Tag Archives: Out on Film

2026

“In Between” a Joyful Queer Romcom About Next Level Acceptance

Leave a comment

The buoyant new queer dramedy world-premiering at the Out on Film Festival suggests there can be a second “coming out”: finally becoming comfortable in one’s own skin within a community that can impose its own seemingly impossible body standards. Juli-Ann De Barros and Nicholas Molencupp’s In Between (A-) plumbs the pop psychology of a “husky” gay man waiting for his prince to come while the little voices in his head, and considerably louder ones on the dating apps, broadcast decidedly mixed signals. Molencupp tells his own story as writer, co-director and extremely affable leading man, bringing brazen panache to an empowering tale that rarely gets told with this much wit, candor and romantic optimism. Consistently funny and empathetic, he plays a burly young gay man who has spent much of his dating life wondering why the perfect tens he desires aren’t exactly lining up, and a terrific soliloquy captures the exhausting marathon of succeeding at work and everywhere else only to score neutral-to-negative points in the impossible queer dating milieu. Cameron Moir is deeply effective as the primary and surprising love interest, a man forced to reconcile his genuine attraction with the entrenched expectations of his peer group, while Sachin Bhat and Elle Army are especially electric as the protagonist’s best friend and sister in an altogether winning ensemble. Krystal Joy Brown nearly walks away with the movie as a therapist who radiates such glorious self-possession that she becomes the living embodiment of self-acceptance, a personified gay anthem of self-love and the patron saint everyone deserves. Through meet-cutes, courting rituals, shame valleys and fantasy sequences, this entertaining movie cycles its characters through rejection and renewal with poignant humor and enough emotional honesty to keep its romcom buoyancy grounded. There is little time to wallow when an afternoon by the pool, a night of gay bingo or group karaoke comes calling, and the film understands that finding your people can be as essential as finding your person. De Barros and Molencupp ultimately deliver exactly what this kind of movie should: a relatable, big-hearted framework for seeing yourself differently while gently challenging a community to broaden its definition of who deserves to be desired. It’s not merely a film about acceptance; it is a joyful celebration of becoming comfortable enough in your own skin to demand love without first demanding that you become somebody else.

2026, Industry News

Out On Film Festival Has Begun in ATL, Now Through Oct. 4

Leave a comment

One of America’s preeminent LGBTQ+ film festivals, the Oscar®-qualifying and USA TODAY “10Best” Out On Film Festival (#OOF26), invites the community to be part of “The World We’re Making” as the nonprofit festival kicks off its 39th year of bringing the best in LGBTQ+ films, documentaries, and shorts to local, national, and international audiences – in person and via the festival’s virtual platform. The festival boasts 150+ narrative films, documentaries, shorts and special events. Presented by GILEAD, all festival screenings, Q&As and panels will take place at the historic Landmark Midtown Art Cinema.

Every ticket helps create spaces where LGBTQ+ stories can be seen, celebrated, and shared, and helps build “The World We’re Making.” This year’s theme reflects the power of queer cinema to not only tell our stories, but to help shape the world around us. Every screening, filmmaker, volunteer, audience member, sponsor and conversation contributes to building a more connected, visible, and inclusive future.

This 39th festival offers a diverse selection that includes 38 features (26 narrative films and 12 documentaries, four of which are streaming-only films); an episode of an upcoming TV series; 108 shorts; three music videos; and five episodics for a total of 155 films. In all, Out On Film will host 10 world premieres, five international premieres, 11 U.S. premieres and more than 20 regional premieres as part of the 2026 festival.

“Coming off of a record-breaking 2025, we are extraordinarily proud to present our largest festival ever, one that shines a spotlight on cinema and voices around the world,” said Out On Film Festival Director Jim Farmer. “It’s also wonderful to be able to offer so many Atlanta-area films and filmmakers, including some exciting world premieres.”

