What is Outfest?
Outfest is one of the leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to growing, preserving and showcasing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender filmmaking. Beyond its well-known annual festival (its namesake), it screens movies year-round (as part of a regular series), and hosts special events. Outfest’s events draw film aficionados, artists, entertainment industry insiders and celebrities, and boast “some of the hottest parties around!”
Its namesake, the annual Outfest Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, is the oldest continuous film fest in LA (according to Outfest). It takes places annually, usually in July. Other series and subjects hosted by the Outfest organization include Access LA, Fusion (a multicultural LGBT film fest), and Outfest Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation.
Apart from providing a forum for emerging talent, Outfest is also committed to preserving and honoring the heritage of LGBT culture through filmmaking within the community. It has also brought its festival highlights on tours through Fresno, Santa Barbara and San Diego.
As the organization and its events have continued to grow through close to three decades in operation, it has expanded its scope to attract wider (gay and straight) audiences. It has also added some features along the way--everything from panels to sing-along screenings, screenwriting lab readings to free screenings.
Outfest is also home to the annual Outie Awards. Grand juries, festival audiences and the Programs Committee honor bests in categories including US Narrative Feature, Screenwriting, Actor and Actress in a Feature Film, International Feature and Documentary Feature.
History of Outfest
Outfest was founded in 1982 as The Gay and Lesbian Media Festival and Conference. At the time, it was held with the UCLA Film and Television Archives. It donned the name Oufest in 1994. The organization has shared over 4,200 films with audiences of over half a million. By 1998, Outfest had become (according to its 2001 site), the largest film festival in Southern California.
The Outfest Musical Sing-Along
This Outfest tradition sees attendees gather together for an evening of song and whimsy as they sing along to whichever musical is chosen that year.
- In 2008, the Outfest outdoor sing-along choice was South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut.
- In 2007, Outfest chose Dreamgirls as their sing-along.
- 2006’s Sing-Along was done to tunes from West Side Story.
- 2002’s Sing-Along was the ‘70s Olivia Newton-John musical film Xanadu.
Outfest Highlights
- In 1998, Ellen DeGeneres and then-girlfriend Anne Heche made a special appearance at the festival where The Real Ellen Story, a documentary about Degeneres’ coming out process, was screened.
- In 2007, David Duchovny and Marlee Matlin presented an award at Outfest’s Legacy Awards. That same year, the festival honored actress Judith Light and the network Showtime.
- Past winners of Outfest’s Achievement Award have included Gus van Sant, Todd Haynes, Sir Ian McKellen and Donna Deitch.
- Bruce Cohen (executive producer of American Beauty and Milk) and NBC Universal received the Outfest Legacy Award in 2008. His friend Ewan McGregor presented the award. Cohen greeted him with a hug and kiss and commented, “I just kissed Ewan McGregor on the lips. See, that is what this evening was all about.”
