Outfest, the Los Angeles nonprofit devoted to uplifting LGBTQ+ voices in film, is staging a powerful comeback this November with OutfestNEXT, a four-day screening event set to showcase cutting-edge queer cinema. The event runs Nov. 6–9, 2025, with screenings at the LA LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre and LOOK Cinema in Glendale.
After a hiatus marked by internal restructuring and financial challenges, Outfest is relaunching this new format as a way to reclaim space for queer storytelling at a time when visibility and authentic representation feel more urgent than ever.
A Return Reimagined
OutfestNEXT marks the organization’s re-emergence in a leaner, stronger form. Presented in partnership with HBO Max, this event features 20 films, ranging from features and archival screenings to short programs, that celebrate both emerging and established voices.
“We are enormously grateful to our sponsors, artists, and the Outfest community for helping bring the organization back to life,” says Christopher Racster, Interim Executive Director of Outfest. “The OutfestNEXT lineup this year reflects our commitment to continue uplifting all queer voices with the help of our community. Every film we are showing this year embodies our vision for the future of cinema, ensuring the media we consume reflects the communities that create it. ”
The festival will also collaborate with Queer Filmmakers United, a union representing queer film workers. This alignment underscores Outfest’s intention to not just rebuild its public-facing events, but to do so in a way that honors labor, transparency, and internal equity.
Spotlight Films & Event Highlights
The opening night will present All That We Love by director Yen Tan, known for queer dramas such as 1985. The film stars Margaret Cho, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kenneth Choi, Alice Lee, Missi Pyle, Atsuko Okatsuka, and Devin Bostick, and explores themes of grief, reconnection and the messy beauty of love.
Also opening night: Dust Bunny, the directorial debut of Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Hannibal). The cast includes Sigourney Weaver, Mads Mikkelsen, and David Dastmalchian. In the film, a 10‑year-old girl believes a monster has devoured her family and enlists her hitman neighbor to help confront it. Fuller will deliver a pre‑screening introduction.
A highlight of the archival selections is a 25th anniversary screening of The Broken Hearts Club, Greg Berlanti’s early ensemble film that centers on a group of gay friends navigating love and identity in Los Angeles.
Other programs include We Are Pat (a documentary reexamining Saturday Night Live’s “Pat” sketch through a 2025 lens of trans visibility), Camp by Avalon Fast, Dreams in Nightmares by Shatara Michelle Ford, Perro Perro by Marco Berger, Niñxs by Kani Lapuerta, and State of Firsts by Chase Joynt, among others.
Tickets, Access & Expectations
Outfest members will gain early access to tickets on Oct. 20, while general public ticket sales begin Oct. 23 at Outfest.org. Organizers urge attendees to secure their seats quickly, as demand is expected to outpace supply.
The festival’s venues, Renberg Theatre and LOOK Cinema, are chosen to bridge both legacy and innovation in queer cinema exhibition. With sophisticated screening equipment and community roots, these spaces set the tone for an immersive experience.
This is not intended to be a scaled‑down version of Outfest LA. Rather, it’s a recalibrated step forward. Festival organizers describe NEXT as a “rallying cry and a homecoming,” a restart rooted in creative resilience and community togetherness.
Reviving Signature Programs
OutfestNEXT is a bridge to what’s next. The organization plans to reintroduce its flagship events, Outfest Los Angeles and Outfest Fusion, in 2026, though in a more intentionally scaled and sustainable fashion.
While Outfest continues to expand its year-round initiatives, from artist development labs to archival preservation, NEXT sets the tone for how the organization aims to move forward, centered on queer creativity, community, and structural integrity.
In a moment when media landscapes are shifting and LGBTQ+ voices remain at risk of marginalization, OutfestNEXT aims to assert that queer storytelling is not optional, it is essential. This event isn’t just a return. It’s a statement of presence, resistance, and possibility.
For more program updates and event details, visit Outfest.org/next or follow @outfest on social media.