“’The World We’re Making’ feels especially meaningful and empowering right now,” said new Out On Film Executive Director Cindy L. Abel. “We’re not waiting for a better world to be handed to us, we’re building it, frame by frame and story by story, together. There’s something powerful about experiencing these films in a room full of people and discovering the conversations and connections that begin when the credits roll. We hope audiences leave a little more hopeful, a little more connected, and certain that the world worth making is already under construction — right here, right now.”

Out On Film continues to build on its national recognition. Earlier this year, Two People Exchanging Saliva, directed by Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh (France/USA), which

qualified for Oscar® consideration through Out On Film in 2025, tied for the Academy Award® for Best Live Action Short.  

Seven films awarded grants from Out On Film’s Filmmaker Fund are in the line-up, including Charlene Fisk’s Call and Response and Hannah Alline’s Scissors. Reel Resistance Fellowship (a six-month in partnership with Atlanta Pride) recipient films include Carlo Velayo’s The Center and Beyond The Doors of Club 708.

Thursday, Sept. 24, opening night is the East Coast premiere of Before I Do exploring a lakeside bachelor party weekend that devolves into comedic chaos when the groom and his best man’s past romantic feelings reignite, entangling the wedding party in pre-wedding drama. The film stars Cole Doman, Michael Hsu Rosen, Nico Greetham, Robin de Jesús and Jared Reinfeldt.

The festival’s Centerpiece Film Sunday, Sept. 27, 6:15 p.m. is Give Me The Ball!  Billie Jean King is a global icon whose impact on tennis and equality resonates around the world. But the personal turmoil behind this transformational figure has in many ways remained hidden from view. The film shares the sacrifices King was forced to make behind the scenes, even as she fought high-profile battles for the professionalization of her sport and equal treatment for women. From struggling to escape an unhappy marriage and hiding her sexual orientation to facing an eating disorder and staring down misogyny at every turn, her march to triumph was a long and often lonely one. This is a woman whose saga cuts deeper than her victory in the “Battle of the Sexes” showdown, and the film showcases King like the persistent fighter she had to become. Through a trove of rarely seen archival material and powerfully honest interviews with King, this film explores the depths of agony she endured so that others might follow a less painful path. It is the story of selflessness, struggle, and triumph that shines an unforgettable light on a figure who is widely admired but, until now, never properly understood.

Additionally notable, Closing Night Sunday, Oct. 4, 6:30 p.m. is La Bola Negra. The film is a bold tapestry spanning nearly a century of Spanish history. It is last week’s TIFF People’s Choice winner and tells the story of three generations of men whose lives are intimately connected through desire, pain, and love in this celebrated film from Cannes-winning directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi. It stars Milo Quifes, Guitarricadelafuente and Carlos González with featured performances by Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close.  

Another notable special presentation is 1985’s iconic Desert Hearts with Director Donna Deitch set to appear. Based on Jane Rule’s novel, this romantic drama has become an iconic lesbian classic. While waiting for her divorce papers, repressed literature professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay (Patricia Charbonneau).

A few other anticipated highlights of the festival:

  • The world premiere of In Between, directed by Nicholas Molencupp and Juli-Ann De Barros, filmed in Atlanta with a local cast
  • The U.S. premiere of Canadian film I Come Home
  • The Southeastern premieres of Ephemera from Singapore and Out of the Woods featuring Frances Fisher
  • The Georgia premiere of Israel film A Man Walks Down the Street
  • A Rising Star Award presentation to actor/singer/director Jelani Alladin, whose short film Next Year will have its world premiere at the festival
  • The first episode of the STARZ drama “Tip Toe”
  • The Mexican films The Divine Tragedy and On The Road
  • The Brazilian film Gugu’s World
  • The Spanish film Ivan & Hadoum
  • The British film Madfabulous
  • The South African film Black Burns Fast

Passes and tickets are on sale now at festival.outonfilm.org.  

2025

“Twinless” a Rollicking Requiem for Modern Male Bonding

Leave a comment
Twinless Film

Note: Thanks to Out On Film for an early screening as this buzzy Sundance acquisition gets a theatrical run in select markets starting this week.

