SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
Thursday, 26 June 2025
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Out on Film
Thursday, 25 September 2025 until Sunday, 05 October 2025
Out On Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) film festival, is one of the most prominent LGBTQIA+ festivals in the world and is an Oscar®qualifying event. Our Best Drama Short award winner is eligible to enter the Academy’s Live Action Short film competition in the concurrent season, provided Academy rules are met.
For our upcoming 2025 festival, we are also a BAFTA qualifying film festival for the British Short programme. Celebrating its 38th year in 2025, Out On Film annually presents approximately 150 narratives, documentaries, shorts, and web series, from international features to local programming and retrospectives. We prioritize filmmaker engagement through our highly regarded visiting filmmaker series.
Our main production is an 11-day festival held each September, complemented by events throughout the year. In the last two years, we’ve also hosted a spring mini-festival, with all submissions eligible for both events. We are tentatively planning another spring event in 2025.
Our festival offers both Audience and Jury Awards across various categories:
• Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary, Best Drama Short, and Best International Film
• Jury Awards for Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best International Film, Best Performance, Best Director, Best First Film, Best Ensemble, Best Drama Short, and Best Documentary Short (awards may vary yearly based on juror selections)
Best Drama Short is our Oscar® qualifying category.
We also host two Screenplay Competitions: the Short Film Screenplay Competition ($250 prize) and the Feature Film Screenplay Competition ($500 prize). Winners may receive a staged reading at the 2025 Out On Film festival.