After the party, parenthood: Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid changes the guest list

One minute you are running the night. The next, a ten-year-old is calling you Dad. In Club Kid, writer-director-star Jordan Firstman plays a New York club promoter whose carefully chaotic existence is interrupted by the son he never knew he had. Featuring Reggie Absolom, Cara Delevingne and Diego Calva, the comedy-drama brings queer nightlife into an unexpected conversation about love, responsibility and letting people in. It opened in selected US cinemas on 6 November; a Belgian release date has not yet been confirmed in the sources consulted.

The unexpected arrival nobody put on the list

Peter knows the nightlife business. Managing his own life is another matter.

Played by Firstman, the New York promoter is struggling with substance use and a deteriorating professional relationship with Sophie, his business partner, played by Cara Delevingne. Then Edison, a British woman portrayed by Kirby Howell-Baptiste, arrives with Arlo: Peter’s ten-year-old son, played by Reggie Absolom. Suddenly, the person organising everybody else’s good time has a very different kind of commitment to consider.

The premise sets up a collision between two worlds, but the interesting question is not simply whether a party boy can learn to parent. It is what happens when somebody who knows how to draw a crowd has to build a relationship that cannot depend on charm alone.

Jordan Firstman takes the whole project personally

Club Kid is Firstman’s feature directorial debut, with the filmmaker also writing the screenplay and taking the lead role. The film premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section before being acquired by A24.

That combination of roles gives the project a clear authorial centre. Firstman is not just playing the man at the heart of the mess; he is shaping the world around him.

The ensemble expands well beyond its headline names. Alongside Delevingne, Calva and Absolom, the cast includes Colleen Camp, Vicki Pepperdine, Miss Benny and performance artist Saturn Risin9. It is a line-up that brings different comic, dramatic and performance backgrounds into the same New York story.

Queer nightlife is more than the scene of the crime

Stories about excessive partying can easily turn clubs into a convenient shorthand for everything a character needs to abandon. Club Kid’s premise makes that a question worth keeping in mind: can Peter change without the film treating his entire world as a mistake?

Delevingne offered another perspective at the film’s Los Angeles premiere. Speaking to People, she described the queer party scene as the first place where she found “real belonging”. Her comments place community and acceptance alongside the more destructive aspects of nightlife explored through the characters.

That distinction matters. A dance floor can be somewhere people find friendship, desire and recognition, while particular habits or relationships within that world can still become harmful. Neither truth cancels out the other.

For LGBTQIA+ audiences today, the film’s premise matters because queer adulthood deserves room for both pleasure and care — without presenting one as the enemy of the other.

A father, a son — and the possibility of love

Arlo’s arrival is not Peter’s only emotional disruption. Diego Calva plays Oscar, whose connection with Peter develops into a romance. In an interview with Deadline, the actor described the trust built during filming and the importance of finding a genuine emotional connection with his character and fellow performers.

Those overlapping relationships suggest a story interested in more than an abrupt lifestyle makeover. Parenting, attraction and emotional vulnerability enter Peter’s life together, challenging the ways he relates to other people.

Whether the film makes those changes convincing is a question for the screening, not something a synopsis can settle. But it is a promising setup: a queer protagonist allowed to be difficult, desirable, unreliable and potentially capable of growth, rather than reduced to an exemplary role model.

Coming soon — but where?

The “coming soon” announcement now needs a geographical qualifier. A24 lists 6 November 2026 as the film’s US theatrical release date, with a limited release followed by further cinema bookings. That date should not be read as a Belgian opening.a24films+1

For Brussels readers, this is therefore one to keep on the radar rather than a confirmed local cinema outing. No Brussels screenings or Belgian release date were established in the sources consulted.

Practical information

• Film: Club Kid.
• Writer and director: Jordan Firstman.
• Main cast: Jordan Firstman, Reggie Absolom, Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Colleen Camp.
• Country and year: United States, 2026.
• Genre: Comedy-drama.
• Language: English.
• Running time: 122 minutes, according to SFFILM and BAM.bam+1
• US release: Selected cinemas from 6 November 2026, distributed by A24.a24films+1
• Belgium and Brussels: Release date, screenings and subtitle options not confirmed in the sources consulted.
• Trailer and updates: Visit the official A24 film page.a24films

The party does not necessarily end when life gets complicated. Sometimes the harder question is who you are prepared to make room for when the music stops.

KET Magazine is a community‑driven, non‑profit magazine run by volunteers and based in Brussels. You can find our other music and nightlife stories on ket.brussels, and you can always write to us to share your projects or pitch a story: info@ket.brussels