Philadelphia QFest was founded in Philadelphia as the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival by TLA Entertainment Group in 1996. [1] It was given its current name, QFest, in 2009. [2]
One of the festival's founders and current Artistic Director, Raymond Murray, describes QFest's mission as giving gay and lesbian audiences the opportunity to see films that accurately reflect their life experiences without the filter of the "straight" Hollywood system. [3]
This event is the third largest of its kind in the United States, and the largest on the East Coast. The festival is held in Center City Philadelphia in various venues near and on the Avenue of the Arts. Film screenings take place at the Prince Music Theater, the Wilma Theater, and several other locations that differ from year to year. [3] It takes place for two weeks annually in mid-July and shows as many as two hundred films from more than forty countries. [3] There is a juried competition for best features and shorts (gay male and lesbian) as well as audience awards, selected by the viewers.
In 2014, QFest was canceled for the first year since its founding in 1995. Due to lack of fundraising and the unavailability of Raymond Murray to lead the film programming, the festival was postponed and then canceled for the year. [4]
Due to the cancellation of the festival in 2014, Thom Cardwell, QFest head, and James Duggan announced that they would launching qFLIX Philadelphia to take its place. QFLIX is a weeklong festival that presents independent international and national LGBTQ+ films. [5]
An event known as "There's No Place Like Home" is a two-week long celebration that takes place concurrently with QFest. This offers alternate activities for patrons to attend in between and after film screenings. The event is held in celebration of Philadelphia's thriving "Gayborhood" and has featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony, block parties, photo exhibits and many other special events throughout the festival. [6]
TLA had previously hosted an annual lesbian and gay film festival in the 1980s at the two cinemas the company ran in Philadelphia at that time: the TLA on South Street and the Roxy Screening Room on Sansom Street; however, it lacked the visibility, influence and longevity of the more recent festival.
LGBT History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson. LGBT History Month provides role models, builds community, and represents a civil rights statement about the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community. As of 2022, LGBT History Month is a month-long celebration that is specific to Australia, Canada, Cuba, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.
BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, formerly known as the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (LLGFF), is the biggest LGBTIQ+ film festival in Europe. It takes place every spring in London, England. Organised and run by the British Film Institute, all BFI Flare screenings take place in the BFI Southbank.
The Pink Mirror, titled Gulabi Aaina in India, is an Indian film drama produced and directed by Sridhar Rangayan. It is said to be the first Indian film to comprehensively focus on Indian transsexuals with the entire story revolving around two transsexuals and a gay teenager's attempts to seduce a man, Samir. The film explores the taboo subject of transsexuals in India which is still much misunderstood and ridiculed.
NewFest: The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival put on by The New Festival, Inc., is one of the most comprehensive forums of national and international LGBT film/video in the world.
QFest, formerly known as the Houston Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (HGLFF), is a nonprofit organization based in Houston, Texas, dedicated to promoting the media arts as a tool for communication and cooperation among diverse communities by presenting films, videos, and programs by, about, or of interest to the LGBTQ community.
The Iris Prize, established in 2007 by Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company, is an international LGBTQ film prize and festival which is open to any film which is by, for, about or of interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex audiences and which must have been completed within two years of the prize deadline.
TLA Entertainment Group is a privately held corporation based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1981.
Reel Affirmations (RA) is a non-profit, all-volunteer LGBT film festival in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1991 and held every year in mid-October, as of 2011 Reel Affirmations was one of the largest LGBT film festivals in the United States. Baltimore's Gay Life newspaper called it "one of the top three films festivals for the entire LGBT community." A 2007 guidebook claims it was one of the largest LGBT film festivals in the world. A listing of LGBT film festivals claims it is the largest all-volunteer film festival in the world.
The GAZE International LGBT Film Festival Dublin is an annual film festival which takes place in Dublin, Ireland each Bank Holiday weekend in late July and early August. Founded in 1992, it has become Ireland's largest LGBTQ film event, and the country's biggest LGBT gathering aside from Dublin Pride.
Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement is a 2009 American documentary film directed and produced by Susan Muska and Gréta Ólafsdóttir for their company Bless Bless Productions, in association with Sundance Channel. The film tells the story of the long-term lesbian relationship between Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer, including their respective childhoods, their meeting in 1963, their lives and careers in New York City, Thea's diagnosis with multiple sclerosis and Edie's care for her partner, and their wedding in Toronto, Canada, in May 2007, because gay marriage was not then legal in their home state of New York.
Out On Film, Georgia's gay film festival in Atlanta, was established in 1987 and is one of the oldest and most acclaimed LGBTQIA+ film festivals in the United States devoted to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. The festival is now held in Midtown Atlanta in late September and early October. Additional screenings and events are held throughout the year.
The Cincinnati Pride Parade and Festival is a week-long celebration of the city's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and other identities ([LGBTQ+]) community. The festivities are typically held annually at the end of June but have happened as early as April and as late as July in various locations of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Snowflake is a 2014 Italian short film written and directed by Italian director Francesco Roder and filmed in New York City. The short film stars American actresses Ele Keats and Tracy Middendorf.
ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival (ShPFF) (Chinese: 上海骄傲电影节), is an annual LGBT film festival held in Shanghai, China. It was first established in 2015.
Twin Cities Pride, sometimes Twin Cities LGBT Pride, is an American nonprofit organization in Minnesota that hosts an annual celebration each June that focuses on the LGBT community. The celebration features a pride parade which draws crowds of nearly 600,000 people. The parade was designated the Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade in honor of the late former parade organizer and transgender LGBT rights activist. Other Twin Cities Pride events include a festival in Loring Park and a block party spanning multiple days.
Miami has one of the largest and most prominent LGBTQ communities in the United States. Miami has had a gay nightlife scene as early as the 1930s. Miami has a current status as a gay mecca that attracts more than 1 million LGBT visitors a year. The Miami area as a whole has been gay-friendly for decades and is one of the few places where the LGBTQ community has its own chamber of commerce, the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC). As of 2005, Miami was home to an estimated 15,277 self-identifying gay and bisexual individuals. The Miami metropolitan area had an estimated 183,346 self-identifying LGBT residents.
The One is a 2011 American romantic comedy film produced, written and directed by Caytha Jentis, in her directorial debut. It stars Jon Prescott, Ian Novick and Margaret Anne Florence. The film premiered at the Philadelphia CineFest on April 8, 2011, and was also screened at the Frameline Film Festival in June 2011, and at the Philadelphia QFest, in July 2011. It had a limited theatrical release on October 7, 2011. Fox Meadow Films, owned by Jentis, produced the feature film. Jentis said she wrote the screenplay "after spending several nights with friends discussing true love", and it was the fastest script she had ever written.
Finding Mr. Wright is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by Nancy Criss. It was produced by Matthew Montgomery and Nancy Criss, and written by Jake Helgren. The film stars Matthew Montgomery, Rebekah Kochan, David Moretti, Jason Stuart, Scotch Ellis Loring, Rasool J'Han and Evan Miller. The film had its premiere at the Philadelphia QFest on July 13, 2011. It then moved on for a screening at the FilmOut San Diego LGBT Film Festival on August 20, 2011.
