PORT AUTHORITY Trailer
Love blossoms on the streets of New York City in Port Authority, the feature debut of writer/director Danielle Lessovitz.
Paul arrives in The Big Apple a bit adrift. His young life is already troubled, and it seems he came to New York for a vague sense of escape and not with a true purpose. His eye is drawn to a group of people dancing, specifically one woman, Wye, who introduces him to the kiki ballroom scene. Through her, he finds not only love but people who challenge his notion of the world and push him to get his life sorted.
If this feels a bit like another intro to the ballroom scene, that’s because it kind of is. Despite the popularity of Pose and the resurgent appreciation of Paris is Burning, this is still new territory for many parts of the TV and film world, and it looks like Lessovitz has approached it as such. The good news is that this makes it accessible to a lot of people, including earning it a place in Cannes Film Festival history.
The movie marks the first time a trans woman of color was a lead in a feature film at the festival, which goes to show how little Cannes has delved into ballroom culture as a whole. It’s Leyna Bloom as Wye who breaks this particular barrier while also making her acting debut. She’s paired with Dunkirk lead Fionn Whitehead as newcomer Paul. If those two have a spark then the movie should be something worth checking out.
Port Authority is directed by Danielle Lessovitz and stars Fionn Whitehead, Leyna Bloom, and McCaul Lombardi. It will be released in the US in theaters on May 28th, 2021, and on digital and on-demand on June 1st, 2021. Further release dates are not currently known.
Will you check this one out? Let us know in the comments!
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