Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival

About the festival

The Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival is 11 days of not to be missed world-class films, panels, and parties celebrating the queer experience.

More than 200 feature and short films, state-of-the-art venues, and attendance of over 40,000 people make Outfest Los Angeles the largest film festival of any kind in LA. Since our founding in 1982, Outfest has screened more than 6500 international films for audiences of well over half a million people. Great opportunities await filmmakers at Outfest.

Outfest is the leading queer media arts organization, and its location in the heart of the entertainment industry means more industry executives attend Outfest Los Angeles than any other LGBTQ film festival.

Our Outfest Forward program offers comprehensive services for emerging filmmakers to forge connections in Hollywood. These include:

- Industry Link, a one-on-one industry meeting with an agent, manager, production company executive, entertainment lawyer, or distribution company executive for every director in the festival.

- The Filmmaker Breakfast Series, morning panels hosted by industry insiders, with topics such as How to Find Distribution, How to Get Work in Television, How to Get Representation, Casting Your Film, etc.

- Panels, parties, and receptions where filmmakers meet other filmmakers as well as representatives from the industry, other festivals, and international LGBTQ media outlets.

- Outfest Los Angeles has the most extensive awards program of any LGBTQ film festival.

Outfest Los Angeles receives media coverage from national outlets such as Vanity Fair, CNN, USA Today, E! Entertainment Television, Access Hollywood, Variety, Entertainment Tonight, US Weekly, The Advocate, OUT, MTV, Hollywood Reporter, Genre and the Independent Film Channel — as well as key local outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, Lesbian News, Frontiers, Edge, XY Magazine, Nightlife, local network news, and many others.

GRAND JURY AWARDS
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short Film
Grand Jury Award for Best International Narrative Short Film
Grand Jury Award for Best US Narrative Short Film
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature
Grand Jury Award for Best International Narrative Feature
Grand Jury Award for Screenwriting, US Narrative Feature
Grand Jury Award for Best Performance, US Narrative Feature
Grand Jury Award for Best US Narrative Feature

PROGRAMMING AWARDS
Special Programming Award for Freedom
Special Programming Award for Emerging Talent
Special Programming Award for Artistic Achievement

AUDIENCE AWARDS
Audience Award for Best Platinum (Experimental) Short
Audience Award for Best Documentary Short
Audience Award for Best Narrative Short
Audience Award for Best Episodic Series
Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
Audience Award for Best Narrative First Feature

About

The Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival is 11 days of not to be missed world-class films, panels, and parties celebrating the queer experience.

Our Outfest Forward program offers comprehensive services for emerging filmmakers to forge connections in Hollywood. These include:

- Industry Link, a one-on-one industry meeting with an agent, manager, production company executive, entertainment lawyer, or distribution company executive for every director in the festival.

- Panels, parties, and receptions where filmmakers meet other filmmakers as well as representatives from the industry, other festivals, and international LGBTQ media outlets.

- Outfest Los Angeles has the most extensive awards program of any LGBTQ film festival.

PROGRAMMING AWARDS
Special Programming Award for Freedom
Special Programming Award for Emerging Talent
Special Programming Award for Artistic Achievement

Terms and rules

Films should be of interest to the queer community. We are seeking narrative, documentary, experimental, and animated films (both features and shorts) and episodic content in 35mm, 16mm, or DCP. (Upon acceptance, Outfest will provide projection options for the venue in which the film will screen. IF THE FILMMAKER CANNOT PROVIDE THE CORRECT PROJECTION FORMAT, THE FILM WILL NOT BE SCREENED.)

Rough cuts and works-in-progress are eligible for submission if the completed film will be ready for QC by June 1st, 2020. Please label the screener “Rough Cut” and specify what is missing (i.e. temp sound, needs color correction, etc).

By submitting your work to Outfest Los Angeles, you grant to Outfest a non-exclusive license to use an excerpt of your submission of up to two minutes in length, for promotional purposes only if selected.

