OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival 26th Annual Miami Lineup Showcases International Features, Shorts & Premieres April 18-28

This year’s highly anticipated festival celebrating queer culture adds new Latin Spotlight, Filmmaker Panel and free Uber rides to unite cinema enthusiasts.

MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, April 5, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami, internationally acclaimed as one of the largest LGBTQ+ cultural festivals in the world, is proud to announce its 26th annual Miami film line-up. This year’s highly anticipated festival runs April 18 – 28 and will showcase more than 50 international features and shorts including premieres and documentaries that inspire, entertain, and educate. New this year will be a Latin Spotlight, a panel for aspiring filmmakers and FREE Uber rides to and from select screenings. The films will screen at Silverspot Cinema Miami (300 Southeast 3rd Street) from April 18 to 24 and at Regal South Beach (1120 Lincoln Road Mall, Miami Beach) from April 25 to 28. A variety of parties and special events will take place at various locations throughout Miami.

“We are excited to unveil this year’s engaging OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami lineup featuring a reimagined and more accessible experience of incredible premieres, filmmaker instruction and more parties,” said Joe Bilancio, director of programming for OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival. “Our films hail from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Ukraine, Spain, and beyond with the goal of uniting us in universal love and acceptance by promoting tolerance, equality, understanding and empathy.”

This year’s opening night film taking place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, at Silverspot Cinema Miami is “Turtles (Les Tortues)” (Belgium/Canada, 2023). Directed by David Lambert, this relationship comedy-drama follows the ups and downs of married couple Thom and Henri, together for 35 years, now facing retired life and what happens when a love turns sour. The W Miami Afterparty will take place immediately following the screening.

Brand new this year is a Latin Spotlight night set for Saturday, April 20, at Silverspot Cinema Miami, with four films from Latin America. At 8 p.m. is the North American premiere of “Blue Lights (Luces Azules)” (Argentina, 2023). Directed by Lucas Santa Ana, “Blue Lights” is a vibrant, engaging and sophisticated dramedy that plays out during a 70th birthday celebration. Festival-goers can also choose “All The Silence (Tod El Silencio)” (Mexico, 2023), directed by Diego Del Rio, at 8:15 p.m. This poignant film focuses on Miriam, an actress who is also a sign language teacher, who begins a downward spiral when she learns that she will become fully deaf.

Two nights of Cocktails & Cinema will celebrate local filmmakers, cast and crews from students to seasoned industry veterans at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 22, and Tuesday, April 23, at Silverspot Cinema Miami. This year’s South Florida Shorts program includes “Double Life” by Mellie Parks and Trinity Byonie, “Frag” by Christopher Frentzel, “Myrna’s Secret Spies” by Andy Perrott, and “Open Dialogue: Generation QueerZ” by Freddy Rodriguez. On both nights, there will be a Q&A after the screening and a reception will be held in the OUTshine Lounge at the Silverspot immediately following.

Max, a 25-year-old aspiring writer living in London, becomes a sex worker with the pseudonym Sebastian in order to research his debut novel and this secret double-life becomes a source of liberation and transformation in writer/director Mikko Makela’s “Sebastian” (Finland/UK, 2024), this year’s Centerpiece Film. The film will be screened at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, at Silverspot Cinema Miami. An afterparty will take place immediately following the film.

To encourage more local LGBTQ+ filmmakers to tell their stories, OUTshine will present its Filmmaker Panel on Saturday, April 27, at 2 p.m. at Regal South Beach. This special event will feature local directors Hansel Porras Garcia, director of “Febrero” and OOLITE Arts; Chris Molina, director of “Fallen Fruit,” “I Wonder If I’m Growing” and programmer with the Miami Film Festival; Freddy Rodriguez, director of “Open Dialogues: Stories from the LGBTQ Community;” Filmmaker “Bootcat;” Joe Tufte, Miami Dade College film professor; Noah Salzman, director of “Clocked” and Angelica Bourland, director of “Warrior” and “Unstuck.”

Also, on April 27, is the Men’s Spotlight slice-of-life comedy film “F.L.Y.” (USA, 2023), directed by Rafael Albarran and Trent Kendrick. When two ex-boyfriends (Max and Rafael), who haven’t seen each other in five years, reunite — the covid pandemic hits, and they’re forced to quarantine together. The Ladies Spotlight Film will be the East Coast premiere of “Backspot” (Canada, 2023), directed by D.W. Waterson. Riley is given the chance to cheer with the all-star squad, Thunderhawks. With a competition looming, Riley must navigate her crippling anxiety, her relationship with her girlfriend, and her desperate need for approval from her new coach.

Additional selections of note include the North American premieres of “Lessons of Tolerance” (Ukraine, 2023), “The Fisherman’s Daughter (La Estrategia Del Mero)” (Colombia, 2023), and “Sunflower” (Australia, 2023); the Southeast premiere of “Gondola” (Georgia, 2023); the Trans-focused films “Close To You” (Canada and UK, 2023) starring Elliott Page and “The Summer with Carmen” (Greece, 2024); the Queer Festival premiere of the award-winning “Riley” (USA, 2023), and the documentary “Mad About The Boy: The Noel Coward Story” (UK, 2023) narrated by Alan Cumming.

The North American premiere of “Mascarpone: The Rainbow Cake (Maschile Plural)” (Italy, 2024) will be the Closing Night Film commencing at 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 28, at Regal South Beach. Director Alesandro Haigh presents an intoxicating drama about sexy duo Antonio and Luca who are trying to pick up the pieces three years after their friend Denis’s passing. Immediately following at 8 p.m., a celebratory South Beach Group Hotel Closing Night Party will take place at the Miami Beach Women’s Club (2401 Pine Tree Drive, Miami Beach).

To make attending OUTshine’s incredible films and special events more accessible, the City of Miami is offering FREE Uber Rides to and from Silverspot Cinema (within a 25 mile radius) valid from April 18 through April 24!

OUTrageous, OUTspoken, and OUTstanding, this year’s OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami is sponsored, in part, by Miami Dade County, the City of Miami Beach and Gilead.

Ticket subscription packages and individual tickets are on sale now. For a full schedule, visit outshinefilm.com. Follow us on Facebook @OUTshineFilmFestival, on Twitter @OUTshineFilm and on Instagram @OUTshineFilm.

Michael Goodman
GPR | Goodman Public Relations
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OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami April Preview