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OUTshine Film Festival returns to South Florida — with movies that say 'gay' loud and clear

A scene from "The Blue Caftan" one of the films screening during the 2022 OUTshine LGBTQ Film Festival's Fort Lauderdale edition
Les Films du Nouveau Monde, Ali n' Productions, Velvet Films, Snowglobe
A scene from "The Blue Caftan" one of the films screening during the 2022 OUTshine LGBTQ Film Festival's Fort Lauderdale edition

The festival's director says Florida's current political climate makes LGBTQ+ film festivals "more important than ever before."

The Fort Lauderdale edition of the 2022 OUTshine Film Festival begins this week, bringing more than 50 new LGBTQ-themed movies to the big screen — and to online audiences.

The festival returns during a time when Florida's approach to LGBTQ rights is under intense scrutiny; a new law dubbed "Don't Say Gay" limits how the state's teachers can discuss gender identity and sexual orientation. Another curtails how physicians can render care to transgender youth. And Governor Ron DeSantis has punished companies — most notably, Walt Disney World — for opposing the laws.

"It's critical that our stories get to be told," says Mark Gilbert, OUTshine's Interim Executive Director. "Especially in a time where people are telling us that our stories aren't relevant."

OUTshine represents a merger of two separate film festivals: the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, founded in 1998 and the Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, which started in 2008.

Each year, OUTshine holds two major screening events in South Florida: a Miami festival every spring and one in Fort Lauderdale in the fall.

The screenings will be held at several physical venues in Fort Lauderdale. They will also be available via "OUTshine At Home" — an online streaming option that launched during the COVID-19 pandemic.

IF YOU GO:

OUTshine LGBTQ Film Festival 2022
Fort Lauderdale edition
Running October 13-23, 2022

For venue locations, ticket prices, online streaming option and other info, please visit:
OutShineFilm.com.

Christine DiMattei is WLRN's Morning Edition anchor and also reports on Arts & Culture.
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