The 62nd Chicago International Film Festival opened at the Music Box Theater on October 14th with Jordan Firstman’s first feature film “Club Kid.” Firstman was  awarded the Breakthrough Director prize.  Firstman both wrote, directed and stars in the film as Peter Green, a Brooklyn gay party thrower/influencer whose own real-life friends people the film, giving the movie  a feeling of authenticity.

Firstman was the reason both of my seatmates were present at Opening Night of CIFF. They were already familiar with Firstman from YouTube and the Internet. The comedian/actor sort of caught on during the pandemic, it seems, garnering some famous followers. I was familiar with “Search Party,” the series Firstman once worked on. “Rotting in the Sun” and “I Love L.A,” were previous Firstman acting outings. The 35-year-old Firstman’s first feature film was a slice of real life, shot in Brooklyn at real queer clubs.

PLOT

People dancing in a dimly lit nightclub with blue haze, a red vertical light, and large windows in the background.

Jordan Firstman’s “Club Kid” opening film at the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival on October 14, 2026, at the Music Box Theater.

The story, written by, directed by, and starring Jordan Firstman as Peter Green, follows a hard-partying New York City club promoter.Peter’s hedonistic lifestyle is upended when he discovers he has a 10-year-old  son from England named Arlo Baker (played by Reggie Absolom) from a past encounter. (Adam Sandler’s “Big Daddy” explored this cinematic ground in 1999.)

Arlo Baker, the look-alike ten-year-old son, is abandoned at Peter’s place, while Edison, a friend of his dead Mom’s takes off. It’s noteworthy that the children in films where this is a plot device are all already potty-trained, mobile and articulate—always a plus.  The suicide death of Arlo’s mother is not discussed much as a consideration, although it brings a social worker into the plot who becomes Peter’s gay love interest. The ensemble cast also features Cara Delevingne as Sophie, Diego Calva as Oscar, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Edison, plus many real club night-life people including SaturnRisin9.

As Clint Worthington (Roger Ebert review) wrote, “Peter lives in a spacious, rent-controlled Brooklyn apartment (inherited from his dead Mom) with a freeloading twink from Azerbaijan named Nicky (Eldar Isgandarov) who promises he’ll start paying rent as soon as he can find a six-figure job as a philosopher.” That out-of-touch-with-reaI life POV seemed epidemic for the youth portrayed in Club Kid. If I may digress (and I may), today’s youth who say they want to grow up to be influencers remind me of the students I taught during the hey-day of “Miami Vice” (1984-1989) who said they wanted to grow up to be Crockett and Tubbs. It’s a reference that Firstman is too young to remember (born 1991);  others older and unable to jump wildly for hours  will probably get the point. Please send me 1% of the energy shown onscreen, but I need mine drug-free. I don’t want it to  interfere with my Anastrazole, Lorazepam, Ursodiol and various OTC medications that my bad left knee requires.

IRL

A man in a tan blazer and red tie stands behind a podium at the Chicago International Film Festival, with a red-lit background and partial event text behind him.

Jordan Firstman in Chicago on October 14, 2026, receiving the Breakthrough Award on Opening Night of the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival.

I wondered if Peter is going to have a future story arc where he becomes as responsible as Oscar (Diego Calva), who once was a party animal but reformed and became a social worker. (A sequel?) Two questions: Late in the film when Peter tries going the same  social worker route as Oscar and is asked about the classwork he is taking, he describes it as “boring.” Is that a good sign for future employment IRL when Peter completes his training—if he completes the training?

Secondly, is it possible to live like Peter (and Oscar) live in New York City on a social worker’s salary? Add in the trips to London and I don’t want to see Peter’s credit card bill. But don’t mind me; I lived on a teacher’s salary for 15 years. That has colored my rose-colored glasses.

This is, after all, an energetic, high-powered, fast-paced, hugely cinematic comedy with heart, so enjoy the suundtrack, the characterizations, the gorgeous cinematic scenes  and the sequences like moving the piano. (Remniscent of an old “Friends” episode.) Go with the flow and enjoy!

FIRSTMAN AS PETER

A black-and-white portrait of a bearded man sitting cross-legged on a blanket, wearing a dark sweater and plaid shorts against a plain light background.

Jordan Firstman, Writer/Director/Actor in “Club Kid” at the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival.

Firstman does a great job of portraying a profligate but hugely charismatic  party boy who now has responsibilities and has to try to straighten up and fly right and attempt to parent the son he didn’t know he had. Perhaps putting the 10-year-old onstage as a D.J. in a club rife with drug use wasn’t the most well-thought out parenting plan. That leads to Child Services inquiries. Now there is a trans-Atlantic fight to London to try to secure custody of young Arlo, who is portrayed as a very mature, chill, savvy young man (and a good D.J.). Firstman displays his expert acting chops in a touching London courtroom scene. The film does have a killer soundtrack (Cristobal Tapia de Veer) and lots of heart.

Q&A

During the Q&A following the screening, Firstman said, “I think that a lot of the empathy in the movie comes from the fact that it had real people in it…The club is the place where we show off for ourselves and each other…I think the club, for gay people, should be monitored, but not let go of…I am the person at the party that tries to make you feel good, and directing my friends in it was (sometimes) difficult because of that.” Firstman compared his task as director to going in with a machete and “killing your darlings.” He added that “The film is earnest, but it can’t go too saccharine.”

A man in a tan suit and red tie stands behind a podium at the Chicago International Film Festival, with a red-lit backdrop and partial event text behind him.

Jordan Firstman on October 14, 2026, at the Music Box Theater in Chicago for opening night of the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival with his film “Club Kid.”

Firstman gave full credit to his two editors for maintaining the tone, Taylor Levy and Sofia Subercaseaux saying, “There’s a diligence and a heart that they shared and they checked each other.” He told a hilarious story about Sofia and Taylor disagreeing about the hand-waving scene(s) in the club and Sofia, in accented English, telling Taylor that the scenes had to go. Firstman also gave kudos to his Director of Photography, Adam Newport-Berra, saying, “I’m just constantly shocked at how good it looked.” In particular, he singled out one city view, shot from a rooftop far away, where the shot was (and is) exquisite saying, “Oh my God, thank you, Adam. It’s my favorite moment in the movie now.”

CONCLUSION

Its Writer/Director/Star Jordan Firstman said, of his first feature, “When I think about the movie now, I think it’s about how love can transform you and love can change you. Now, when I watch it, I think that, in a meta way, that’s what it has done for me. I’m changed in the process of making it.” A24 has announced an upcoming series of free showings of the film in 12 U.S.cities and the film will open at theaters on November 6th.