“Next Year” may be resonating in more ways than the filmmakers originally imagined.
The short trailer features Jelani Aladin (The Fellow Travelers) as Robert, a widowed father set in a near-future America where “traditional values” are the law and homosexual acts are illegal.
Zach Martens (Sleep No More) co-stars as Robert’s new love interest. Rounding out the cast is Shatz Aletaha (“The First Wives Club”).
The trailer describes queer people being banned from banks, targeted in police raids on gay bars, and subjected to extreme government surveillance.
“We all know things are going to get bad when that bastard wins. We never expected it to be this bad,” Robert says in the trailer, which shows a video of a government official ordering that “any suspected homosexual activity must be reported immediately.”
The Next Year was written and directed by Emmy-nominated queer filmmaking duo Peter DiMario and Guto Barra. Costumes were created by four-time Emmy Award nominee Joseph La Corte (“Murdo: Death in the Family”).
The film’s logline reads: “The Next Year is a deeply personal and politically resonant film that reflects the challenges facing the LGBTQ+ community today.” “It is both a warning and a testament to the resilience of love in dark times.”
The film is currently being screened at international film festivals in hopes of qualifying for the Academy Awards in the live-action short film category.
Aladdin’s credits also include “Tick, Tick…Boom!”, the Michael Schwartz short “Strangers on a Beach” with Zane Phillips and Jack Falahee, and television’s “Blue Blood” and “The Walking Dead: World Beyond.”
DiMario and Barra won multiple New York Emmy Awards for “Immersive.World” and “Dreams From the Deep End.” DiMario won a Webby Award for “Art Changed Me,” and Barra, a three-time Emmy Award winner, has directed projects for HBO Max, Amazon Studios, Disney+, PBS, and more. Their work has been shown at MoMA and the Brooklyn Museum.
