LGBTQ Film Festival returning in June, both in-person and online
The Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival will return June 4-13, its organizers at Out Film CT announced Monday, with a mix of in-person and virtual screenings.
“Everyone’s seen the state of Connecticut’s schedule for vaccinations,” says Shane Engstrom, the fest’s co-director. “It seems pretty aggressive. Many people will now to ready to use this to kick off their summer, come back from hibernation. But we also wanted to keep the virtual festival as well.”
When possible, the festival will try to provide the option of seeing films either live or online, Engstrom says. “We’re trying to do both, though there may be some films where the distributor wants a live screening only.” He also expects that some documentaries and short films will be online-only.
The 10-day run is one day longer than the usual nine, adding a second Sunday of screenings rather than ending with a Saturday night party.
Engstrom has been the director or co-director of the Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival for 20 years. This year, Jaime Ortega has become co-director.
The 34th Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival will happen only eight months after the 33rd, which was held in October and was entirely virtual. The festival is traditionally held in early June, when it’s seen as a lead-in to other events during LGBTQ Pride Month.
The live screenings will be at Trinity College’s Cinestudio, the festival’s longtime home. “We’re luck to have Cinestudio,” Engstrom says. “It’s large, so with social distancing you can still fit a good number of people.” He anticipates that the ordinarily 500-seat cinema could seat 100 under the likely COVID guidelines.
The festival is also exploring bringing back its silent auction this year.
Only one film has been announced for the 2021 festival so far: “No Ordinary Man,” a documentary about the mid-20th century jazz pianist Billy Tipton, who was outed as trans after his death in 1989. The film brings a fresh perspective to Tipton’s life story, demonstrating how he was demonized, misgendered and misunderstood in the media following his death.
“Normally we don’t book this early,” says Engstrom, who took a break from his day job this week to attend the Berlinale international film festival, a frequent source of inspiration for the Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival.
Over 400 films have been submitted for inclusion in the 2021 festival, including short films. Engstrom expects that between 70 and 80 will be chosen. Last year’s all-virtual festival had almost 120, but Engstrom expects fewer shorts on the program this year.
The full schedule will be announced in mid-May on the Out Film CT website, OutFilmCT.org. Tickets and “Festipasses” will become available at that time.
The festival is currently seeking volunteers, who can express interest at volunteer@outfilmct.org.
Christopher Arnott can be reached at carnott@courant.com.
