OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Announces Select Films For 42nd Edition

OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival, internationally acclaimed as one of the largest LGBTQ+ cultural festivals in the world, is excited to announce its 42nd edition fall dates, preview of featured films and a new format designed to unite cinema enthusiasts from South Florida and beyond! For the first time in its history, OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival will offer 62 acclaimed features and shorts including premieres and documentaries from 25 countries that inspire, entertain and educate to theaters and audiences in Broward and Miami-Dade counties during one run.

This year's fall festival will open in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, Oct. 17 at Regal Dania Pointe (128 Sunset Dr, Dania Beach) and will run through Thursday, Oct. 24, at Paradigm Cinemas: Gateway Fort Lauderdale (1820 E Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale) and Savor Cinema (503 SE 6th St, Fort Lauderdale). From Friday, Oct. 25 through Sunday, Oct. 27, the festival will move to Silverspot Cinema Miami (300 Southeast 3rd St.) and Regal South Beach (1120 Lincoln Road Mall, Miami Beach) followed by select screenings available from Monday, Oct. 28, to Sunday, Nov. 3, during the OUTshine AT HOME extension.

"We are thrilled to introduce the newly reimagined OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival to South Florida," said Allen Martello, festival co-director, OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival. "Film is better with friends and our vision is to bring our community together to celebrate inspiring LGBTQ+ cinema with a fall and a spring festival in Miami and Fort Lauderdale."

He added, "We're also thrilled to welcome back FREE Uber rides to and from select film screenings in Miami making it easier for our Fort Lauderdale neighbors to travel to Downtown Miami via rail. By connecting our community, we're also adding on extra viewings, parties and special events, increasing the festival's run dates in theaters and at home."

Young Hearts (Belgium/Netherlands, 2023) will open this year's fall festival on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m., at Regal Dania Pointe. Written and directed by Anthony Schatteman in his feature debut, the film explores first love as 14-year-old Elias (Lou Goossens, in a breakthrough performance) contends with his feelings for Alex, a cool new neighbor. Exquisitely filmed in the Belgian countryside, this profound story resonates on multiple levels: a balm for those whose initial queer experiences were traumatic, a mirror for today's LGBTQ+ youth, and a hopeful message for parents of future generations. An afterparty at the Dania Improv will take place immediately following the screening.

This year's Centerpiece Film screening at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 at Savor Cinema will be the East Coast premiere of Hammarskjöld - Fight For Peace (Sweden, 2024), a speculative biopic about Swedish UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, the anti-colonialist, allegedly queer diplomat who died under mysterious circumstances during the Cold War while trying to bring peace to The Congo. The film is directed by Per Fly.

Back by popular demand is the festival's Latin Spotlight featuring critically acclaimed men's and women's films set to take place on Oct. 25 at Silverspot Cinema Miami. The fall edition's selections are The Astronaut Lovers (Los Amantes Astronautas) (Argentina/Spain, 2024) and the North American premiere of The Muleteer (La Arriera) (Mexico, 2024). Directed by Marco Berger, The Astronaut Lovers is a breezy comedy about Pedro and Maxi, childhood friends reuniting as young men who fall in love and comically try to hide it from family and friends. In The Muleteer, Director Isabel Cristina Fregoso presents a compelling 1930s narrative about daring teenage Emilia who ventures from the ranch where she grew up to find her biological father. Riding her horse through the mountains, where she pretends to be a young muleteer, she discovers a different world that leads her to find her destiny.

Additional selections of note include High Tide (United States, 2024) featuring Brazilian star Marco Pigossi at the heart of a moving tale of a gay immigrant in Provincetown navigating the gig economy after an unexpected breakup. The film also stars Marisa Tomei, Mya Taylor, and Bill Irwin; Drive Back Home (Canada, 2024), a brotherly road trip drama taking place in 1970 starring Alan Cumming; All Shall Be Well (Hong Kong, 2024), Director Ray Yueng's Teddy Award-winning film exploring family dynamics, unraveling relationships and the complexities of Hong Kong's inheritance laws; the award-winning Pet Shop Days (USA/Italy/Mexico/UK, 2023), Director Olmo Schnabel's gritty throwback to American independent cinema with a riveting portrait of lost young men seeking connection featuring fantastic performances (including Willem Dafoe), raw emotion, and propulsive pacing; and the documentaries Linda Perry: Let It Die Here (United States, 2024) and Sapir (Israel, 2024), an engrossing portrait of the world's first professional league transgender football referee, Sapir Berman.

Focusing on local LGBTQ+ filmmaking talent, OUTshine has curated a new South Florida Shorts program and will present its Filmmaker Panel during the festival run.

"Film lovers can expect a lineup of international, North American, U.S. and East Coast premieres stacked with notable award-winning and up-and-coming directors, actors and writers sharing creative visions and personal experiences that excite, exhilarate and uplift the human spirit," said Joe Bilancio, director of programming, OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival. "At a time when diversity and acceptance is in the spotlight, it's paramount for us to present films and programs with balanced viewpoints that promote tolerance, equality, understanding and empathy."

OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival's fall edition closes at 6 p.m. at Regal Cinemas South Beach with the film LAYLA (UK, 2024), a love letter to the queer community. Written and directed by Amrou Al-Kadhi, the film focuses on Layla, a struggling Arab non-binary drag queen whose confident façade hides their desperate desire for love. When Layla's performance at a belittling corporate Pride event turns into a transgressive takedown, they are surprised to catch the eye of marketing executive Max, whose attentions sweep Layla off their feet. As Layla starts to alter who they are in order to keep Max's interest, they both must face uncomfortable truths. Immediately following, a celebratory Closing Night Party will take place on historic Lincoln Road.

"The OUTshine staff, leadership, and board of directors are all incredibly excited to bring this new approach to OUTshine in BOTH cities this fall," said Owen Carhart, festival co-director, OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival. "Paired with new sponsors, opportunities, and a revamped community partner program, we can't wait to show you just where OUTshine is headed, not only this fall, but for the years to come!"

OUTrageous, OUTspoken, and OUTstanding, this year's OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival fall edition is sponsored, in part, by Twist Night Club, Lexi Goza State Farm, Funding Arts Broward, Broward County Cultural Division, The Our Fund Foundation, OutClique, HotSpots and It's Happening Out, OUTSFL, Skirt Magazine, Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami Beach, Prevention 305 and Gilead.

A full schedule for the 42nd edition of the OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival will be announced on Sept. 27 with ticket subscription packages and individual tickets on sale. OUTshine passholders and Producer Circle members receive priority advance ticket purchase opportunities.

For more information, visit outshinefilm.com.