LGBTQ Film Festival
The 2026 LGBTQ Film Festival will take place
August 20-23, 2026!
Festival lineup will be announced soon. Join our mailing list to stay up to date!
Submissions for our 2023 LGBTQ Film Festival will be open March 1st!
Thursday, August 20
Day sponsored by:
Join us for an upbeat and FUN social event! Opening Night Admission Tickets include a complementary on-site After Party immediately following the feature presentation with delicious food selections from amazing San Diego restaurants; complimentary beverages – alcoholic (wine, beer, two specialty cocktails) and non-alcoholic refreshments; an impressive Silent Auction of a wide variety of items with total valuation exceeding $14,000; opportunities to meet and mingle with celebrities from the feature presentation; and a 360 Film Booth!
+ After Party
Test
Set in the world of amateur bodybuilding, the film follows small-town dreamer Eddie (Brock Yurich, also making his feature screenwriting debut) as he pursues his obsession with physical perfection and a future in competitive bodybuilding. Living with his emotionally demanding mother (Tony nominee Tammy Blanchard) and working as a cam model to support his training, he channels his emotional turmoil into relentless discipline of the body. When he begins working with a trusted coach Mike (Mike Edward) and reconnects with an old love (Paloma Garcia-Lee). Eddie starts to imagine a more hopeful future. But his focus is thrown off course by an unexpected queer awakening that destabilizes everything he thought he knew about himself. Burdened by religious guilt and the influence of his pastor (Matthew Morrison of Glee) alongside his mother’s struggles, Eddie must reconcile ambition with emotional truth as he approaches his most important competition yet.
Friday, August 21
Day sponsored by:
On The Sea
Set against the rugged coastline of North Wales, Jack (Barry Ward), a lifelong mussel harvester whose world is defined by family, tradition, and duty is married to Maggie (Liz White) and expecting his son Tom (Henry Lawfull) to follow in his footsteps, Jack’s carefully ordered life begins to unravel when Daniel (Lorne MacFadyen), a charismatic drifter and deckhand, arrives in the village and awakens long-suppressed desires. As tensions grow within the family and the close-knit fishing community, Jack is forced to confront the truths he has spent a lifetime avoiding.
We’ll Find Happiness
Saad (Mehdi Meskar), a young undocumented Moroccan immigrant, is planning a perilous journey to Canada with Reza (Aron Archer), his Iranian lover. When Reza faces deportation to Iran, where severe punishment awaits, Saad embarks on a desperate fight to save the man he loves. Set against the complexities of immigration, identity, and belonging, this poignant drama follows Saad’s struggle to protect their future together while confronting the personal sacrifices and impossible choices demanded by a system stacked against them.
Free at Heart
16-year-old Sebastian (Linus Moog) lives a sheltered life in a small town. His world changes when his family takes in Kolja (Aurel Klug), the 15-year-old son of a deceased friend of Sebastian’s father. Initially distant, the two boys slowly open up to each other, discovering a closeness and intensity in their bond that surprises them both. As they navigate this new and unspoken connection, their relationship becomes a private world of trust, tension, and shared secrets, challenging everything Sebastian thought he knew about himself.
Hunky Jesus
This documentary celebrates the radical joy and activism of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, culminating in their irreverent Easter Sunday pageant that transforms a San Francisco park into a vibrant gathering place for outsiders, seekers, and the spiritually curious. Blending live event footage, interviews, animation, and archival material, the documentary chronicles the Sisters’ decades-long mission of challenging hypocrisy, embracing authenticity, and building community through satire, compassion, and fearless self-expression.
My Brother’s Killer
For 33 years, the brutal murder of Billy London—a gay adult film performer whose dismembered body was discovered in West Hollywood—remained unsolved. What began as a documentary honoring his life evolves into a gripping true-crime investigation as filmmakers, friends, and members of Los Angeles’ LGBTQ+ community uncover overlooked clues and shocking new evidence. Through rare archival footage and deeply personal testimony, My Brother’s Killer reveals a chilling tale of violence, secrecy, and hate, while restoring the humanity of a victim too long forgotten and celebrating the community that refused to let his story disappear.
Saturday, August 22
Day sponsored by:
Something You Should Know About Me
At a queer cartooning retreat, Al (EJ Marcus), an insecure trans artist plagued by creative blocks and unspoken feelings for his best friend Jesse (Morgan Sullivan), finds his world turned upside down when charismatic cartoonist Mason (Sydney Mae Diaz) enters the picture. As jealousy, desire, and artistic ambition collide, Al must confront his fears and learn to express his true feelings before he loses the person he loves. Blending live-action with imaginative animation, this witty, heartfelt, and refreshingly messy trans rom-com explores friendship, self-discovery, and the courage it takes to draw your own story.
