Screen Queens: 7 Can’t-Miss LGBT Film Festivals to Visit This Fall
Bored with the weekly influx of box-office bombs at your local mega-theater? Skip the overblown-but-underwhelming Hollywood productions and support local filmmakers. Plan a getaway and hit the road to visit these fresh LGBT film festivals scattered about the country.
Out on Film // Sept. 29 to Oct. 6
Atlanta’s eight-day cinematic journey into LGBT lives, culture, and identity will offer a diverse slate of screenings (naturally) from full-length features, like Miles, starring Molly Shannon and Paul Reiser, to focused short films, including Scares Galore, a program of gay-themed thrillers like PYOTR495, about a 16-year-old boy in Moscow who’s baited online by an anti-gay ultranationalist group, and Sauna the Dead, a zombie-takeover tale set in a London bathhouse.
Twist: Seattle Queer Film Festival // Oct. 13 to 23
Twist, the largest lesbian and gay film festival in the Pacific Northwest, celebrates its 21st annual event showcasing the latest and greatest in queer film, from major motion pictures to emerging talent. More than 10,000 cinephiles will converge on the Emerald City to enjoy a full schedule of screenings, live performances, special guests, panel discussions, and new programs to be announced soon. Twist kicks off Oct. 13 and runs for 11 days.
TransNation Festival // Oct. 20, 21, & 23
A three-day celebration of transgender artistic and cultural achievements at St. John’s Well Child & Family Center in Los Angeles, TransNation Festival will include a film-screening portion guest-curated by Zackary Drucker (co-producer on Amazon’s Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning Transparent), a benefit art exhibition, and beauty pageant to support transgender health and human rights.
NewFest LGBT Film Festival // Oct. 20 to 25
More than 100 films, panels, and parties shine a light on the LGBT experience at New York City’s 28th annual NewFest, sponsored by HBO. This year’s six-day program will feature a collection of narratives, documentaries, and shorts screening compelling stories from across the LGBT spectrum, plus post-film talkbacks with cast and crew and the occasional celebrity sighting. NewFest.org
QCinema LGBT Film Festival // Nov. 10 to 12
Details for Fort Worth’s 18th annual international film festival are tightly under wraps — so much so that its current Q18 logo asks “Are You Curious?” (of course we are!) — but based on past years’ success, it won’t let you down. Q17’s Best Dramatic feature Sex, Death and Bowling, starring Adrian Grenier and Selma Blair, got props on Entertainment Tonight, and it’s still a flick to catch if you haven’t seen it yet.
3rd Street LGBT Film Festival // Nov. 14 & 15
Heroin use in the United States is rearing its vicious head again — and with a vengeance — and an early-submission preview of Imperfect Sky at the inaugural 3rd Street LGBT Film Festival in Santa Monica provides a documentary-like view of lives spent half living, half dead in South Central Los Angeles. Ultimately a story of love and family (and shooting up), this tale of two brothers on different paths will strike a chord with anyone affected by addiction.
San Francisco Transgender Film Festival // Nov. 10 to 13
Billed as the nation’s first transgender film festival, SFTFF (as it’s so called by those in the know) was founded in 1997 with a dedication to exhibit groundbreaking, provocative, outrageous, and courageous works that accurate depicts the complexity of living transgender. This year’s program will feature films cultivated from local, national, and international filmmakers who identify as transgender or gender variant, scheduled according to theme. Last year’s themes included TransSex, Against the Grain!, and Beyond Classifications.
