Outshine Film Festival: Miami - Spring Edition

Formerly known as: Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival...then: MiFo

Thursday, 23 April 2026 until Thursday, 30 April 2026

OUTshine - Spring Edition, is a critically acclaimed event, based in the world-renowned South Florida cities of Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

OUTshine is committed to its mission: To inspire, entertain and educate the public, encourage a sense of community through international and culturally diverse film, video and other media that offer historical and contemporary perspectives on the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience.

The festival has grown from a 3-day event in which 25 films were presented to the current format of 10 days with 65+ films. OUTshine is an internationally acclaimed event serving as a platform for numerous World Premiers, North American Premiers and East Coast Premiers. Special emphasis on highlighting and premiering the best pin GLBT Spanish language films.

ABOUT US:

The Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival started in 1998; the Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in 2008. Both were brought together under one brand to become The MiFo LGBT Film Festival in 2015, with a seasonal event serving each city. Critically and internationally acclaimed, it serves as a platform for numerous premiers and is the largest LGBT cultural arts event in South Florida.

Because of its increasing popularity and success, MiFo has been rechristened to the OUTSHINE Film Festival, underscoring its brightness, broad appeal and dynamic multi-cultural location. Outshine is everything you want in a film festival... inviting, glowing, and eclipsing all others before it. Our mission is to inspire, entertain, and educate; encouraging a sense of community through international and culturally diverse film, video, and other media that offer historical and contemporary perspectives on the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender experience.

Outrageous. Outspoken. And outstanding in what we deliver.

OUTshine Film Festival is a d/b/a of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, a 501(c)(3) Not-for-Profit.

Best Full Length Feature: Audience Favorite Selection
Runner-Up Best Full Length Feature: Audience Favorite Selection
Best Documentary: Audience Favorite Selection
Runner-Up Best Documentary: Audience Favorite Selection
Best Short: Audience Favorite Selection
Runner-Up Best Short: Audience Favorite Selection
Best Full Length Feature: Jury Selection
Runner-Up Best Full Length Feature: Jury Selection
Best Documentary: Jury Selection
Runner-Up Best Documentary: Jury Selection
Best Short: Jury Selection
Runner-Up Best Short: Jury Selection

Program...

April 23rd 2026

OPENING NIGHT FILM & PARTY: The Dinner (La Cena)

April 24th

Jaripeo

In a Whisper (À voix basse)

Baracoa

On The Road (En El Camino)

April 25th

Armani and the Birth of Italian Fashion

Unicorns (Unicorni)

LATIN SPOTLIGHT FILM & PARTY: An Island Away From You (A Una Isla De Ti)

LATIN SPOTLIGHT FILM & PARTY: Jone, Sometimes (Jone, Batzuetan)

Silencio

April 26th

Men's Shorts Program

Happy BirthGay
Niv Manzur, 16 minutes, Israel.In Hebrew with English subtitles
Happy BirthGay flips the script on coming-out stories, exploring the dynamics of a flamboyant mother celebrating her gay son’s first "out" anniversary with an over-the-top surprise party. Through her eccentric lens, the film offers a heartfelt and humorous dive into the often-overlooked inner world of gay parents.

A Beach
Juanqui Soto & Luis Paredes, 12 minutes, Spain, In Spanish with English subtitles
Two best friends visit the north of Spain and one day they woke up at a nudist beach. Pablo feels some strong sexual attraction for one of the naked men but his friend Dani doesn't even know he is gay.

The Estate
Eugene Slupchuk, 9 minutes, Ukraine, In Ukrainian with English subtitles
In a secluded mansion on the outskirts of Kyiv, a young man awaits the return of his boyfriend, who is on leave from military service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Together they revisit several rituals they once shared, including taking a photograph. But what memory are they truly trying to preserve in this image, and what final ritual does the old mansion quietly conceal?

