Shining For Everybody

The OUTshine Film Festival tells LGBTQ stories, unite communities, and throws one heck of a party.

The true story of a famous United Nations diplomat who worked for peace and hid his sexuality. Two women trying to build a future, but haunted by the past, on the Mongolian Steppe. The tale of a Romanian village’s reaction to a brutal crime. It is a love story centering on a British-Palestinian drag performer who finds love unexpectedly. The stories told at the OUTshine Film Festival cross genres and defy stereotypes. They also offer a story for everybody, according to the organizers of South Florida’s LGBTQ film festival.

“We have such a great audience so accepting of film in general, all kinds of film,” says Joe Bilancio, OUTshine’s director of programming, Joe Bilancio. “It doesn’t necessarily make it easier – in some ways it makes it harder because you want to please all these people who put their trust in you. Not everything is going to appeal to everybody but something is going to appeal to everybody.”

This year, OUTshine will be split between Broward and Miami-Dade counties for the first time. The festival opens on Thursday, Oct. 17 with the coming-of-age film “Young Hearts” from Belgium-Netherlands at Regal Dania Pointe in Dania Beach. The film is about a 14-year-old boy dealing with feelings that he has for his new friend and next door neighbor.

The festival will host films in three Broward locations, including Regal Dania Pointe (128 Sunset Drive, Dania Beach), Fort Lauderdale’s Savor Cinema (503 SE 6th St., Fort Lauderdale), the Classic Gateway Cinema (1820 E. Sunrise Blvd.) and the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale (1 E. Las Olas Blvd). To the south, venues include Miami’s Silverspot Cinema (300 SE 3rd St.) and Miami Beach’s Regal Cinemas South Beach (1120 Lincoln Road). A selection of films will also be available from Monday, Oct. 28 through Sunday, Nov. 3 for streaming.

The Broward portion of the festival runs from Thursday, Oct. 17 to Thursday, Oct. 24, followed by films shown in Miami-Dade from Friday, Oct. 25 to Monday, Oct. 28 and then “OUTshine at Home” from Tuesday, Oct. 29 to Sunday, Nov. 3.

Broward events and Miami-Dade events tend to bring out different crowds, and the mingling and fun of the festival is a critical part of the experience, says Allen Martello, the festival director.

“We also think it’s going to provide an opportunity to bring these communities together as well.” says Martello. “We like to say that film is always more fun with friends.”

Martello credits Bilancio with putting together a festival that speaks to people.

“Joe has programmed this festival so incredibly well,” he says. “Hey, come for a party and if you happen to catch a film, now we’ve hooked you. Now you’re in.”

Some of OUTshine’s diversity of film comes through necessity. It’s really two festivals — one in the fall, one in the spring. Because of that, it simply offers more films than most festivals, Bilancio says.

“Most gay and lesbian festivals have the same programming,” he says. “We don’t, because we have more festivals. We have to find more programming.”

Sometimes that can mean “younger,” perhaps edgier films. A film like “Haze,” which will be shown at the Classic Gateway Cinema on Saturday, Oct. 19, a dark but sexy thriller playing with disturbing themes, can reach an audience other films might not.

“A struggle we have that I think a lot of arts organizations have is how do we reach the youth,” says Martello. “They’re the market of tomorrow, but they’re also such a fun audience. We like having them around, their energy.”

That said, he also makes sure not to view OUTshine attendees simply as big demographic blocks.

“Your audience is a community of individuals who come together as a group,” he says. “You try to keep that in mind as you’re programming … Our community is not monolithic.”

But it is powerful. Together, OUTshine and other festivals on the LGBTQ film circuit can help get more stories told by speaking in a language the industry understands —box office dollars.

“The movie theaters we do have are seeing that our community does really come out to support film,” says Bilancio. “Distributors and film agents, people responsible for publicizing film, really are starting to see … our power does go beyond the festival.”

Bilancio has seen that when people come to the festival, they’re hooked. And that the moviegoers are the best publicity sharing their experience on social media or leaving reviews on movie sites online. 

“There’s that groundswell of ‘we as a community’ can exert some power. We are making more inroads than before.”

But, when it all comes down to it, the festival is all about the films.

Here are some highlights not to miss for the Fort Lauderdale version of OUTshine.

TRUE STORIES

Hammarskjöld – Fight For Peace (Sweden, 2024),  7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, Savor Cinema, 503 SE 6th St., Fort Lauderdale. Swedish UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld fought for peace and died in a plane crash under mysterious circumstances. Another mystery was his sexuality; it was not possible to live as an out gay man in his world at that time.

Sapir (Israel), 4:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, Classic Gateway Cinema, 1820 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. The documentary tells the story of Sapir Berman, a soccer player turned referee who at only 26 became a ref in the Israeli Premier League — and then began the journey towards gender reassignment surgery and life as the woman she knew she was.

FEMALE FOCUSED

Last ExMas (Canada, 2024), 7 p.m., Saturday, October 19, Classic Gateway Cinema, 1820 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. The spark is still there for two exes who meet while home for the holidays. But there’s plenty of history to overcome. The film is shown as part of a Ladies’ Spotlight Film and Party evening.

White Flag (Switzerland/Mongolia/Japan, 2023), 7 p.m., Sunday, October 20, Classic Gateway Cinema. On the unforgiving Mongolian Steppe, two women are trying to set up a life together as nomadic herders. But the emotional and real-world consequences of their past are close behind. 

THRILLERS

Haze (USA, 2024), 9:30 p.m., Saturday, October 19, Classic Gateway Theater, 1820 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. At only 76 minutes, this taut thriller finds Joseph back in his hometown looking into the case of eight gay men who died under mysterious circumstances at a now-closed psychiatric hospital.

Pierce (Taiwan, 2024), 9:15 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 19, Classic Gateway Theater, 1820 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Released from juvenile prison where he spent seven years for killing another boy in a fencing match, Han gets reaquainted with his younger brother Jie, insists on his innocence, and starts teaching him to fence. But can he be trusted?

For the full schedule, go to outshinefilm.com/films/program 

IF YOU GO

WHAT: OUTshine Film Festival

WHERE: Regal Dania Pointe (128 Sunset Drive, Dania Beach), Fort Lauderdale’s Savor Cinema (503 SE 6th St., Fort Lauderdale), the Classic Gateway Cinema (1820 E. Sunrise Blvd.), NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale (1 E. Las Olas Blvd), Silverspot Cinema (300 SE 3rd St., Miami) and Regal Cinemas South Beach (1120 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach). 

WHEN: Various times, Thursday, Oct. 17 through Sunday, Nov. 3.

TICKETS: $79.88, opening night film and party; $53.89, Centerpiece film and party, $37.82, $27.31, Men’s Latin Spotlight Films party, Ladies Spotlight Film & Party, film showings, $16.79 and $11.53, includes fee. Online showings, $15, A series of passes with varied benefits and tickets range from $90 to $600.

INFORMATION: outshinefilm.com

This story was produced by Broward Arts Journalism Alliance (BAJA), an independent journalism program of the Broward County Cultural Division. Visit ArtsCalendar.com for more stories about the arts in South Florida.

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