Jordan Firstman’s directorial debut, Club Kid, arrives in theaters Friday after a strong showing at Cannes, where, according to Vogue, it received a seven-minute standing ovation and set off a bidding war. Firstman discussed the film with Chloe Malle on Vogue’s podcast The Run-Through.
A cast of pros, friends and nightlife regulars
The film features Cara Delevigne and Saturn Risin9, along with extras found on Grindr and in the local nightlife scene. Firstman plays Peter, who learns he has a long-lost 10-year-old son, Arlo, played by newcomer Reggie Absoholm. Firstman said he teases Absoholm on set and sometimes feels like a dad to him, and that this helped the young actor feel comfortable.
Firstman said producers Zach Stone and Ben Hubley, who were already part of the party scene, sent mass texts and emails to people they had partied with, and many showed up. He described seeing the community turn out for a creative project as moving. Several shoots took place at real parties, which he said were arranged with party planners over weeks of discussion, with signs posted to tell attendees they were being filmed. He cited the party Pit Stop, thrown by his friend Noah Shakoor.
Why New York
Although many associate Firstman with Los Angeles, he said he set the story in New York because of the city’s club history, from Studio 54 to the 1990s Club Kids era. He also pointed to a newer culture of marathon partying that he jokingly calls the "Berlinification of New York." He noted that New Yorkers also face a demanding work grind, creating a hamster wheel many gay men are living through.
He named Kramer vs. Kramer, Gloria, Big Daddy, One Fine Day and Uptown Girls as influences, saying he wanted a queer retelling in that tradition. The story, he said, grew from a dinner party where he made an eight-year-old laugh, and from time spent in Berlin between 2021 and 2024 with a boyfriend. He wrote a first draft before the breakup, and said it improved afterward. He calls the film a love letter to his ex and jokes that it is his Adele breakup album.
Club slang and fake drugs
In the interview, Firstman gave Malle a rundown of nightlife slang in which words are formed by adding "undle" to an initial. He said "bundle" is cocaine, and that the pattern extends to other substances and even to wine. He also described using fake drugs on set, including powdered lactose, which looked most like cocaine to him. One partygoer who was unaware it was fake told him she was lactose intolerant.
First-time directing
Firstman said he did nearly everything advised against on a first film: working with a child and non-actors, shooting on film, filming at real parties and shooting in New York. He said his existing friendships with cast members such as Saturn Risin9, who plays the maternal Saffron, made the process easier. He described the film as being about the different kinds of families people create.
Source: vogue.com
Image: vogue.com