Fight, Fight, Fight, Fight
Juan Pablo Villavicencio Borges, 7 minutes, Mexico, In Spanish with English subtitles
In a schoolyard, a fight breaks out between three boys. Although two of them did not start it, they are quickly blamed as the culprits. The reasons behind the conflict and the consequences they face reveal something much deeper than a simple dispute.

Muse
Chad Zemel, 17 minutes, USA
A withdrawn teenager searches for inner peace at a desert meditation center, only to be paired with a picture perfect roommate.

Glitter Kiss
Augustė Gerikaitė, 19 minutes, Lithuania, In Lithuanian with English subtitles
After discovering a brutally beaten drag queen Klaudijus, in his apartment building, homophobe Rolandas reluctantly takes him to the hospital and becomes his first response. As the police investigate and Klaudijus’ life hangs in the balance, Rolandas is forced to rethink his beliefs.

Whale 52 - Suite For Man, Boy and Whale
Daniel Neiden, 12 minutes, USA
When a silently grieving 80-year-old school volunteer is assigned to work with Enam, a third-grader with selective mutism, the two embark on a poignant journey by means of a magical pen and journal that enables them to communicate until young Enam summons the courage to utter the one word that lifts the weight of the world off his tiny shoulders. Like a whale coming to the surface for air, Enam is finally able to breathe in the film’s poignant reveal.

Ladies' Shorts Program

My Turn
Terry Esparza, Natalia Pontaque, 7 minutes, Spain, In Spanish With English subtitles
Carmen walks on her partner convinced that she needs to put herself first. But what should be a clean break up unravels into a surreal showdown packed with pseudo-therapy wisdom, twisted logic, and uncomfortable truths. A satire about the contemporary self-care mantra pushed to its most ridiculous extreme.

Krazalit
Naz Tokgöz, 16 minutes, Turkey, In Turkish with English subtitles
Krizalit follows Deniz, an enigmatic young woman drawn into the vibrant life of modern Turkey. Alternating between the euphoria of her intricate love with a Turkish woman, Melisa, and the weight of feeling like an outsider, the story weaves subtle hints about Deniz’s true nature — inviting contemplation on identity and belonging.

Set against the backdrop of a country in flux, Krizalit delicately portrays the healing journey of existing within a city so capable of profound love, yet at times challenged to extend that love to others

Game Over
Cleo Samoles-Little, 13 minutes, United Kingdom
When Cleo and Jade’s date turns sour, they’re left questioning; ‘is the problem the male gaze or the way they’ve been conditioned to react?’ Game Over looks at how it feels to be a lesbian couple constantly sexualised and threatened by men. '“Love or Hate. Beauty or Ugliness. Right or Wrong. GAME OVER asks you which side you’re on” - Ian McKellen

Itty Bitty Betty
Laura Buchanan, 12 minutes, Canada
Betty lives in isolation, immersed in a world of miniature figurines-one of whom she's dating. After meeting a woman she can't forget, she must choose: stay safe with her tiny boyfriend or risk potential heartbreak for a real connection.

Ronita Rambo
Michael Doshier, 13 minutes, USA
At a small-town diner in rural Missouri, a tough-talking waitress finds the courage to ask a pair of gay teens for help texting her new crush.

Close To September (Casi Septiembre)
Lucia G, Romero, 30 minutes, Spain, in Spanish with English subtitles
At a campsite near luxury resorts, Alejandra juggles family responsibilities and casual flirtations with tourists. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she encounters Amara, leading to a deeper connection than she anticipated.

A Man Walks Down The Street

Julian

I Want Your Sex

April 27th

Rock Out

South Florida Filmmakers Showcase: Miami Edition

Death Has Already Passed
Lilian Cordova, 18 minutes, USA/Venezuela in Spanish with English subtitles
In a quiet town ruled by tradition, young Victor carries a secret love for Igor—a love that trembles beneath the condemning voices that spill from the radio each morning. One day, as his father steps into the church, Victor collapses, slipping away from the world that never learned to see him.

