Port Authority

Executive-produced by Martin Scorsese, Port Authority follows Fionn Whitehead’s young drifter Paul as he arrives in New York, where he is drawn to the glamorous dancer Wye and her friends.

From Pittsburgh, Paul spent his childhood in the foster system and whether he knows it or not, what he really wants is a family, a sense of community, of belonging. Seeking his half-sister in New York, he initially falls in with macho bro Lee, who runs a repossession racket. Yet Paul can’t shake his attraction to African-American kiki ballroom dancer Wye, and as their love grows, so too do Paul’s horizons.

Fionn Whitehead (The Children Act, MIFF 2018; Dunkirk; Black Mirror: Bandersnatch) and superb newcomer Leyna Bloom give Paul and Wye a sweet, low-key chemistry, with Whitehead believably evincing his character’s conflicting emotions as he struggles with loyalties and societal norms. Bloom, meanwhile, is a revelation of charisma and grace, and the welcoming embrace she and her community offer to an outsider is cinematic balm for the soul.

“A heartfelt and unexpected love story … Port Authority is vehement, urgent and sensual.” – The Guardian