Between seclusion from common COVID-era customs, confusion over gender roles, delusion over modern etiquette and illusions of relationships forged online or in video games, it’s no wonder IRL has mainly been WTF, and male friendships have become a contemporary casualty. Following a riff on similar themes in this summer’s Friendship, James Sweeney writes and directs Twinless (B+) in which he also co-stars as a gay man who meets a straight man in a support group for people whose twins have passed away, and the memories of lost siblings are stand-ins for the macro mystery of fallen fraternity and restoration of the bygone brotherly bond. Although Sweeney’s character’s “sus” motivations tend to derail the most realistic parts of the droll dramedy, his Dennis benefits from acting opposite Dylan O’Brien’s brilliant takes as the hot-tempered and sometimes air-headed Roman and his confident flamboyant flashback brother Rocky. He’s doubly an on-screen revelation. The film’s fog of grief and despair is soon punctuated by displays of public bonhomie: shooting whiskey, cutting up courtside and co-crooning with abandon behind the wheel. Aisling Franciosi is terrific as the workmate of Dennis and love interest of Roman caught slackjawed amidst the bromantic bliss and bluster. Greg Cotten’s cinematography smartly evokes two parts of a whole in so many ways, via reflective surfaces and split screens and even divided sandwiches, viewers will truly discover visually and viscerally how the other half lives. Add to all this a very memorable score by Jung Jae-il, and it’s a stunning original marked by offbeat humor and universal yearning. The filmmaker is willing to face some ugly truths as he holds a mirror up to the modern world and finds what may look like identical scenarios to some can actually harbor multitudes. 

2025

“Reclaiming It” — Out On Film Presents Queer Propaganda with a Twist 9/25 – 10/5

Leave a comment
Out On Film 2025

The animated Lesbian Space Princess, documentary The Librarians and the buzzy Tom Blyth/Russell Tovey drama Plainclothes are among the high-profile films in one of the most diverse festivals in the country.

Atlanta’s preeminent, Oscar-qualifying film festival Out On Film today announced its provocative 2025 “Queer Propaganda”’-themed full lineup, marking the event’s 38th year of bringing the most anticipated LGBTQ+ films and documentaries to Southern audiences and nationwide via streaming. Festival ticket packages are available now at outonfilm.org. Presented by GILEAD, festival screenings, Q&As, and panels will take place at the historic Landmark’s Midtown Art Cinema and Out Front Theatre Company.

Plainclothes Out on Film

Out On Film 38 will offer 38 features and 105 shorts films. In all, Out On Film will host nine world premieres, four international premieres, 10 U.S. premieres and 32 regional premieres as part of the 2025 festival.

The Opening Night film set for the September 25-October 5, 2025 festival is the documentary I Was Born This Way directed by Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard, which spotlights how pioneering disco artist Carl Bean’s 1977 anthem became a cultural milestone for LGBTQ+ music. Through interviews with music legends such as Lady Gaga, Billy Porter, Questlove and Dionne Warwick, the story unfolds of Archbishop Bean’s groundbreaking impact on queer representation in mainstream culture in this exceptional, empowering documentary.

The festival’s six centerpiece films are the following:

