: The Story of Miss Peppermint,” which chronicles the Harlem drag performer’s ascent to becoming the first openly trans finalist on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and “Sex in Drag,” which tells the story of drag performer Sherry Vine, who has spent decades in the drag communities of New York City and Fire Island.
The film festival is also tapping Alan Cumming, an Emmy Award-winning actor and host of the reality TV series “The Traitors,” and Johnny Sibilly, who has starred in “Hacks,” “Pose” and “Queer as Folk,” as some of the recognizable names in its lineup.
The programming is designed to have something for everyone.
“I think that’s the thing I enjoy most about when I get to go to film festivals or comedy festivals is the human interaction around the work and with the artists,” Loekle said. “And that’s already baked into the crust of Cherry Grove and the Pines. These are already communities that have this long history of everybody coming together as a community.”
And for those traveling from the city, the film festival developed an app — dubbed GAPFF — that attendees can use even when they’re not connected to Wi-Fi to navigate between venues and the two communities.
The festival is also working with hotels and other rental properties, as well as local restaurants and businesses, to offer attendees discounts.
Organizers also secured one additional late-night ferry each evening for those who plan to return to the five boroughs from the festival.
Tickets are available on the festival's website.
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Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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