The NYC Port Authority bus terminal is a mecca dedicated to getting people where they need to go but when Paul, a young Midwestern probation dodger with a damaged past and a chip on his shoulder, first arrives here - he’s got nowhere to go. His desperate search for a sense of belonging finds him reluctantly working for a gang of crooked movers who prey on the poor but secretly in love with Wye, a beautiful young trans woman whose tight-knit band of kiki ballroom performers exude the love, excitement, and stability he craves. Caught in the rivalry between his homophobic co-workers and her inclusive, protective trans community, Paul and Wye seek refuge in their forbidden love (aptly staged on a fire escape “balcony” and reminiscent of the warring factions in Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story). Fionn Whitehead and Leyna Bloom give emotionally raw performances as the star-crossed lovers. Danielle Lessovitz showcases Manhattan from a streetwise viewpoint in her gritty yet graceful film that was exec-produced by Martin Scorsese and premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