  • Assembly – A documentary feature directed by Rashaad Newsome and Johnny Symon and recipient of 2024’s inaugural Out On Film Filmmaker Fund Award, this film follows visionary artist Newsome as he transforms a historic military facility into a Black queer utopia, blending art, AI and performance. Through stunning visuals and deeply personal performances, the film captures the transformative power of creativity as a fractured community comes together to find strength, solidarity and liberation. See its trailer here.
  • Exit Interviews – The debut feature from Atlanta Comedy Theater owner Garrett Abd, this independent film explores the complicated emotional terrain of love, regret and personal reflection through the lens of one man’s journey to confront the ghosts of his past relationships head on. Trailer
  • Fairyland – Based on the acclaimed memoir of the same name by Alysia Abbott, this coming-of-age story is set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s vibrant cultural scene in the ‘70s and ’80s. Andrew Durham’s directorial debut is produced by Sofia Coppola and chronicles a father and daughter relationship as it evolves through an era of bohemian decadence to the sober and heartbreaking era of the AIDS crisis. The film stars Emilia Jones of CODA, Scoot McNairy, Cody Fern, Maria Bakalova and Bella Murphy with Adam Lambert and Geena Davis and newcomer Nessa Dougherty. Trailer
  • Lesbian Space Princess – This crowd-pleasing, award-winning animated feature by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese centers on a space princess thrust out of her sheltered life and into a galactic quest to save her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend from the “Straight White Maliens.” Trailer
  • The Librarians – Documentarian Kim A. Snyder, hot off her 2025 Oscar-nominated Death By Numbers, showcases librarians emerging as first responders in the fight for democracy, free access to information and First Amendment Rights. When an unprecedented wave of book banning largely addressing race and LGBTQ+ issues is sparked in Texas, Florida and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines.
  • Plainclothes – Promising undercover agent Lucas (Tom Blyth), assigned to lure and arrest gay men at a shopping center, defies professional orders when he falls in love with a target, Andrew (Russell Tovey). Director Carmen Emmi’s gripping feature film charts the unexpected relationship between the two men and Lucas’ internal growth. This was a big hit at Sundance, reviewed here on SilverScreenCapture. Trailer
Four Mothers
Out On Film Closing Night Movie: Four Mothers

The festival’s Closing Night movie will be the heartwarming Irish feature Four Mothers, directed by Darren Thornton. A struggling novelist in Dublin, planning for an upcoming book tour, is forced to take care of three eccentric older women – and his own mother, recovering from a stroke – over the course of one chaotic weekend in Dublin in this warm and funny crowd pleaser. Starring James McArdle (Andor), this film won the Audience Award at the BFI London Film Festival.

Photo of Angelica Ross by Gerson Lopes
Photo of Angelica Ross by Gerson Lopes

In addition, Out On Film festival is honoring Actress/Singer-Songwriter/TransTech Social Enterprises Founder and CEO/Transgender Rights Advocate Angelica Ross of Pose as its 2025 Icon Award winner. Her award will be presented at an in-person, free ceremony at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema September 30 at noon. 

“In a year where our rights are being threatened and taken away, it’s as important as ever to stand up and show we are around – and not going anywhere,” said Out On Film Festival Director Jim Farmer.

Regarding this year’s theme, Executive Director Justice Obiaya explains, “In a time when ‘Queer Propaganda’ is used as a political weapon to shame, censor, and vilify LGBTQ+ lives, we’re reclaiming it. At Out On Film, we’re turning the term on its head and making it our own. Queer Propaganda isn’t about pushing an agenda; it’s about telling the truth. It’s about reclaiming our right to be seen, to be heard, and to shape the narrative. Our stories build empathy. They reflect the world as it truly is: diverse, complex, and beautifully queer. In the face of rising backlash and politicized attacks, we’re not backing down. We’re leaning in, louder, prouder, and more united than ever.”

More films and events will be announced closer to the festival. Follow the festival here. And check out the trailer:

2025

Atlanta’s Out On Film Presents Spring Mini-Fest’25 March 17-19, 2025

Leave a comment

Atlanta’s preeminent, Oscar-qualifying film festival Out On
Film brings five of 2025’s most anticipated LGBTQIA+ narrative films and documentaries to Southern audiences with its “Spring Mini-Fest’25,” taking place over three consecutive evenings March
17-19 at Landmark’s Midtown Arts Cinema. Back for a third year, Spring Mini-Fest kicks off Monday, March 17 with the comedy of errors The Wedding Banquet (2025), starring Bowen Yang and Lily Gladstone.

