Outfest Fusion, LA nonprofit Outfest‘s film festival dedicated to queer BIPOC storytelling, has unveiled the full lineup of films for its 20th anniversary festival.
10 features, 93 short films, and four TV presentations will screen during the March festival in Los Angeles, including Sundance documentaries “Little Richard: I Am Everything” and “The Stroll.” Documentary “Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn,” produced by Lee Daniels and Al Roker, will make its North American premiere during the festival; in total, 23 films will make world premieres, five will make their U.S. premiere, four their international premieres, and three their North American premieres. Over half of all films were directed by women, non-binary, two spirit, or gender-nonconforming filmmakers.
“We are at a moment where our industry is ready to have an honest dialogue about inclusion, investment and representation of people of color and yet our entire LGBTQ+ population is facing a rise in hate that targets us,” Damien Navarro, Outfest’s Executive Director, said in a statement. “On the 20th Anniversary of Outfest Fusion, we are not only celebrating our stories but continuing our mission of championing themes of intersectionality and diversity in the face of this new wave of attacks on our community.”
During the opening night gala for the festival on March 24, Indigenous activist and filmmaker Bird Runningwater will receive the annual Fusion Impact award. Runningwater is known for his work as the head of the Sundance Film Institute’s Native Lab, which focuses on investing in independent Indigenous filmmakers.
“Bird Runningwater has been an inspired champion of Indigenous storytellers and independent artists forging their path to narrative impact,” Outfest Director of Artistic Development Martine McDonald said in a statement. “His tireless work continues to cultivate generations of nuanced and vibrant representation of Indigenous peoples across media.”
In addition, Outfest Fusion will host a new “Patinum Alchemy Party,” an LGBTQ+ music event at The Aster club in Los Angeles. The March 31 event will be headlined by queer musician and poet Mykki Blanco, and also feature DJs like Star Amerasu and BAE BAE DJ. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Outfest Fusion, the festival will also host free community-led workshops both in-person and virtually, alongside workshops hosted by filmmakers whose work premiered at Outfest like David Sigurani, Edwin Alexis Gomez, and Kase Peña.
The 2023 Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival runs March 24 – April 2, both virtually and in-person in Los Angeles. Screenings will be held at JACCC Aratani Theatre, TCL Chinese 6 Theatre, Ovation Hollywood, the Japanese American National Museum, and The Los Angeles Theatre Center. Tickets are on sale now. Take a look at the full slate of films screening at the festival below:
FEATURES
“Finding Her Beat” (dir. Dawn Mikkelson, Keri Pickett | USA, Japan | Los Angeles premiere)
“Follow The Protocol” (dir. Fábio Leal | Brazil)
“Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn” (dir. Timothy Harris | USA | North American premiere)
“Little Richard: I Am Everything” (dir. Lisa Cortés | USA)
“Soft” (dir. Joseph Amenta | Canada | United States premiere)
“Soy Niño” (dir. Lorena Zilleruelo | France, Chile | Los Angeles premiere)
“Summer With Hope” (dir. Sadaf Foroughi | Canada, Iran)
“The Harvest” (dir. Caylee So | USA | Los Angeles Premiere)
“The Stroll” (dir. Zackary Drucker, Kristen Lovell | USA | West Coast premiere)
“This Place” (dir. V.T. Nayani | Canada | United States premiere)
SHORTS
“Adore” (Dir. Beth Warrian | Canada | International Premiere)
“After Bed” (Dir. Tt Takemoto | USA | World Premiere)
“After Sunset, Dawn Arrives” (Dir. Andy Yi Li | USA)
“Agents Of Change, Project: Polymer” (Dir. Jett Garrison | USA | World Premiere)
“Amina” (Dir. Shanrica Evans | USA)
“Angelo” (Dir. Alex Plumb | New Zealand)
“Baba” (Dir. Sam Arbor, Adam Ali | United Kingdom)
“Banana Clementine” (Dir. Angela Vang, Rogelio Salinas | USA | World Premiere)
“Beast” (Dir. Urvashi Pathania | USA)
“Bertie the Brilliant” (Dir. Gabriela Garcia Medina | USA)
“Boi Band ‘Mainstream’” (Dir. Federico Friciello | USA)
“Can We Play” (Dir. Emerson Basco | USA)
“Chaac And Yum” (Dir. Roberto Fatal, Xav Sf | USA)
“Chicho” (Dir. Arlen Aguayo Stewart | Canada, Venezuela | World Premiere)
“Claudia” (Dir. Erin Nene-Lee Ramirez | USA)
“Co-Pilots” (Dir. Tess Paras | USA)
“Coming” (Dir. Matthew Tyler | USA | World)
“Coming Out With The Help Of A Time Machine” (Dir. Naman Gupta | USA)
“Compositions For Understanding Relationships” (Dir. David Delafuente | USA)
