Outfest: The oldest LGBTQI film festival in LA
Founded by UCLA students in 1982, Outfest has spent four decades becoming one of the leading organizations for sharing, creating, and protecting LGBTQI stories on screen. The organization runs several film festivals each celebrating a different aspect of the LGBTQI community and filmmaking, using the power of movies to promote acceptance and equality for all LGBTQI people. In doing so, the festival invites diverse communities to engage with and celebrate queer storytelling while developing the next generation of daring original filmmakers within a variety of key yearly programs.
Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival
The oldest LGBTQI film festival in Los Angeles has evolved from its traditional multi-week format. The flagship event is currently paused for 2026, with programming restructured around more focused events that carry the same mission forward. Outfest Los Angeles continues to mark over 40 years of operation, and its legacy now feeds directly into newer initiatives that maintain visibility for international LGBTQI cinema while adapting to current production and audience realities.
Outfest Fusion LGBTQ People of Color Film Festival
Outfest Fusion LGBTQ People of Color Film Festival remains active as the Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival. It continues to highlight queer and trans filmmakers of color through targeted screenings and related programming. The festival keeps its emphasis on representation from African, African American, Asian diaspora, and Latinx perspectives, ensuring those voices stay central to the organization’s year-round calendar.
Outfest UCLA Legacy Project
It makes sense the oldest LGBTQI film festival in Los Angeles would also run the only program in the world dedicated to preserving gay, lesbian, and transgender films at risk of becoming lost due to deterioration or neglect. The festival has established the largest collection of LGBTQI moving images anywhere in the world with an archive of over 42,000 holdings. The Legacy Project continues to protect and restore essential titles, including Paris is Burning, Desert Hearts, and ongoing work on titles such as Different from the Others. Additional restorations include Pat Rocco’s 1978 footage of Harvey Milk’s Hope Speech, Richard Oswald’s 1919 trailblazing feature Different from the Others, and nine avant garde short film restorations of the Tom Chomont collection.
OutfestNEXT Programming
OutfestNEXT Programming has become the primary Los Angeles showcase for 2025-2026. The four-day event runs July 23-26, 2026 at LA LGBT Center venues. It presents narrative and documentary features alongside shorts and filmmaker conversations, with an emphasis on the resilience, joy, and artistry of LGBTQ+ storytelling. The format allows tighter curation and more direct engagement between audiences and creators than the older multi-week structure permitted.
Outfest Cinema Series and Year-Round Screenings
Outfest Cinema Series and Year-Round Screenings launched in 2026 as a new initiative to keep queer film visible outside festival windows. The series includes targeted screenings such as Bookends in April 2026 along with additional programs throughout 2025 and 2026. These regular events create consistent access points for audiences and give emerging filmmakers additional platforms to test work and connect with viewers.
Legacy Awards and Recognition
Legacy Awards and Recognition evolved from the earlier Screen Idol Awards and were renamed in 2014. The program honors sustained contributions to LGBTQ+ cinema while supporting preservation efforts. Past honorees include Hilary Swank and Laverne Cox. The awards continue to spotlight both established figures and rising voices whose work advances the field.
OutSet Young Filmmakers Project and Emerging Voices
OutSet Young Filmmakers Project and Emerging Voices operates as an active pipeline for youth and early-career talent. The project appears in WeHo Pride events and maintains a partnership with the LA LGBT Center. It has also incorporated One-Minute Film Contest winners from Fusion into public showcases. Additional programs such as the Screenwriting Lab and Producers Lab connect participants with industry professionals through workshops and structured development opportunities.
Organizational Recovery and 2025-2026 Rebuilding
Organizational Recovery and 2025-2026 Rebuilding follows a period of hiatus. Outfest returned with OutfestNEXT in 2025 and has scheduled a full year of programming for 2026. The focus includes staff rehiring and the rollout of new initiatives that expand reach while preserving the organization’s core commitment to queer and trans storytelling. These steps position Outfest to sustain its role as a central hub for LGBTQI film in Los Angeles for years ahead.
