Out On Screen (formally the Vancouver Out On Screen Film & Video Society) is an

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

-oriented arts organization based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada. It began as a small, community-based film festival in 1988 and was registered as a BC society in 1989, in anticipation of the

1990 Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was starte ...

. Since then, Out On Screen has evolved to become a professional arts organization with two key program initiatives: the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, the annual queer film festival in Vancouver, and Out In Schools, a province-wide educational program aimed primarily at high school students, but with program delivery across the education system, that employs film and video to address homophobia, transphobia, and bullying.

Vancouver Queer Film Festival

The Vancouver Queer Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually during the month of August. The festival was first held publicly in 1988. It is Vancouver's second largest film festival and Western Canada's largest queer arts event.

Festival awards

People's Choice Award for Best Feature

Gerry Brunet Memorial Award

Established in 1997, this juried award is given in recognition of Gerry Brunet, a lifelong contributor to the arts and an early board member at Out On Screen.

People's Choice Awards for Best Short

Originally named for OUTtv's Hot Pink Shorts TV show (The OUTtv Hot Pink Shorts Award), this award recognizes an exceptional short film.

Other programs

Out in Schools

Launched in 2004, Out in Schools brings independent queer films into local high schools in British Columbia. In conjunction with

gay–straight alliance A Gay–Straight Alliance, Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) or Queer–Straight Alliance (QSA) is a student-led or community-based organisation, found in middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities. These are primarily in the United ...

s, Out in Schools focuses on the serious issues that affect queer youth. The purpose of Out in Schools is to reduce isolation and increase the safety of the learning environment for queer students in the community. Out in Schools aims to increase understanding through education to combat issues such as homophobia and bullying that threaten the safety of the classrooms for both queer and straight students. In 2013, Out in Schools expanded its program reach by 25% into new school districts, delivering 100 classroom presentations focused on queer and anti-bullying education to more than 8,200 high school students across BC!

FirstOUT Video Scholarship Program

FirstOUT Video Scholarship Program is an intensive digital filmmaking program for youth aged 16 to 24. This is part of the youth education initiatives which, together with Out In Schools, seeks to give media literacy and production opportunities to queer youth and their allies. It brings independent media artists together with queer youth to work with them on developing their own cultural voice and producing their first video. Since its inception, five films have been produced and exhibited.

2007

Out On Screen had partnered with

Pacific Cinematheque The Cinematheque (legal name: Pacific Cinémathèque Pacifique), founded in 1972, is a Canadian charity and non-profit film institute, media education centre, and film exhibitor based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The organization’s mission i ...

to present the first year of the "FirstOUT Video Scholarship Program". The application submission ended in November 2006. By mid-December, four participants were selected and were paired in a one-on-one mentorship with celebrated local independent media artists in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. The training and production period began in February and ended late June. All of the four short films were screened at the 19th Annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival on August 18, 2007, at

as part of the Youth Series. A youth-friendly reception followed to celebrate the accomplishment of the four young filmmakers, as well as the success of the program. : In addition to the four mentors above, Gabe Forsythe and Krista Stusiak were the youth mentors from

's Education department who facilitated boot camp workshops on cinematography and technicality of filmmaking.

References

External links

Vancouver Queer Film Festival

Vancouver Out On Screen Film & Video Society

Out In Schools

Queer History Project
{{LGBT in Canada, state=collapsed Film festivals established in 1989 Film festivals in Vancouver LGBT film festivals in Canada LGBT culture in Vancouver Queer organizations