QFest, formerly known as the Houston Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (HGLFF), is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas, dedicated to promoting the

media arts New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D pri ...

as a tool for communication and cooperation among diverse communities by presenting films, videos, and programs by, about, or of interest to the

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 ...

(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community.

History of the Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

Organizations closely associated with movies helped produce the first HGLFF in 1997. The HGLFF does not use a curator; instead, each venue books its own films from submissions and projects they pursue independently. An advisory board facilitates organization of the films and events – an undertaking that begins almost a year in advance. Striving to make the Festival accessible to the entire population of the greater Houston area, the two-week festival has screenings at

Landmark Theatres Landmark Theatres is a movie theatre chain in the United States. It was formerly dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent film, independent and foreign film, foreign films. Since its founding in 1974, Landmark has grown to 35 Indepe ...

, Angelika Film Center,

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Buil ...

, Rice Cinema (at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

), DiverseWorks Art Space, and

Aurora Picture Show An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of br ...

. The Festival was co-founded by Loris Bradley (formerly of DiverseWorks), Sarah Gish (formerly of Landmark Theatres) and Marian Luntz (still with the Museum of Fine Arts). The festival was renamed QFest in 2007.

Outreach and educational programming

In addition to showing feature films, documentaries, and short videos, the Festival hosts a series of panel discussions, public forums, and other special events in conjunction with screenings to examine such topics as

hate crimes A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

, the media's influence on the perception of LGBT people, and the unique way in which Houston’s gay and lesbian community has developed over the last few decades.

Past screenings

'' TransGeneration'' (2005) Director: Jeremy Simmons ''D.E.B.S.'' (2004) Director: Angela Robinson ''

Stupid Boy "Stupid Boy" is a song written by Dave Berg (songwriter), Dave Berg, Deanna Bryant, and Sarah Buxton. Originally recorded by Buxton, the song was later recorded by Australian country music singer Keith Urban on his 2006 album ''Love, Pain & the W ...

(Garcon stupide)'' (2004) Director:

Lionel Baier Lionel Baier (born 13 December 1975 in Lausanne) is a Switzerland, Swiss film director. Career Lionel Baier studied Art at University of Lausanne from 1995–98. In 2009, he co-founds the production company Bande à Part films, together with Ur ...

Pink Flamingos ''Pink Flamingos'' is a 1972 American film directed, written, produced, narrated, filmed, and edited by John Waters. It is part of what Waters has labelled the "Trash Trilogy", which also includes ''Female Trouble'' (1974) and ''Desperate Livin ...

'' (1972) Director:

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his Cinema of Transgression, transgressive cult films, including ''Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), ''Pink Flamin ...

Gypsy 83 ''Gypsy 83'' is an American 2001 drama film, written and directed by Todd Stephens. The film is about two young goths, Gypsy and Clive, who travel to New York for an annual festival celebrating their idol, Stevie Nicks. Filming took place in Haz ...

'' (2001) Director: Todd Stephens ''Lan Yu'' (2001) Director:

Stanley Kwan Stanley Kwan (traditional Chinese: 關錦鵬; simplified Chinese: 关锦鹏); born 9 October 1957) is a Hong Kong film director and producer. Kwan landed a job at TVB after receiving a mass communications degree at Hong Kong Baptist College. ...

Psycho Beach Party ''Psycho Beach Party'' is a 2000 comedy horror film based on the off-Broadway play of the same name, directed by Robert Lee King. Charles Busch wrote both the original play and the screenplay. As the title suggests, ''Psycho Beach Party'', set in ...

'' (2000) Director: Robert Lee King ''Valley of the Dolls'' (1966) Director: Mark Robson

External links

Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
– official website

References

LGBT film festivals in the United States LGBT events in Texas Film festivals in Houston LGBT culture in Houston Film festivals established in 1997 1997 establishments in Texas {{US-film-festival-stub

History of the Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

Outreach and educational programming

Past screenings

See also

External links

References