For its 20th edition, the Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival, presented by IMDb, was curated collaboratively with a talented group of programmers in the second year of the Outfest Fusion Programming Fellowship, an initiative to expand opportunities for QTBIPOC film curation professionals who often experience barriers toward career development in arts festival spaces. 

Josslyn Glenn, Rico Johnson-Sinclair, Tishon Pugh, Irene Suico Soriano, and Mara Tatevosian have selected a line-up of films that encapsulate the QTBIPOC experience, uplift emerging talents, and reflect the abundance of our community. 

Highlights include Sundance favorites like Academy Award–nominated and Emmy-winning producer and director Lisa Cortés’ documentary Little Richard: I Am Everything, and special jury award-winner The Stroll, Kristy Lovell’s and Zackary Drucker’s loving portrait of the NYC’s Meatpacking District and the trans women of color who lived and worked there. 

The festival will also feature the U.S. premiere of Soft, Joseph Amenta’s tender coming-of-age feature debut as well as the North American premiere of Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn, which follows Philadelphia politician Malcolm Kenyatta’s unprecedented bid for U.S. Senate in 2022. Director Tim Harris, film producer Lee Daniels and journalist and television personality Al Roker will join Kenyatta himself to present the film in person. 

All the features playing at this year’s festival are as follows: Finding Her Beat (dir. Dawn Mikkelson, Keri Pickett | USA, Japan), Follow The Protocol (dir. Fábio Leal | Brazil), Little Richard: I Am Everything (dir. Lisa Cortés | USA), Soft (dir. Joseph Amenta | Canada), Soy Niño (dir. Lorena Zilleruelo | France, Chile), Summer With Hope (dir. Sadaf Foroughi | Canada, Iran), The Harvest (dir. Caylee So | USA), The Stroll (dir. Zackary Drucker, Kristen Lovell | USA). 

The festival kicks off March 24 and runs through April 2 in-person and online, offering 10 days of screenings, free community workshops, and networking events.

Outfest Fusion’s in-person offerings will culminate with the annual One Minute Movie Contest. Drawing upon this year’s artwork, where QTBIPOC art and artists are centered as the heart of Hollywood, this year’s contest theme is “Envisioning Abundance.” Seasoned and first-time filmmakers of color are called to pick up their cameras or phones, and tell their story of queer joy in 60 seconds or less. The films will be screened at the Outfest Fusion Finale on Saturday, April 1. The winners will receive cash prizes and will go on to play the Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival in July. 

Fusion Achievement Award

Outfest will also honor Elegance Bratton with the Fusion Achievement Award. This award, which recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to LGBTQ+ visibility in stories, arts and media, will honor Outfest alum Bratton, recognizing his many accomplishments, including his now award-winning, A24-produced narrative feature The Inspection and his efforts to elevate queer Black stories in Hollywood and beyond. 

Past recipients of the Award include Stephanie Beatriz, Michaela Coel, Nisha Ganatra, Angela Robinson, Rose Troche, Wilson Cruz, Alec Mapa, Patrik-Ian Polk, Cheryl Dunye, Brickson Diamond, and Rikki Beadle-Blair.