Frameline

The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival

Wednesday, 16 June 2027 until Saturday, 26 June 2027

Founded in 1977, the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival is the longest-running, largest, and most widely recognized queer film exhibition event in the world. As a community event with an annual attendance of more than 63,000 (89,000 virtual attendance in 2020), the Festival is the most prominent and well-attended LGBTQ+ arts program in the Bay Area. In 2021, Frameline's Festival was named by MovieMaker one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World. In 2023, Frameline was ranked #8 in USA Today's Readers Choice poll of the 10 Best Film Festivals in the US. Frameline is a BAFTA Qualifying Festival.

Frameline51 will be an 11-day in-person showcase of the world’s leading queer cinema in venues throughout San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland.

• With an average of 50,000 attendees, Frameline is the most prominent and well-attended LGBTQ+ arts program in the US.

• We bring together an unparalleled community of festival-goers for the world’s largest celebration of queer media.

• We have a proven, five-decade track record of championing queer and trans films and filmmakers, making Frameline the place for your work to be seen by an average of 600 industry guests, including programmers, distributors, producers, buyers, and other industry professionals.

Frameline, the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, is proud to be:

• A BAFTA Qualifying Festival.
• An Iris Prize partner festival.

🏆 Juried Awards

Juries of industry professionals convene during the Festival to recognize standout films in the following categories:

• Outstanding Documentary Feature
• Outstanding Narrative Short
• Outstanding Documentary Short

(Note: To be eligible for a juried award, a film cannot have screened or been broadcast on television or on VOD in the San Francisco Bay Area prior to the Festival.)

🏆 Outstanding First Narrative Feature Award

For over 20 years, Frameline has presented the annual juried Outstanding First Narrative Feature Award to a notable narrative feature from an emerging voice in LGBTQ+ cinema, and is proud to partner with the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle to jury this award.

🏆 Audience Awards

Since 1984, our audience has been responsible for selecting the Audience Awards, determined by audience ballot, for the following categories:

• Audience Award for Narrative Feature
• Audience Award for Documentary Feature

(Note: All feature films selected are eligible for the Audience Awards.)

🏆 Out in the Silence Award

Ahead of the Festival, this annual honor is conferred to an outstanding film project that highlights brave acts of visibility, especially in places where such acts are rare and unexpected because of the dominant systems that make it difficult for LGBTQ+ people to live authentic lives. All eligible filmmakers who submit to Frameline51 will be considered.

🏆 Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grants

In partnership with the Colin Higgins Foundation, Frameline awards annual Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grants to emerging LGBTQ+ filmmakers under the age of 25 who currently reside in the United States. All eligible filmmakers who submit to Frameline51 will be considered.

🏅 Recognition

All award recipients and honorable mentions will receive official festival laurels and inclusion in our post-festival promotion and press.