Outfest Launches Outfest House At Sundance 2020

For the first time in over a decade, Outfest is expanding beyond its boundaries and its famous Queer brunch as it heads over to Main Street to join its alumni, community and fans of cinema right in the heart of the festival for an entire day of celebration and education with the launch of the Outfest House @ Sundance.

WarnerMedia is the House Sponsor; Los Angeles Times is the Media Sponsor. The Event Sponsors are: Lyft, Adobe, Storyblaster, Post HUB and Vybes. Rava Wines is featured as well.

Programming is being presented in partnership with Visible: Out on Television on Apple TV Plus

Following the legendary Outfest Queer Brunch in the morning, the afternoon will feature three panel discussions.

THE PAST AND FUTURE OF QUEER CINEMA

It's been nearly 30 years since film critic and scholar B. Ruby Rich coined the term "New Queer Cinema" to describe the wave of exciting, boundary-pushing filmmaking in the 90s from queer artists like Cheryl Dunye, Gregg Araki, and Isaac Julien. Outfest is honored to welcome B. Ruby Rich to our Sundance headquarters, where she'll lead a discussion with filmmakers whose work spans that 30 year period, as well as new, exciting talent who represent the future of queer filmmaking, to discuss how queer cinema has progressed over these past three decades, where it is now, and how it can continue to push boundaries into the future.

Moderated by: B. Ruby Rich

Panelists include:

Andrew Ahn, filmmaker (Spa Night, Driveways)

Elegance Bratton, filmmaker (Sundance 2020 selection Buck; Pier Kids)

Sam Feder, filmmaker (Sundance 2020 selection Disclosure)

Christine Vachon, producer (Go Fish, Boys Don't Cry, Sundance 2020 selection Shirley)

Tom Dolby, filmmaker (Last Weekend, The Artist's Wife; Executive Producer, Call Me By Your Name)

THE POLITICS OF QUEERNESS

Existing as an out member of the LGBTQIA+ family, and putting our stories onscreen, are inherently political acts. There is virtually no country on Earth where the basic rights of our community are not consistently up for debate in the political sphere, and ensuring our voices continue to be heard in that debate through queer storytelling and activism unites the talent on this panel. Queer filmmakers, actors, and activists featured in Sundance 2020 films will gather to discuss the issues facing queer people both in the U.S. and internationally in this divisive election year, the politically-charged responses to their work, and how queer representation onscreen can be a tool to promote change and progress.

Moderated by: Zackary Drucker.

Panelists include:

Levan Akin (director, And Then We Danced),

Levan Gelbakhiani (lead actor, And Then We Danced)

Jen Richards (actor, HBO's Mrs. Fletcher, Netflix's Tales of the City)

Chester Algernal (producer, Sundance 2020 selections Buck and -Ship: A Visual Poem)

THE FULL RAINBOW: CENTERING UNDER-REPRESENTED QUEER VOICES

What does true visibility look like in today's media landscape? While strides have been made with intersectional representation on screen in the past few years, there is still a long road ahead to achieve true parity. Audiences have proved they are hungry for diverse content yet the 2019 Hollywood Diversity Report finds that only 1.3 of 10 film directors are people of color, and less than 1 out of 10 film writers. On the heels of yet another #OscarsSoWhite, we ask: how do we make it past the gatekeepers to have our stories seen and heard? Acknowledging the intersectionality within our community, queer and trans artists and filmmakers representative of underserved communities will candidly discuss authentic storytelling, their experiences working in the industry, and how opportunities have changed in the past few years.

Moderated by: Tre'vell Anderson.

Panelists include:

Justin Simien (Sundance 2020 selection Bad Hair, Dear White People)

Angel Lopez (Bad Hair, Dear White People)

Rain Valdez (Razor Tongue, Why Women Kill, Transparent)

Marquise Vilson (Ben is Back, Tales of the City)

Erica Tremblay (Sundance 2020 selection Little Chief)

Wilson Cruz (My So-Called Life, Star Trek: Discovery; Visible: Out on Television)

POSSIBLE SPECIAL SURPRISE GUESTS