Still photos from your work are requested with your submission and are required for all films selected for the festival. Good stills make a difference in film placement and press coverage, particularly for short films. Even the shortest short can get press coverage or festival prominence with a captivating still. Stills must be in TIFF or JPEG format and 300dpi (dots per inch).

You are also encouraged to enclose a synopsis, production credits, press information, and other collateral regarding your film.

CERTIFICATION
I have read and agree to the festival submission and participation requirements and certify that I am authorized to submit this film or video to Outfest Los Angeles. I understand that, in the event this work is selected for the festival, Outfest will retain a physical submission or back-up copy at the UCLA Film & Television Archive as part of Outfest UCLA Legacy Project. I hold Outfest harmless from damage to or loss of the print en route or otherwise during the course of the festival’s possession of the film or video.

Ratings & Reviews

Categories and fees

Narrative Short Films

Entry fees

Early Bird (20th December, 2019) $25

Regular (7th February, 2020) $40

Late (22nd March, 2020) $70

Description

Scripted content less than 40 minutes in length featuring queer characters or that is of interest to the LGBTQ community; Films that have not yet made their Los Angeles premiere are preferred; If accepted, we ask that short films available online in their entirety be taken down until after their screening(s) at Outfest Los Angeles 2020

Documentary Short Films

Entry fees

Early Bird (20th December, 2019) $25

Regular (7th February, 2020) $40

Late (22nd March, 2020) $65

Description

Unscripted content less than 40 minutes in length featuring queer characters or that is of interest to the LGBTQ community; Films that have not yet made their Los Angeles premiere are preferred; If accepted, we ask that short films available online in their entirety be taken down until after their screening(s) at Outfest Los Angeles 2020

Experimental Short Films

Entry fees

Early Bird (20th December, 2019) $25

Regular (7th February, 2020) $40

Late (22nd March, 2020) $65

Description

Experimental or non-traditional narrative content less than 40 minutes in length featuring queer characters or that is of interest to the LGBTQ community; Films that have not yet made their Los Angeles premiere are preferred; If accepted, we ask that short films available online in their entirety be taken down until after their screening(s) at Outfest Los Angeles 2020

Narrative Feature Films

Entry fees

Early Bird (20th December, 2019) $35

Regular (7th February, 2020) $60

Late (22nd March, 2020) $90

Description

Scripted content 40 minutes in length or more featuring queer characters or of interest to the LGBTQ community; Must be a Los Angeles premiere — cannot have shown publicly or at a festival in the LA-area prior to Outfest Los Angeles 2020; Feature films that have had commercial theatrical, television, or streaming exhibition or distribution in the US are ineligible

Documentary Feature Films

Entry fees

Early Bird (20th December, 2019) $35

Regular (7th February, 2020) $60

Late (22nd March, 2020) $90

Description

Unscripted content 40 minutes in length or more featuring queer subjects or of interest to the LGBTQ community; Must be a Los Angeles premiere — cannot have shown publicly or at a festival in the LA-area prior to Outfest Los Angeles 2020; Feature films that have had commercial theatrical, television, or streaming exhibition or distribution in the US are ineligible

Experimental Feature Films

Entry fees

Early Bird (20th December, 2019) $35

Regular (7th February, 2020) $60

Late (22nd March, 2020) $90

Description

Experimental or non-traditional narrative content 40 minutes in length or more featuring queer characters or of interest to the LGBTQ community; Must be a Los Angeles premiere — cannot have shown publicly or at a festival in the LA-area prior to Outfest Los Angeles 2020; Feature films that have had commercial theatrical, television, or streaming exhibition or distribution in the US are ineligible

Episodics

Entry fees

Early Bird (20th December, 2019) $25

Regular (7th February, 2020) $40

Late (22nd March, 2020) $70

Description

Episodic content created for broadcast television and/or streaming, including pilots featuring queer characters or of interest to the LGBTQ community; Narrative, documentary, animated, and experimental content welcome; Submitted episodes cannot have aired publicly or be available to watch online in their entirety; Projects that have not yet premiered in Los Angeles are preferred