Outshine Film Festival's Mission Is to Show the LGBTQ Community They Are Loved

Over the last few years, Florida has become a hellscape for LGBTQ individuals. During his failed presidential campaign, Gov. Ron DeSantis attempted to raise his national profile by experimenting with a litany of anti-LGBTQ legislation in the Sunshine State. Proposed and implemented laws include prohibiting discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools; censoring areas of study such as critical race and gender theory from university curriculum; limiting gender-affirming care as well as permitting discrimination against LGBTQ individuals while accessing healthcare; and the far-right's current favorite obsession, denying trans people the right to use a restroom that matches their gender identity. Regardless of their misguided rationale, these ignorant, vague, and often unenforceable laws ultimately stoke fear and confusion and force people back into the proverbial closet.

Returning April 18-28, Outshine Film Festival is a much-needed respite for South Florida's queer community. In the face of recent and renewed discrimination, Joe Bilancio, the festival's director of programming, asserts, "We are and always have been a safe place for people to see their stories on the big screen." There is a power to that mission, and Outshine, in its 26th year, is offering "community and solidarity" in addition to films this year.

Part of that sense of togetherness is accessibility. This year, the festival is divided between South Beach and downtown Miami and is partnering with Uber to provide free rides within a certain distance to and from select screenings. In addition to making the festival experience accessible, Bilancio hopes that for anyone feeling marginalized and vulnerable in the current political landscape, Outshine also shows "that they are loved."

The sense of love, community, and solidarity abound in the selection of films at this year's Outshine, as well as the political. While Bilasco volunteers that Outshine is a "nonpolitical organization," he asserts that it is "made up of a group of politically minded individuals," which "can be hard to juggle." While politics never dictate the festival's programming, this year has a selection of interesting and politically pointed films. Perhaps the timeliest offering is Lessons in Tolerance, a Ukrainian satire in which the government launches an "acceptance program" that implants LGBTQ people into heteronormative homes to prove they are like anyone else. More confrontational, Power Alley and Toll, both from Brazil, explore the perceived threat queerness evokes within a community and family, as well as the tragedy that it entails. These films echo the real-life persecution of queer individuals in Florida and abroad.

This year's selection spotlights the multitudes of the queer experience, which in and of itself is a political act. Coming-of-age stories like Riley, Bonus Track, and Sunflower show a new generation confronting and accepting their identities and desires, while films like Chuck Chuck Baby, What A Feeling, and opening night selection Turtles prove that it's never too late to come of age. So many of the films, including The Shadow of the Sun, All the Silence, and Backspot, show the queer community's resilience and dedication to overcoming obstacles.
With the trans community under particularly harsh attack in Florida and elsewhere, films like The Fisherman's Daughter and Close to You, starring Oscar nominee Elliott Page, are a welcome addition. Similar to last year's Monica, both films involve trans protagonists returning home after a long absence and re-establishing strained family bonds. On the flip side, the Norwegian comedy Listen Up! follows a young trans kid and her immigrant family who discover the joys of standing out instead of fitting in.

In a world full of hate, love stories abound at this year's festival. Gondola, a wordless romantic comedy about two passing cable car operators, relies on stunning visuals and undeniable chemistry. Set in the art world of 1938 Italy, The Beautiful Summer is a sumptuous romance with an equal swooning effect. Queer romances are even more complicated in a trio of films exploring three-way relationships and love triangles like Throuple, F.L.Y., and closing night film Mascarpone: The Rainbow Cake.

The festival also offers more out-there fare with films challenging the boundaries of form and content. Both Sebastian and The Summer With Carmen take meta-approaches in very different directions as queer artists attempt to transform their real-life experiences into art. Experimenting with the horror genre, The Monster of Many Noses, an adaptation of Catalan folklore, and Mamántula, a slasher film built around a semen-thirsty killer, employ queer monstrosity as allegory with powerful results. Finally, The Missing and The Queen of My Dreams, both difficult to explain, utilize science-fiction and fantasy elements to enhance queer storytelling. It is a riveting collection of films that excite by celebrating queerness in both content and form.
On the documentary side, Outshine has assembled a terrific lineup that defiantly excavates queer histories. From Studio One Forever, exploring the first gay disco in America, to Neirud, a fascinating family mystery around a queer wrestler, these films shed light on forgotten communities and individuals. Lesvia traces queer history to ancient times as lesbian tourist clash with a Greek village at the birthplace of poet Sappho. There is a wonderful parallel between past and present between Mad About the Boy, about queer trailblazer Noël Coward, and Dalton's Dream, which charts a contemporary queer artists history-making achievements with all the benefits and baggage that entails. Collectively, these films show that LGBTQ people have always existed and are going nowhere.

Among a robust international lineup, Outshine has crafted some exceptional local programming. In the face of efforts to limit accessible healthcare for the queer community, 40 Years of Care is particularly pertinent. The doc charts Care Resource's 40 years of service to the queer community and its growth into the leading healthcare provider of South Florida. The festival has also built two Cocktails & Cinema events around the work of local LGBTQ filmmakers, including a South Florida filmmaker showcase with five shorts and Fallen Fruit, the feature debut of filmmaker and programmer Chris Molina. Both events celebrate the enormous efforts of local queer filmmakers to share their stories and the stories of their communities to the greater world.

One of the festival's most impactful events will be a free filmmaker workshop featuring Molina; Hansel Porras Garcia, manager of the cinema program at Oolite Arts; Angelica Bourland, founder of Miami Film Network; and others on Saturday, April 27. The motivation is clear, as Bilancio explains, "It is more important than ever to help find funds for queer films, political or not, to be made." Initiatives like these are essential to fueling a new generation of filmmakers to bring their vision to the screen.

While Outshine may not be a political organization, it is a platform for marginalized people to tell their stories loudly and proudly. It's part of the history of queer cinema and its future. "Queer film has always taken issues head-on. It's always been a part of the DNA of the filmmakers and presenters," Bilancio says.

Outshine Film Festival 2024. Thursday, April 18, through Sunday, April 28, at various locations; outshinefilm.com. Ticket prices vary.