Peter, a club promoter who roams New York’s wild nightlife, is caught off guard when his ten-year-old son Arlo suddenly shows up. As a gay man, Peter has long since forgotten that he ever slept with a woman, only to suddenly find himself fumbling his way through fatherhood. Arlo enters Peter’s world and becomes a DJ. And just like that, the film’s title is quietly passed down to the next generation. Club Kid marks Jordan Firstman’s feature directorial debut, with Firstman also serving as writer and lead actor. The film generated buzz after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, where A24 acquired distribution rights for $17million. Having started out as a TV comedy writer before making a name for himself on social media with inventive videos during the pandemic, Firstman projects his own boisterous public persona onto Peter while drawing out the vulnerability and tenderness that lie beneath it. In the film’s final shot, as Peter looks up at the party, his figure quietly evokes the realities of adulthood— leaving behind a night of frenzy and stepping into a morning of responsibility.
An American actor and filmmaker. Firstman has starred in HBO′s comedy series I Love LA and in Rotting in the Sun (2023), which screened at the Sundance Film Festival. He directed the short films Call Your Father (2016) and Men Don′t Whisper (2017), and directed episodes of the TV series This Close (2019). His feature directorial debut, Club Kid, which he wrote, directed, starred in, and produced, screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
