THE HOLLYWOOD TIMES: OUTFEST: Some Top Picks from This Year’s Lineup of LGBTQ+ Films
July 9, 2023
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 7/9/23 – Outfest Los Angeles is in its 41st year as the pre-eminent Queer film festival showcasing LGBTQIA+ stories that strive to provide access, diversity and visibility for storytellers and audiences alike. With a broad range of narrative films and documentaries as well as a huge selection of short films, Outfest runs from Thursday, July 13, through Sunday, June 23 at a number of theatrical spaces in the city of Los Angeles, including the Directors Guild of America, the REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles, Harmony Gold, as well as the Orpheum Theatre and The Montalbán. Many of the films will be available online for viewing as well, through Outfest Screening.
The festival (July 13-23) will for the first time open and close with films created by trans artists: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (directed by Aitch Alberto) will kick off the festivities on July 13, with the 11-day event closing with Chasing Chasing Amy (directed by Sav Rodgers). The Opening Night Gala will screen at the Orpheum Theatre, with the Closing Night Gala screening at The Montalbán Theatre. These events also represent a homecoming for both Alberto and Rodgers, both of whom are alumni of Outfest’s Artist Development programs.
Aristotle and Dante, based on Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s young adult novel, centers on the friendship between two teenage Mexican American boys in 1987 El Paso. Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales star along with Eugenio Derbez, Eva Longoria, Veronica Falcón, and Kevin Alejandro. The film was acclaimed at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and will be released by Blue Fox Entertainment in in September 2023.
