Newbies

By: Kelly Kearney

Newbies – A Poetic Journey Through Queer Love and Longing

Competing in the Texas Short Competition at SXSW, Newbies is a 17-minute, mood-driven short film by Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence and Megan Trufant Tillman. Starring Mia Isaac and Josiah Cross, it follows two emotionally charged strangers who cross paths on a late-night train in Brooklyn, each wrestling with their queer identities. A poetic meditation on love, loss and self-acceptance, Newbies tucks its heartbreak into the quiet corners of one restless night in New York.

Young and Queer in New York

The film follows two young Black twenty-somethings—Kai (Mia Isaac) and Moses (Josiah Cross)—as they separately navigate the emotional trenches of queer love on a lonely night in Brooklyn. Kai, haunted by memories of her ex, sees her in her dreams, in the streets and in the spaces they once shared. Their past and her pain is inescapable as the night pulls her toward the question: does she have the strength to face the woman who broke her heart one last time?

Her counterpart in this tapestry of music, poetry and queer awakening is Moses – a man caught in a cycle of secrecy. He’s been seeing a closeted man, but the weight of their hidden love is suffocating him. Meeting in the shadows is no longer enough as Moses wants to be seen and to be whole. Acceptance, he learns, is both terrifying and freeing. As long as he has been running from it, it seems more like spinning in circles, trapped and unable to break free. As their journeys unfold, their paths intertwine in the city’s quietest hours. Their conversations—raw, unfiltered—reveal the heartbreaks that shaped them and ultimately put them on the same path.

Creating a Mood

With jazzy, spoken-word-infused moments that break the fourth wall, Newbies pulsate with the rhythms of the city—the rust of the trains, the pounding feet on wet pavement and the echoes of past lives in motion. Against the city’s backdrop, Kai and Moses paint their experiences of sexual discovery, pain, truth and madness, but it’s in the simplest of exchanges: “You good?” that the two’s connection crystallizes Such a casual and layered New York greeting weighted with the unspoken understanding of, “I see you. I am you. We are still here, moving forward—even if we left our hearts at the last stop.”

The film expertly embraces New York’s rare, quieter moments—where the city’s relentless energy briefly subsides, mirroring the loneliness and uncertainty that linger within the characters. A cameo by veteran actor Danny Glover as a street prophet adds a touch of wisdom and mysticism to the night that any New Yorker will recognize.

In one striking sequence, Moses sprints down Broadway and Myrtle, his footsteps pounding out his frustration past the line of fast food joints that define that infamous block. His breath hitching with the weight of a truth too long denied, directors Lawrence and Tillman capture this raw desperation with their unflinching camera following his freedom run. Weaving spoken word into visuals, the camera creates a quiet space for Kai who likens her longing to the ache of an unshakable toothache. It’s in the stillness of a near-empty train car, heading in an uncharted direction, where both characters find a glimmer of light in each other, and in that camaraderie, hope might be their final destination.

Holding Space for Heartache

The performances from the two leads are gripping—heart-wrenching in their quiet pain. Josiah Cross delivers a searing portrayal of a man choking on his own truth, his body tense with unspoken anguish. His feet running in sync with his racing heart, caught between escape and confrontation. Every gasping breath Moses takes is punctuated by Kai’s murmured, poetic reflections as both characters search for meaning in the wreckage of their heartbreaks. The actors’ performances start as subtle murmurs and then sprint toward a breakneck revelation of acceptance–of who they are and where they are going.

Worth Your Time?

Sometimes love and loss make you want to run through the streets, leave you aching in ways words can’t describe, and turn the night into nothing more than a long, lonely wander. Newbies is more than just a queer short film—it’s an entire mood, steeped in music, artistry and personal discovery. With New York City taking a backseat to broken hearts, this short dares to ask the city to quiet as its character’s take a moment to process. If you get the chance to follow Moses and Kai on their journey, buy the ticket and take the ride; it’s a worthwhile trip and won’t be disappointing.