Philadelphia QFest was founded in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

as the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival by

TLA Entertainment Group TLA Entertainment Group is a privately held corporation based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1981. Originally formed to operate a repertory movie theater, the company subsequently moved into catalog and online sales, retail store ...

in 1996. It was given its current name, QFest, in 2009. One of the festival's founders and current Artistic Director, Raymond Murray, describes QFest's mission as giving gay and lesbian audiences the opportunity to see films that accurately reflect their life experiences without the filter of the "straight" Hollywood system.

History

This event is the third largest of its kind in the United States, and the largest on the East Coast. The festival is held in

Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the ci ...

in various venues near and on the Avenue of the Arts. Film screenings take place at the

Prince Music Theater The Prince Theater is a non-profit theatrical producing organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and specializing in music theatre, including opera, music drama, musical comedy and experimental forms. Founded in 1984 as the American ...

, the Wilma Theater, and several other locations that differ from year to year. It takes place for two weeks annually in mid-July and shows as many as two hundred films from more than forty countries. There is a juried competition for best features and

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ar ...

( gay male and

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

) as well as audience awards, selected by the viewers. In 2014, QFest was canceled for the first year since its founding in 1995. Due to lack of fundraising and the unavailability of Raymond Murray to lead the film programming, the festival was postponed and then canceled for the year. Due to the cancellation of the festival in 2014, Thom Cardwell, QFest head, and James Duggan announced that they would launching qFLIX Philadelphia to take its place. QFLIX is a weeklong festival that presents independent international and national LGBTQ+ films. An event known as "There's No Place Like Home" is a two-week long celebration that takes place concurrently with QFest. This offers alternate activities for patrons to attend in between and after film screenings. The event is held in celebration of Philadelphia's thriving " Gayborhood" and has featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony, block parties, photo exhibits and many other special events throughout the festival. TLA had previously hosted an annual lesbian and gay film festival in the 1980s at the two cinemas the company ran in Philadelphia at that time: the TLA on South Street and the Roxy Screening Room on Sansom Street; however, it lacked the visibility, influence and longevity of the more recent festival.

References

External links

* {{LGBT culture in Philadelphia Film festivals in Philadelphia LGBTQ events in Pennsylvania LGBTQ film festivals in the United States LGBTQ culture in Philadelphia Film festivals established in 1995 1995 establishments in Pennsylvania

History

See also

References

External links