Following another accomplished year for one of the country’s longest running and celebrated film festivals, Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ Film Festival announced its Call for Entries for its 36th edition, taking place on September 21 through October 1.
“Last year’s 35th Anniversary celebration highlighted what our filmmakers and audiences have come to rely on when they attend Out on Film – a celebration, here in Atlanta of the best in LGBTQ cinema, wonderful conversations on films with our honorees, like last year’s ICON honoree, Colman Domingo, and simply screenings and events that immerse everyone in the joy we all receive from seeing great films and meeting the people who have made those films,” Out on Film Festival Director Jim Farmer said.
After kicking things off with a completely sold-out screening of Nicholas Stoller’s Bros, co-written by and starring Billy Eichner, the 35th edition of Out on Film seemed to string one highlight after the other, including its Spotlight screenings of Micheal Rice’s Black As U R, Connie Cocchia’s When Time Got Louder, Daresha Kyi’s Mama Bears, and the world premiere of Yuval David’s Wonderfully Made — LGBTQ+R(eligion) from executive producer Mark McDermott, and advocate producers including Lance Bass. The Georgia premiere of Todd Flaherty’s dark comedy Chrissy Judy served as (what would prove to be) an award-winning Closing Night presentation.
Once again, Out on Film teamed up with GLAAD, as a promotional partner whose relationship with the film festival continues to grow. An Oscar® qualifying film festival, which was recently included on MovieMaker Magazine’s “50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” list, also continued to add to its reputation as a festival that balances film discovery with new works with the joy of presenting beloved and fun films with its 40th Anniversary screening of Allan Carr’s Grease 2. Out on Film also introduced a screenplay competition to the mix this year, which included a free-to-the public reading of the winning screenplay.
As an Oscar® qualifying film festival, short films that win Out on Film’s Best Drama Short award are eligible to enter the Academy’s Live Action Short film competition for the concurrent season, provided their films otherwise comply with the Academy rules.
Two Screenplay Competitions – a Short Film Screenplay Competition and a Feature Film Screenplay Competition were introduced last year. Winners in the Short Film category receive $250 and the Feature Film category receive $500. Both winners receive a staged reading during the film festival.
Juried film categories include:
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
BEST DOCUMENTARY
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM
BEST DRAMA SHORT FILM
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST SCREENPLAY
BEST PERFORMANCE
BEST ENSEMBLE
Screenplay competition categories include:
BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY
BEST SHORT FILM SCREENPLAY
The submission deadline for the 36th Out On Film festival is June 9, 2023, with late submissions accepted through June 30. For more information on Out On Film, please visit outonfilm.org.