South Florida OUTshine Film Festival Returns for 28th Year

The annual LGBTQ+ film festival expands to include more days and community events.

Mar. 21, 2026 at 12:07pm

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The 28th annual OUTshine Film Festival Spring Edition is returning to South Florida from April 23rd to May 3rd, featuring vibrant, entertaining, and educational star-studded features, documentaries, and shorts from 20 countries. This year's festival includes 4 international, 9 North American, and 6 East Coast premieres, as well as new events like an Opening Night Under the Stars Community Block Party and an extended Fort Lauderdale run.

Why it matters

The OUTshine Film Festival is an important annual event that celebrates and showcases LGBTQ+ stories and perspectives through film. The festival aims to entertain, educate, and inspire film-loving audiences of all persuasions by presenting the best of emerging international, national, and local LGBTQ+ oriented films to the South Florida community.

The details

This year's OUTshine Film Festival lineup includes a strong focus on Latin American, international, and foreign language LGBTQ+ films for the Miami run, while the Fort Lauderdale portion will feature more American independent films. The festival strives to present empowering stories by today's foremost and emerging directors whose creative visions urge audiences to embrace their differences and foster a sense of unity and belonging.

  • The 28th annual OUTshine Film Festival Spring Edition runs from April 23rd to May 3rd, 2026.
  • The festival's Miami-Dade & Broward counties run is from April 23rd to May 3rd.
  • The extended Fort Lauderdale run adds 3 more days of programming from May 1st to May 3rd.

The players

Mark Gilbert

OUTshine Interim Executive Director.

Joe Bilancio

OUTshine Director of Programming.

OUTshine Film Festival

An annual LGBTQ+ film festival in South Florida, now in its 28th year.

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What they’re saying

“OUTshine was created to entertain, educate & inspire film-loving audiences of all persuasions by presenting the best of emerging international, national & local LGBTQ+ oriented films to South Florida. We strive to enrich our audiences while encouraging a sense of community by presenting international & culturally diverse films that offer historical & contemporary perspectives on the LGBTQ+ experience. Our message is that when you come to the festival, you're with friends.”

— Mark Gilbert, OUTshine Interim Executive Director

“With so many new universal stories yet to be discovered, selecting this year's Spring Edition features was truly a labor of love. Our Miami run has a strong focus on Latin America, international & foreign language LGBTQ+ films geared toward a strong multicultural audience while Fort Lauderdale features many American independent films. We are proud to share these empowering stories by today's foremost & emerging directors whose creative visions urge us to embrace our differences & foster a sense of unity & belonging.”

— Joe Bilancio, OUTshine Director of Programming

What’s next

Last year's OUTshine drew more than 12,000 attendees from the Greater South Florida area as well as virtual viewers statewide, and organizers are expecting strong turnout for this year's expanded festival.

The takeaway

The OUTshine Film Festival continues to be an important annual event that celebrates and elevates LGBTQ+ stories and perspectives through film, fostering a sense of community and belonging in South Florida.