LGBTQ+

It wasn’t all that long ago in the history of Hollywood that the LGBTQ community represented in front of the camera had to adhere to the strict Hays Code, which remained in place for three decades (1934 to 1968). It was a self-imposed industry guideline set up to prevent any explicit depictions of homosexuality in film.

OUTFEST was established in 1982 in Los Angeles as the first and only global LGBTQIA+ arts, media, and entertainment organization to support artists, communities, and filmmakers to change the world through their stories. Since 2005, the HFPA has donated almost $600,000 to this wonderful non-profit organization that last year hosted over 300 screenings and panels, six programs and engaged with over 50,000 attendees.

For the gay community, coming out is as unique an experience as it is personal. The process of identifying one’s sexual orientation, then sharing that information with loved ones, is, generally speaking, one of life’s biggest game-changers.

At age 7, Oliver Tolentino already knew he wanted to be a fashion designer. “All of my school notebooks were full of sketches of dresses,” said Tolentino who was born in Orani, Bataan in the Philippines.

“The change we need is so profound that it’s often described as impossible,” says the transgender, non-binary subject of the new documentary Uýra: The Rising Forest. “But the impossible is coming.

OUTFEST was established in 1982 in Los Angeles as the first and only global LGBTQIA+ arts, media, and entertainment organization to support artists, communities, and filmmakers to change the world through their stories. Every year, the non-profit organization hosts over 300 screenings and panels, and six programs and engages with over 50,000 attendees.

“When I was in college, I was a theater major, and I wasn’t out” recalls Greg Berlanti about his own passage to self-acceptance. “I was surrounded by kids who were out and brave and courageous and I remember thinking, I wish I had their courage.

Founded in 2003 with the Centre LGBTQI+* in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique French department), CinéPride is a unique festival for its diversity, giving the opportunity to audiences to discover documentaries and long and short films on the topics of homosexuality and gender identity. CinéPride is a six-day festival that took place in Nantes from June 14 through June 19, 2022.

Gazal Dhaliwal is an Indian screenwriter who has written for some widely appreciated Hindi films and series over the past five years, including Lipstick Under My Burkha, Qarib Qarib Single, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga – India’s first mainstream film about a gay woman – and a popular Netflix India series Mismatched. Dhaliwal is also a public speaker and LGBTQ+ activist, who has spoken openly about being a transgender woman in several talks and in the media – most famously in an episode of the Indian superstar Aamir Khan-led talk show ‘Satyamev Jayate.

The Tribeca Film Festival, celebrating its 20th year since it was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2002 in the wake of 9/11, is again featuring LGBTQ+ themed features, documentaries, and shorts this year. Tribeca is one of the country’s top film festivals that uplifts marginalized voices.