Ahead of the 37th annual Out On Film festival’s kickoff on September 26, the organization has announced this year’s lineup of incredible LGBTQ films and shorts.
Out On Film 37 offers a diverse selection that includes 35 features (22 narrative films, 12 documentaries, and one special event), five streaming-only films and 111 shorts films (in 18 shorts programs) for a total of 151 films. In all, Out On Film will also host 15 world premieres as part of the 2024 festival.
“Our 37th Anniversary presentation is a wonderful celebration of celebrated films from all around the world and from Atlanta,” Out On Film Festival Director Jim Farmer said. “We’ve never had this much ATL in our festival. I’m also particularly proud of our short films, which includes work from Emmy nominee Nava Mau, Meg Statler, Elliot Page and Alex Hedison and Jodie Foster.”
In all, Out On Film will also host 15 world premieres as part of the 2024 festival.
Both an Oscar® and BAFTA-qualifying film festival, Out On Film will open on Thursday, September 26 with Anthony Schatteman’s Young Hearts, about a 14-year-old who realizes he has fallen in love with his new neighbor but interactions with family and friends bring more questions than answers. The Southeastern premiere of Marco Calvani’s High Tide will take place on Closing Night, Sunday, October 6. The film follows a young undocumented immigrant (Marco Pigossi) searching for purpose in Provincetown, who starts an intense and unexpected new romance. The supporting cast includes Oscar® winner Marisa Tomei, Jams Bland, Bryan Batt, Chrissy Judy’s Todd Flaherty and Mya Taylor.
Other notable films this year include the world premiere of Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps, a total redefinition of the “transition narrative” that blends archival footage, live performance, animation, and bold cinematic imagery to represent a lifetime from a trans-masculine perspective; the Southeastern premiere of Duino, a coming-of-age story following Matias, struggling with an unfinished movie inspired by his elusive first love to Alexander, a Swedish friend he met at an international school in the ‘90s; and What a Feeling, following a woman who stumbles into a queer bar after her husband leaves her, and she meets someone who changes everything.
There will also be a special event for the screening of short film Cashing Out. In the early 1990s, at the height of the AIDS crisis, a controversial industry gave hope to thousands of dying, destitute queer people. The “viatical settlement industry” helped terminally ill patients sell their life insurance policies for quick cash, allowing them to live—and die—with dignity. From its origins in gay activist circles to its transformation into a billion-dollar industry, the film traces the rise and fall of this morally complex business and spotlights one of its earliest investors: the filmmaker’s father. Director Matt Nadel, Scott Page, and DeeDee Chamblee are expected to be in attendance.
Along with 30 more feature films, the festival will also include the following programs of short films: Around the World for international shorts; Getting Your Funny On for comedy shorts; Transfabulous for shorts about the trans community; Empowerment and Inspirations for documentary shorts; Music, Matinees, Memories, and More for music videos and more; Connections for shorts about how we connect with one another; Animation Extravaganza for animated shorts; Let’s Talk About Sex for naughty shorts; Latinexcellence for Latinx shorts; Local Shorts and Spotlight on the ATL for shorts from Georgia- and Atlanta-based filmmakers; Horror Shorts; Girl Power for shorts from female filmmakers; Drama Shorts; and Everything Under the Rainbow for a miscellaneous array of short films.
To view the full festival schedule, visit outonfilm.org.