25 Years of the OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival

The film festival heads to its new home at Silverspot Cinema Miami, showcasing 65 works from around the world beginning April 20

Fairyland, starring Scoot McNairy and Emilia Jones, will open the 25th anniversary edition of OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami on April 20 at Silverspot Cinema Miami. Film still courtesy of OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami
Fairyland, starring Scoot McNairy and Emilia Jones, will open the 25th anniversary edition of OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami on April 20 at Silverspot Cinema Miami. Film still courtesy of OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami

OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami will return this month to celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary in its new home at Silverspot Cinema Miami (300 Southeast 3rd Street). The festival kicks off with an opening screening of the drama Fairyland (2023) at 7 p.m. on April 20. Attendees will enjoy a dinner-at-their-seats luxury experience followed by a dessert celebration. The festival continues for a full 11 days, with more than 65 features, shorts, and documentaries from all around the world, along with parties and special events.

“During this commemorative year, OUTshine is thrilled to partner with the luxurious and sophisticated state-of-the-art Silverspot Cinema in Downtown Miami. This central location for all films makes the festival more exciting, more magical, and more accessible to a greater cross-section of the community,” said Mark Gilbert, board chair and interim executive director of OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival. “Also, new this year are free community Cocktails & Cinema Happy Hours after the films on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and exclusive films not seen anywhere else.”

Academy Award-winner Geena Davis stars in “Fairyland,” written by Andrew Durham and produced, in part, by Sofia Coppola. Film still courtesy of OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami
Academy Award-winner Geena Davis stars in “Fairyland,” written by Andrew Durham and produced, in part, by Sofia Coppola. Film still courtesy of OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami

Written and directed by Andrew Durham, produced by Sofia Coppola, Durham, Megan Carlson, Greg Lauritano, Siena Oberman, and Laure Sudreau and starring Emilia Jones, Scoot McNairy, and Geena Davis, Fairyland captures the complexities, embarrassment, and pride that are part of any father-daughter relationship. Following the sudden death of her mother, young Alysia is uprooted by her father Steve in hopes of restarting his life. They move to San Francisco, where Steve develops his poetic and personal writing and begins to openly date men. Steve’s bohemian lifestyle clashes with the expectations of parenthood from the outside world and from Alysia herself. As Alysia grows into a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, their bond and duty to each other are tested in painful and sudden ways.

On April 22, at 7:30 p.m., OUTshine will present its Men’s Spotlight film, Drifter (2023), a North American premiere fresh from its screenings at Berlinale, Germany, where it competed for the Teddy Award for Best LGBTQIA+ film in the festival. An after-party at the OUTshine Lounge at Silverspot will follow.

Miami’s own Olympic champion Danell Leyva will be honored April 26, at 7:15 p.m., prior to the screening of Clocked (2023), in which he stars. Leyva is a two-time Team USA Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist, as well as a World Champion on Parallel Bars. He was the first Cuban American on the United States Olympic men’s gymnastics team. After his second Olympics, Leyva tied to be the most decorated male gymnast for Team USA. Leyva retired from gymnastics and moved to Los Angeles to pursue his passion for performing. Since then, he has been featured in multiple nationwide commercials, a recurring role on Paradise Run, series regular on the scripted podcast Southbridge, multiple short films, web series, and roles on Hialeah and Love, Victor.

Danell Leyva (left) will be honored for his accomplishments and LGBTQ+ advocacy prior to the screening of Clocked on April 26. Film still courtesy of OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami
Danell Leyva (left) will be honored for his accomplishments and LGBTQ+ advocacy prior to the screening of Clocked on April 26. Film still courtesy of OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami

The Festival’s Centerpiece film L’Immensita (2022) hits the screen April 27, at 7 p.m. The Italian film, starring Penelope Cruz and set in 1970s Rome, tells the story of the breakdown of a marriage. It also tells the story of the oldest daughter who longs to live life as his true self and proclaims he wants to be called Andrew. The film packs an emotional wallop while maintaining an entertaining tone.

This year’s Women’s Spotlight film, Love Proof (Karleeksbevis) (2022), continues the fun April 29, at 7:15 p.m. In the picture, Thomas and Marie are getting divorced and must meet one last weekend to empty and sell their summer house when a mysterious woman enters their lives and shakes up the scene.

OUTshine wraps it all up April 30,  beginning at 6 p.m. with the Closing Night film, Three Nights A Week (2023), a French film that utilizes the art and culture of drag to tell a poignant, yet entertaining story that will bring out the true diva in all of us.

Tickets to the opening night film, dinner-at-your-seat, and after-party are $95 each. This is an in-person screening. Tickets start at just $8 for other individual films, with group discounts and additional offers available. All films and events take place at Silverspot Cinema Miami unless otherwise noted.

For more information, films line-up and tickets for the twenty-fifth annual OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami, call (877) 766-8156 or click here. A full schedule of parties and special events is available here.

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