South Florida will roll out the red carpet for the return of the OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival on Thursday, Oct. 16, at Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale. The 11-day festival will showcase more than 60 features, documentaries, and shorts, inviting audiences to see their stories reflected on the big screen while discovering new voices from around the world.
Opening night will feature Blue Moon, Richard Linklater’s 2025 release starring Ethan Hawke as Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart of Rodgers and Hart fame. Joe Bilancio, who has overseen OUTshine’s programming for more than a decade, called the film “witty” and “darkly comic,” noting that the film follows Hart, a closeted gay man, as he navigates his career after Rodgers found new success with Hammerstein. The cast also includes Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, and Andrew Scott.
OUTshine is one of the only film festivals in the country to hold two major festivals each year — one in the fall and one in the spring. This fall’s festival begins with eight days of screenings in Fort Lauderdale before moving to Miami for a three-day run. Organizers say this two-city model reflects the strength of South Florida’s LGBTQ+ communities.
“Our movies are important and it’s important for people to have access close by where it’s easy to get to see films about our lives,” said Mark Gilbert, board chair & interim executive director of the OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
Bilancio, who jokes that OUTshine has put the ‘fest in festival,’ said his goal is to create a lineup that reflects the diversity of the LGBTQ experience while also appealing to a broad audience. This year’s films include comedies, dramas with international arthouse titles, documentaries, and two shorts programs designed to spotlight new voices.
“We always have something for everyone, and I always say, ‘hopefully more than one thing for everyone’,” Bilancio said.
Beyond the films, Gilbert and Bilancio both expressed that the festival is all about a shared experience — seeing their stories on the big screen together and then having conversations afterwards at festival parties and events.
“To be able to come together with those same people who just experienced the film with us in an environment that fosters communication and friendships and great conversations, I think that’s just critical to who we are and what we do,” Gilbert said.
This sense of connection also resonates with local filmmakers whose work will be featured in the festival.
Ulises Puiggrós, who wrote and acted in Four Stars, a film about four trans women who build a chosen family after being rejected by their own, said he hopes audiences leave the festival with greater compassion and understanding.
“I hope people empathize with the people who don’t have a good space in the world,” said Puiggrós. “I hope people start to open their eyes and empathize with those people.”
For Bilancio, films like Four Stars can also inspire a quiet sense of activism in the audience.
“People don’t, a lot of times, feel comfortable being that activist, so kind of coming to a festival and seeing activists on the screen, or seeing that power in who we are and what we can do, I think is really important,” he said. “It empowers them, it empowers us, it empowers our community.”
Rene Lavan, a Dania Beach–based actor, producer and director whose thriller Red Light will screen at the festival, said the annual event also enables filmmakers to connect with international creatives.
“It’s such a landmark festival that has grown with the community. This festival brings films from all over the world,” he said. “Last year, I met an amazing director from England, from Italy, from Asia, that had an opportunity to screen their films here.”
Lavan also noted that while the festival connects him with international filmmakers his own project Red Light, is directly connected to South Florida, both on camera and behind the scenes.
“It’s all Latinos and you see South Florida reflected so it’s something to be proud of,” he said.
For both filmmakers and festival organizers, OUTshine’s impact goes beyond premieres and parties. Gilbert said the festival is also about the feeling that comes from sitting in a theater surrounded by people who share your story.
“Our stories tend to be very impactful, and when you see gay film on the big screen with an audience filled with people that are sharing parts of your life, it’s just different. It justifies our existence,” said Gilbert.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Opening Night Film & After Party
WHERE: Savor Cinema, 503 SE 6th St., Fort Lauderdale
WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m.
TICKETS: $75
INFORMATION: outshinefilm.com