“Curious” (Dir. Rikki Beadle-Blair | United Kingdom | International Premiere)
“Dear Dad” (Dir. Ibrahim Rana | Pakistan)
“Enamorado” (Dir. Eduardo Salas | USA | United States Premiere)
“Ensouled” (Dir. Kamee Abrahamian | Armenia | World Premiere)
“eXcape” (Dir. Molly Rose Heller | USA)
“Fat Lip” (Dir. Ryan Craver | USA | World Premiere)
“Forever” (Dir. Marco De Luca | United Kingdom)
“Get Free” (Dir. Ray De Mesa | USA)
“Gorditx” (Dir. Malik Ever | USA)
“Grocery List” (Dir. Joanne Mony Park | USA)
“Habib & The Thief” (Dir. Naures Sager | Sweden)
“Hard” (Dir. Robin Takao D’oench | USA)
“Headdress” (Dir. Taietsarón:Sere ‘tai’ Leclaire | USA)
“Heritage” (Dir. Sebastián Rea | USA | World Premiere)
“Hex The Patriarchy” (Dir. Anne Brashier | USA | World Premiere)
“Hold On To Me” (Dir. Rajvi Desai, Te Shima Brennen | USA)
“Hotter Up Close” (Dir. Leland Montgomery | USA)
“House Of Tulip” (Dir. Cydney Tucker | USA)
“I Am Poem” (Dir. Maite Bonilla | USA)
“I Identify As Me” (Dir. Tina Colleen, Monick Monell | USA)
“Imran And Alykhan” (Dir. Shakil Jessa | Canada | United States Premiere)
“Interdimensional Pizza Portal” (Dir. Aron Kantor | USA | World Premiere)
“Kevin” (Dir. Tony Moore, Wesley Quinn | USA)
“Knots” (Dir. Stephanie Sy | Canada | International Premiere)
“Look Like You” (Dir. Snigdha Kapoor | USA)
“Macaroni Soup” (Dir. Alayna Y | Canada)
“Man & Wife” (Dir. Rahul Roye | India)
“Maneki” (Dir. Brandon Okumura | USA)
“Masaru” (Dir. Rubén Navarro | USA)
“Mikey’s Army” (Dir. Andrew Keenan-Bolger | USA | World Premiere)
“Miniature” (Dir. Seokyoung Yang | USA)
“Mom, If I Were A Vampire” (Dir. Deborah Devyn Chuang | Taiwan)
“Moonboy” (Dir. Rachel Kwan | Canada | International Premiere)
“Mooncake” (Dir. Rraine Hanson | USA)
“My Dear Boy” (Dir. Leaf Lieber | USA)
“My Mother’s Girlfriend” (Dir. Arun Fulara | India)
“Nanao” (Dir. Jay Swuen | USA)
“Next Of Kin” (Dir. Timothy Guion Smith | USA | World Premiere)
“One Lift At A Time” (Dir. Flo Singer, Ben Dame | USA)
“One Like Him” (Dir. Caitlin Mcleod | United Kingdom, Jordan)
“Out In Place” (Dir. Nicolas Jara | USA)
“Para Vivir” (Dir. Jackelyn Santiago | USA)
“Périphérie” (Dir. Thibault Bru | France)
“Pierce Me.” (Dir. John E. Kilberg | USA)
“Polartropica ‘What’s Your Fantasy’” (Dir. Vanessa Marzaroli | USA)
“Prey” (Dir. Rico Johnson-Sinclair | United Kingdom | World Premiere)
“Recuerdo de una tarde en la azotea” (Dir. Tavo Ruiz | México)
“Rip Tide” (Dir. Luisa Dantas | USA)
“River” (Dir. Joshua Hernandez | USA | World Premiere)
“RONA” (Dir. Johaira Michelle Dilauro | USA)
“Scaring Women At Night” (Dir. Karimah Zakia Issa | Canada)
“Sequin” (Dir. Averi Israel | USA)
“Sheer Qorma” (Dir. Faraz Arif Ansari | India)
“Shoot Your Shot” (Dir. Mishaal Memon | United Kingdom, India)
“Slice” (Dir. Kelsey Scult | USA)
“Sonic Reverbs” (Dir. Sarnt Utamachote | Germany | North American Premiere)
“Spare Change” (Dir. Jesse Randall | USA | World Premiere)
“Still Queer” (Dir. Yuelei Song | USA | World Premiere)
“Still We Thrive” (Dir. Campbell X | United Kingdom)
“The Angel” (Dir. Dorian Wood | USA | World Premiere)
“The Dance-Off” (Dir. Nicolás Keller Sarmiento | Argentina, Usa | World Premiere)
“The Last Time We Came Out Of The Closet” (Dir. Bruno Tadeu | Brazil)
“The Resemblance” (Dir. Derek Nguyen | USA)
“This Is You” (Dir. Marco De Luca | United Kingdom | North American Premiere)
“This One Is For The Neighborhood” (Dir. Miguel Melo | USA | World Premiere)
“Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie” (Dir. Nicole Bazuin | Canada)
“Tierra” (Dir. Fana Adjani | México)
“Tommy Kha’s Bits & Pieces” (Dir. Jia Li | USA)
“UNIDAD: Gay & Lesbian Latinos Unidos” (Dir. Gregorio Davila | USA)
“Viv’s Silly Mango” (Dir. Rachel Maxine Anderson | Australia
“Welcome To Celibacy Club” (Dir. Campbell Moore | USA)
“Where Do We Go From Here” (Dir. Laquan Lewis | USA | World Premiere)
“Will You Look At Me” (Dir. Shuli Huang | China)
“Zindagi Dobara” (Dir. Amritpal Kaur | USA | World Premiere)
EPISODICS
“A Guide To Not Dying Completely Alone” (Dir. Yen Tan | USA)
“Mal De Amores” (Dir. Fiorella Vescovi Garcia | USA)
“Oceanic: Queering The Ocean” (Dir. Micha Cárdenas, Gerald Casel, Cynthia Ling Lee, Susana Ruiz, Huy Truong | USA)
“Undocumented Tales” (Dir. Armando Ibañez | USA | Season 4 World Premiere)
WORKSHOPS AND PANELS
“How to Craft the Perfect Project Pitch” with David Sigurani
“Navigating Commercial Filmmaking as a QTBIPOC Creative” Panel
“How to Tell a Story in 60 Seconds” with Edwin Alexis Gomez
“Making a Movie on Your Smartphone” with Kase Peña
“The Distribution Down Low: Shorts & Web Series” with Seed&Spark
“The Art of The Pitch: How To Successfully Pitch Your Story To Entertainment Publications”
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