For Peter Green (Jordan Firstman), a promoter and purveyor of... shall we say... stimulating party favors in the queer New York club scene, the party never stops. Each revelry blurs into the next, with restraint and responsibility perpetually foisted upon others, especially his fed-up business partner Sophie (Cara Delevingne). But on the precipice of losing another decade to the rhythm of the night, reality bites in the form of his surprise parentage to 10-year-old Arlo (Reggie Absolom), the result of a half-remembered hookup. When his mother unexpectedly dies, the boy is thrust straight into Peter’s carousing care.

Firstman’s spirited debut feature as writer and director bops to familiar beats as his affably incorrigible Peter tackles fatherdom, first with trepidation, and soon with enthusiasm as his precocious child’s propensity for DJ mixing becomes a springboard to endearing if precarious father-son bonding, though this is later threatened by encroaching custodial factors.

What distinguishes this trajectory from mere stock sentimentality is the care taken in depicting Peter’s queer community as they accept and invite Arlo into their world. Supported by Adam Newport-Berra’s intimate cinematography, Firstman authentically renders the lives of his characters with an effervescence that is both subtle and captivating. Special shout out to the excellent Diego Calva who portrays both Arlo’s therapist and Peter’s romantic foil with an affectionate calm.

A sensation at Cannes, where comparisons were drawn to ANORA (the films share producer Alex Coco), CLUB KID boldly brings its affecting story home with sobering shifts, but an emotional catharsis that makes it a consummate crowd pleaser.

—Peter Kuplowsky, Toronto International Film Festival guide