Imagine living in the City That Never Sleeps, doing PR for nightlife venues, spending your days and nights among sleepless evenings, occasional adventures, and zero real responsibilities. Imagine all of that, and also being proudly and openly gay, and suddenly witnessing a ten-year-old boy burst into your life who claims—and is—your son, a son you knew nothing about and who is the product of a night a little wild that you no longer remember. This is the premise at the heart of Club Kid, the film that we will see in our cinemas from December 3 and which has captured the attention of international critics at Cannes, where it was presented in the Un Certain Regard section (the usual legends speak of seven minutes of standing ovation).
The film is the directorial debut of Jordan Firstman, who also writes the screenplay and plays the lead role, Peter, alongside the very young Reggie Absolom. An actor, comedian, and writer who gained popularity thanks to his satirical videos on social media, Firstman brings to this his first film — also shown at the Rome Film Festival in the Freestyle section — all the irreverent irony for which he is known, portraying a self-centered, contradictory, and deeply human character. Completing the cast are also Cara Delevingne as Sophie, Peter’s partner and friend, and Diego Calva, in a narrative populated by eccentric figures that reflect the vitality and sense of community of the New York queer scene.
As is obvious in a film of this kind, music is an integral part of its identity, used as a shared language, a space of freedom and an opportunity for encounter, a place of expression and belonging: the original score is by Cristóbal Tapia de Veer, and together with the photography by Adam Newport-Berra they capture the pulsating energy of the clubs and, at the same time, the more intimate moments of the story: because behind the provocative surface and the irreverent humor, Club Kid tackles themes such as fatherhood, the fear of growing up, self-esteem, and the need for belonging, telling a family story that breaks the mold and the possibility of changing without necessarily giving up one’s identity.
Here is the official plot and trailer for the film.
For Peter Green, a thirty-something promoter of explosive nights on the New York club scene, the party never ends. Each night blends into the next and responsibilities are matters that do not concern him. But his entire universe is put into question when he discovers he has a ten-year-old son, Arlo, of whom he hadn’t even remotely suspected the existence and who is suddenly entrusted into his care… Starting from the energy of New York nightlife and from a contemporary and sharp humor, Jordan Firstman – in his spectacular directorial debut – builds a decidedly pop film, capable of blending irony, sweetness, and underground spirit into a surprisingly tender tale about fatherhood, friendship, and the possibility of reinventing oneself when one thinks it’s already too late.
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