{"id":7977,"date":"2020-01-09T09:25:14","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T08:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.queerlion.it\/?p=7977"},"modified":"2020-01-20T12:33:22","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T11:33:22","slug":"usa-new-york-film-academy-nyfa-filmmaking-alum-li-cheng-screening-queer-lion-award-winning-jose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.queerlion.it\/en\/usa-new-york-film-academy-nyfa-filmmaking-alum-li-cheng-screening-queer-lion-award-winning-jose\/","title":{"rendered":"Usa, New York Film Academy (NYFA): Filmmaking Alum Li Cheng Screening Queer Lion Award-Winning \u2018Jo\u015be\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s becoming more and more common for New York Film Academy (NYFA) alumni to win\u00a0major festival prizes<\/a>, so it wasn\u2019t any surprise when news broke out that Filmmaking grad Li Cheng won the 2018 Queer Lion Award at the 75th Venice Film Festival, one of the world\u2019s most prominent cinema competitions.<\/p>\n

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\"Li<\/a><\/p>\n

NYFA alum LI Cheng on set of Jo\u015be, Courtesy of YQstudio LLC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In 2008, Cheng attended the\u00a04-Week Filmmaking<\/a>\u00a0workshop at our New York campus. \u201cMy NYFA experience was wonderful,\u201d Cheng tells NYFA, \u201cand key to getting started right: hands-on, quickly, low-cost\/high-value, with passionate film professionals, and meeting and working together with creative, energetic, inspiring faculty, staff, and student-cohorts from day one. I couldn\u2019t have asked for more, or a better kickstart to my career in film.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheng used that kickstart to his full advantage. His feature film\u00a0Jos\u00e9<\/i>\u00a0is a nuanced look at the challenges and joys of gay life in Central America. The Spanish-language, English-subtitled film follows star Jos\u00e9 (Enrique Salanic), who lives at home with his mother (Ana Cecilia Mota), who makes ends meet by selling sandwiches at bus stops and who is not ready to let go of her youngest child. But when he meets Luis (Manolo Herrera), Jos\u00e9 is pushed to break down his own boundaries and take a leap of faith with this new relationship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9<\/i>\u00a0was written by Cheng, along with George F. Roberson, and was shot in Guatemala. The film was produced by Outsider Pictures.<\/p>\n

\"Jose<\/a><\/p>\n

The powerful film has resonated with audiences. Winning the Queer Lion is an incredible achievement; the\u00a0Queer Lion Award<\/a>\u00a0is the trophy awarded, starting in 2007, to the \u201cBest Movie with LGBT Themes & Queer Culture\u201d among those presented during the Venice International Film Festival. Previous winners include Tom Ford\u2019s\u00a0A Single Man<\/i>\u00a0and Tom Hooper\u2019s\u00a0The Danish Girl<\/i>.\u00a0Jos\u00e9<\/i>\u00a0has also won Best Film at the Boston LGBT Film Festival and was cited for its \u201cconfident visual sense\u2026a sensitive portrait [with a] depth of feeling\u201d by The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n

The film will screen at the Quad Cinema in New York City from Friday, January 31 \u2013 Sunday, February 2. Tickets are available\u00a0here<\/a>. Other screenings for\u00a0Jos\u00e9<\/i>, including at the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles on February 7, can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

New York Film Academy congratulates Filmmaking alum Li Cheng on winning the Venice Film Festival\u2019s Queer Lion award and looks forward to following his career as a filmmaker!<\/p>\n