Scorch Marks
In the wake of an unexplained global catastrophe, Beckett (Brandon Shypkowski) awakens to a world of scorched skies and eerie desolation, convinced he may be the last person left alive. Isolated in a coastal home, his fragile sense of reality begins to fracture as he is haunted by the presence of his abusive ex-husband Joel (Chris Salvatore), forcing him into a confrontation with both lingering trauma and unresolved love. As supernatural forces close in and a primordial threat emerges from beyond the ruins, Beckett must navigate a collapsing world shaped by memory, guilt, and survival. Also starring Tiffany Shepis, Peter Stickles, and Vander Von Odd.
Out of The Woods
As her memory begins to slip away, Max (Frances Fisher) is drawn back to a pivotal chapter of her life she believed had been left in the past. When Diana (Mimi Kennedy), the woman who was once the love of her life, unexpectedly returns, old emotions and unanswered questions rise to the surface, forcing Max to reexamine the path she chose. With the support of her loving husband Charlie (Bruce Davison) and her family, Max embarks on a deeply personal journey of reflection, reconciliation, and self-discovery.
Before I Do
Romantic sparks and unresolved history collide at a lakeside bachelor party when groom-to-be John Michael (Cole Doman) reunites with his former flame and best man, Alex (Michael Hsu Rosen). As wedding weekend tensions rise, a meddling pair of self-appointed matchmakers (Robin de Jesus & Jared Reinfeldt) and a charming newly-out bisexual friend (Nico Greetham) throw the entire wedding party into delightful disarray. Packed with flirtation, friendship, and second chances, this warm-hearted romantic comedy delivers plenty of laughs, swoons, and autumn getaway vibes.
Mineshaft – The Cruising Murders
This fascinating documentary revisits the controversy surrounding William Friedkin’s 1980 thriller Cruising, starring Al Pacino, which ignited intense protests from the LGBTQ+ community upon its release. Tracing the film’s origins to the real-life murder of journalist Addison Verrill after a visit to Manhattan’s infamous Mineshaft leather bar, the documentary uncovers the rich history of the club, the vibrant pre-AIDS underground gay culture of 1970s New York, and the true story that became eclipsed by one of cinema’s most debated depictions of queer life.
Sunday, August 23
Day sponsored by:
A Man Walks Down The Street
Raanan (Angel Bonanni), a middle-aged man, returns home after 30 years abroad. A chance encounter with an elderly man unlocks troubled memories, and a brief affair with a much younger man sends him spiraling through generational rifts, forcing him to confront the internalized homophobia and emotional wounds of his past. As long-buried regrets resurface, Raanan finds himself caught between the life he built and the truths he spent decades trying to outrun.
The Divine Tragedy
(La Divina Tragedia) Cristián (Artús Chávez), a refined and traditional gay man, is abruptly abandoned by his wealthy husband Carlos (Rosendo Gazpel) after a 24-year relationship and forced to rebuild his life from scratch. His already fragile world is further disrupted when he must move in with his wildly hedonistic half-brother Roy (Pablo Gómez), whose chaotic lifestyle is the polar opposite of his own. Set in Mexico City.
The Dads
Inspired by an Emmy Award-winning short documentary, this film follows a community of fathers of trans and nonbinary children who find themselves navigating an increasingly volatile political landscape in the United States. As a powerful anti-trans agenda takes hold, they are forced to confront what it means to choose family, love, and protection in the face of national division. Filmed over the course of a year across retreats in rural Maine and Minnesota, as well as protests, family milestones, a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court decision, and the rapid erosion of gender-affirming care for youth, the documentary captures a deeply personal American reckoning through intimate verité footage and candid interviews with its central subjects.
Meeting Martha
Aspiring actress Lily (Lindsay Arnold) is finally ready to propose to her comedian girlfriend Jordan (Lizzy McGroder) when a shocking invitation upends her plans: her estranged biological mother, the legendary and notoriously unpredictable television icon Marsha Davis (Elaine Hendrix), wants to meet for the very first time. What begins as a long-overdue family reunion quickly spirals into a whirlwind of secrets, clashing personalities, and emotional landmines. As old wounds resurface and unexpected revelations threaten to derail both her future and her relationship, she must navigate a chaotic collision of family, fame, and first impressions.
Bookends
When Nate (Noam Ash) is forced to leave his fabulous city life behind and move in with his grandparents after a bad breakup with his boyfriend, he is determined to escape the confines of retirement community life and his meddlesome grandparents’ relentless attempts to ‘improve’ him. But when his Holocaust-surviving grandfather, Saul (F. Murray Abraham), shows signs of cognitive decline and his grandmother, Miriam (Caroline Aaron), refuses to acknowledge her husband’s early dementia, Nate finds himself torn between his desire to flee, family responsibilities, and an unexpected romance with his grandparents’ handsome doctor (Charlie Barnett).