The Frameline Film Festival (aka San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival) (formerly San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival; San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival) began as a storefront event in 1976.
The first film festival, named the Gay Film Festival of Super-8 Films, was held in 1977. The festival is organized by Frameline, a nonprofit media arts organization whose mission statement is "to change the world through the power of
queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
cinema". It is the oldest
LGBTQ+ film festival in the world.
With annual attendance ranging from 60,000 to 80,000, it is the largest
LGBTQ+ film exhibition event. It is also the most well-attended LGBTQ+ arts event in the
San Francisco Bay Area. The festival is held every year in late June according to a schedule that allows the eleven-day event's closing night to coincide with the City's annual
Gay Pride Day
LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...
, which takes place on the last Sunday of the month.
Films screened at the Frameline Film Festival have been donated to the Hormel Center at the
San Francisco Public Library. An initial donation was made in 2005, and the library partnered with the
Bay Area Video Coalition
BAVC Media, previously known as the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC), is a nonprofit organization that works to connect independent producers and underrepresented communities to emerging media technologies. It was founded in 1976 in San Francisc ...
(BAVC) for conservation of video recordings.
In 2020 the festival was one of the key partners, alongside
Outfest Los Angeles
Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Fest ...
, the
New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival NewFest: The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival put on by The New Festival, Inc., is one of the most comprehensive forums of national and international LGBT film/video in the world.
Founded in 1988, The New Festival, Inc i ...
and the
Inside Out Film and Video Festival, in launching the North American Queer Festival Alliance, an initiative to further publicize and promote LGBT film.
Awards
The festival's annual awards include
The Frameline Award
Established in 1986, The Frameline Award is given every year at the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco to a person or entity that has made a major contribution to LGBTQ+ representation in film, television, or the media arts.
List of Honore ...
given to an individual who has played a key role in the history of LGBTQ+ cinema, Audience Awards for
Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best Episodic, Best Short, and Juried Awards for First Feature, and Outstanding Documentary.
See also
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Cinema of the United States
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List of LGBT film festivals
An LGBT film festival or queer film festival is a specialized film festival that has an LGBTQ+ focus in its selection of films. LGBT film festivals often screen films that would struggle to find a mainstream audience and are often activist spaces ...
Notes
References
Further reading
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External links
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Frameline Program Guides
Frameline Film Festival Collectionat
Online Archive of California
San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festivalat
WorldCat
Frameline Film Festival Trailers YouTube Playlist
1977 establishments in California
Annual events in California
Film festivals established in 1977
Film festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area
LGBT film festivals in the United States
LGBT culture in San Francisco
LGBT events in California
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