March 18 will feature two anticipated documentaries: Sally, a rich portrait of Sally Ride, the first woman in space and her 27-year secret romance, and Speaking Out, featuring three men’s gripping stories of sexual trauma and recovery.

Spring Mini-Fest’25 wraps up March 19 with An Unexpected Community, a star-studded look at the popular pandemic-era female/queer Zoom group Women On The Net plus the sweeping post-WWII romantic drama On Swift Horses, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi and Will Poulter.

Tickets for all films are on sale now at outonfilm.org.

The Wedding Banquet (2025) at Out on Film
The Wedding Banquet (2025)
An Unexpected Community at Out on Film
An Unexpected Community
On Swift Horses Film at Out on Film
On Swift Horses
2024, Feature Story

Out on Film: A Kaleidoscopic Lineup for Sept. 26 – Oct. 6, 2024 Festival

Leave a comment

Out on Film presented by GILEAD has announced the lineup of films and events for the 37th Anniversary edition of the Atlanta-based LGBTQIA+ film festival.

Both an Oscar and BAFTA qualifying film festival, Out on Film will open on Thurs., Sept. 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, Sun., Oct. 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.

Centerpiece screenings include Juan Pablo di Pace’s Duino, Andrea James’ and Puppett’s Becoming a Man in 127 Easy Steps and Kat Rohrer’s What a Feeling. Out On Film will host 15 world premieres as part of the 2024 festival.

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.

“Our 37th Anniversary presentation is a wonderful celebration of celebrated films from all around the world and from Atlanta,” explained Out on Film Festival Director Jim Farmer. “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.”

More programming and events will be announced closer to the festival. Visit the web site for a full schedule of in-person and virtual films.

Two films already reviewed here on this site are In the Summers and Sebastian.

Since its official inception in 1987, Out On Film has grown to become one of the major LGBTQIA+ film festivals in the country. Now one of USA Today‘s 2020 Reader’s’ Choice picks as one of the top 20 film festivals in North America, Out On Film hosts an 11-day film festival in the fall as well as programming throughout the year.  

High Tide
A House is Not a Disco
Young Hearts
Duino
Close to You
2024

Sundance Sensation “In the Summers,” Showcased at Out on Film Festival, Streams on Digital Platforms Nov. 5

Leave a comment

Mirroring awards season darling The Zone of Interest, a film about what’s not happening at the Holocaust, the top prize winner at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival – featured at Out on Film – traces the lives of two sisters over two decades through four brief summers visiting their alcoholic father and omits off-screen the other dozens of seasons comprising umpteen collective years of their more consistent formative experiences. A poetic and humanist glimpse at growing up while mesmerized and repulsed by traits of an erratic father figure whose frailties they certainly don’t wish to emulate, Alessandra Lacorazza’s In the Summers (B) features lovely performances and sensitively maps the topography of the human heart in the unexpected terrain of desert town Las Cruces, New Mexico, with a predominantly Latino cast. Like Moonlight, the kids growing up are played by different actors in each of the film’s successive chapters, capturing a vibe if not a precise facsimile, with urban music star René Pérez Joglar (aka Residente) the constant with a marvelous lived-in portrayal of the troubled father. Each pair of actresses builds a successive solid foundation, paying off in anguished final act performances by Sasha Calle and Lio Mehiel. Along the bittersweet journey are suggested sexual awakenings and implied chemical dependencies, but viewers may find themselves at a distance with only snapshots disclosed along the sisters’ through lines. Despite a relaxed pace, some critical junctures are rushed or unresolved. Some of the movie’s metaphors about decay and distrust, evident in the unkept family pool and literal scars from skirmishes, become a bit too obvious as the film is revealed to not have a huge head of steam in the plot department. Cinematographer Alejandro Mejía creates delicate frames for an often moving series of portraits, including lovely chapter dividers depicting souvenirs of each epoch of summer times when the living isn’t easy. Viewers will find they deeply care about these girls growing up even if the film’s format doesn’t always dwell on the most decisive parts of their stories.