He awakens in The Bar of the Dead, a radiant, dream-soaked realm where pirates sing, women sip endless wine, and forgotten souls celebrate with wild, unapologetic joy. In this surreal sanctuary, the dead dance and every corner breathes symbolism.

Through an artistic narrative, Victor wanders through shimmering fragments of memory and myth. Each image becomes a metaphor; each encounter, a piece of the truth he seeks.

On this journey between life and afterlife, beauty and sorrow, Victor edges closer to understanding what truly happened to him… and to unveiling the unseen hand that ended his story.

Latin Lover
Kevin Rios, 12 minutes, USA
In 1968, a smooth-talking hustler, Paul Ferguson, details the fateful night he and his younger brother murdered closeted silent film star, Ramon Novarro.

Let’s Kiss and Find Out
Luz Alejandra Perez, 8 minutes, USA
Prom becomes an unexpected night to remember when two unlikely friends kiss to find out if they're gay.

Neon Reef
Alex Mitow, 30 minutes, USA
Did you know that there's a vibrant, mysteriously resilient coral reef just a few hundred feet from all the neon glitz of Miami's famed Ocean Drive? No? You're not alone.

Enter Patrick Breshike and David Grieser. The Miami Beach couple (and close friends of the director) battled pandemic doldrums with paddle board journeys over the aquamarine shallows off their home beach. Looking down, they noticed dark outlines on the seafloor. Ever the adventurers, this queer wonder couple donned masks and dove down. What they found defied explanation.

A coral reef, decimated by dredging in the 1950s, had come back to life under our very noses. We decided to make a film about its resilient comeback, and Patrick and Dave's nonstop efforts to keep it safe from harm.

April 28th

South Florida Filmmakers Showcase: Fort Lauderdale Edition

I Know Who My God Is
Smita Adhikary, 28 minutes, USA
I Know Who My God Is explores the role of faith within the LGBTQ+ community, delving into how belief, spirituality, and identity intersect in deeply personal and often complicated ways. For centuries, mainstream religious institutions have positioned themselves in opposition to LGBTQ+ lives, shaping a narrative of exclusion, judgment, and silence. To say that the treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals by many orthodox traditions has been “unkind” is to understate the pain, rejection, and loss countless people have endured in the name of faith.

Yet, faith is not a monolith. For every story of exclusion, there are also stories of resilience, reclamation, and redefinition. For many queer people, the journey has been less about choosing between identity and belief, and more about forging a path where both coexist—where God, or the divine, can be experienced on one’s own terms.
This project seeks to give voice to those stories: of struggle and survival, of questioning and discovery, of love and belonging. It asks: What does faith mean to someone who has been told they don’t belong? How do you reconcile the God you were taught with the God you come to know for yourself? And, ultimately, it asserts that faith is not about who others say you are—it’s about knowing who you are and who your God is.

HIM+
Creed Smith, 32 minutes, USA
HIM+ follows the journey of Chris, a young Black man whose life takes a drastic turn when he learns he is HIV positive. Struggling with fear, stigma, and uncertainty, Chris is forced to confront himself and the world around him in a new way. Through the support of his faith, friends, and mentor, he begins to discover strength and resilience he didn’t know he had.

Myrna’s Deal With The Dead
Andy Perrrott, 50 minutes, USA
In the seventh installment of this telenovela-style comedy series, Myrna is desperately searching for Baby Oscur, the missing heir to the family fortune—stolen by her arch-nemesis, Kittay. Out of options and at her wits’ end, Myrna seeks help from her longtime friend Dixie Longate, a psychic whose séances offer a hilariously unconventional path to the truth.

A wild journey to Texas sets off a chain of unexpected revelations as Myrna uncovers not only the mystery of Baby Oscur’s whereabouts, but surprising truths about herself. Secrets unravel, loyalties shift, and—as always in Myrna’s chaotic world—another unfortunate soul ends up dead.