May 20, 2025 The Newspaper Serving LGBT Los Angeles

Outfest Unveils Honors Melissa McCarthy, Amandla Stenberg, and Ben Falcone

Festival Also Announces Trans, Nonbinary, and Intersex Summit and Featured Films. 

By Dolores Quintana

Outfest, the esteemed Los Angeles-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting queer and trans creators in the entertainment industry, has announced the complete lineup for its 41st Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Festival. Presented by Warner Bros. Discovery and Genesis Motor America, the festival will take place from July 13 to 23 at various venues across Los Angeles, with its headquarters at the Directors Guild of America in West Hollywood. Tickets and passes are available starting today for Outfest members and will be open to the general public from Friday, June 23rd.

In an exciting development, the festival will honor Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone with the James Schamus Ally Award during the closing night event. This prestigious recognition celebrates their efforts as allies in promoting queer and trans films and amplifying our communities’ stories to a wider audience. McCarthy and Falcone also serve as executive producers of “Relighting Candles: The Tim Sullivan Story,” a short documentary directed by Zeb Newman and Michiel Thomas. The film, which will be featured at this year’s festival, follows a West Hollywood candle shop owner who provides employment opportunities for unhoused and newly sober individuals.

Spanning 11 days, the festival will present an impressive program of over 170 titles from more than 25 countries, encompassing narratives, documentaries, shorts, and an episodic showcase. Among the highly anticipated films is the world premiere of “Truth Be Told,” a feature documentary directed by Emmy Award-winner Nneka Onuorah (known for Lizzo’s “Watch Out For the Big Grrrls”) and produced by MACRO, producers of “Judas and the Black Messiah,” which gives a probing, heartfelt, and often humorous exploration of the relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and the Black church, featuring interviews with Billy Porter, Meagan Good, Cedric The Entertainer, David Mann, Tamela Mann, and Kev on Stage; “Acsexybility”, a feature doc from Brazil by Daniel Gonçalves about the sexual lives and desires of people with disabilities will also hold its world premiere at the fest, with Gonçalves attending. 

Fabian Stumm’s Berlinale title “Bones and Names,” an ensemble dramatic comedy about married men who seek new experiences outside their humdrum relationships, will hold its North American premiere with writer/director/star Stumm attending, and the U.S. premiere of Venice Film Festival highlights “Le Favolose,” The Fabulous Ones), which will also take place.

Outfest will hold its seventh annual Trans, Nonbinary, and Intersex Summit on Saturday, July 22nd, which will welcome a keynote speech and drag performance from rising star Vico Ortiz who currently portrays non-binary pirate Jime on the wildly popular Max Original Series Our Flag Means Death; a showcase that highlights the TNBI community’s contribution to the art of drag featuring performances from Them Fatale Drag Kings and recent cast members of the AMC and Shudder hit The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula and several commissioned one-minute films from TNBI filmmakers on the rise featuring TNBI talent from ActNow, LA’s LGBTQ+ ActingClass.

Outfest will also honor actor, producer, and musician Amandla Stenberg with its Platinum

Maverick Award, and the Platinum Alchemy Award to musician Madame Gandhi.

“The depth of the talent and the boundless creativity we saw in the work we reviewed this year speaks to how wonderfully gifted LGBTQ+ artists are,” said Outfest’s Director of Programming Mike Dougherty. “One festival could not hope to contain all the fantastic films available from our community this year, but rest assured, Outfest Los Angeles will be bursting with captivating cinema, and we hope to continue the celebration year-round.”

The Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Festival promises to be a captivating celebration of diverse storytelling, offering a platform for marginalized voices within the queer and trans community.

in NEWS
Related Posts

L.A. County DA Files Over 1,000 Felony Theft Charges Under Prop 36 in Retail Crime Crackdown

May 19, 2025

May 19, 2025

DA Nathan Hochman Unveils Major Enforcement Effort Targeting Organized Retail Theft Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced...

LGBTQ+ Advocates Condemn Newsom Administration Over $17 Million Health Equity Cut

May 19, 2025

May 19, 2025

LGBT Center Calls State Funding Rollback a ‘Betrayal’ of Queer and Trans Communities LGBTQ+ advocates are sharply criticizing Governor Gavin...

Getty Villa Museum to Reopen After Months-Long Closure Due to Palisades Fire

May 19, 2025

May 19, 2025

Limited Public Access Resumes With Major New Exhibition on Mycenaean Greece The Getty Villa Museum will reopen to the public...

Woman’s Car Stolen from UCLA Valet in Santa Monica While Visiting Husband in ICU

May 19, 2025

May 19, 2025

Couple Left Without Vehicle During Cancer Treatment After Thief Stole Keys Brittney Mickles-McQuirter, a local Montessori school teacher, says she...

Celebrity-Owned Cannabis Dispensary The Woods WeHo Hit in Smash-and-Grab Burglary

May 19, 2025

May 19, 2025

Shop Co-founded by Woody Harrelson, Bill Maher, and John McEnroe Targeted The high-profile cannabis dispensary co-owned by actor Woody Harrelson,...

Pasjoli to Temporarily Close for Redesign, Unveil New Menu June 12

May 19, 2025

May 19, 2025

Santa Monica French Bistro Will Pause Service Starting June 1 Acclaimed French bistro Pasjoli will close temporarily starting on June...

Hollywood Man Charged in Deadly Attempted Robbery on 3rd Street Promenade

May 19, 2025

May 19, 2025

Santa Monica Police Say Planned After-Hours Sale Turned Violent Hollywood resident Karen Melikyan, 41, has been arrested and charged in...

Del Rey Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation Using Social Media Apps

May 19, 2025

May 19, 2025

Man Used Apps to Contact and Coerce Children to Produce Explicit Images Mark David Wallin, 44, of the Del Rey...

Brentwood Man Convicted of Stalking New Jersey Judge with Threatening Emails

May 18, 2025

May 18, 2025

Resident Found Guilty of Months-Long Campaign of Harassment Brentwood resident Jonathan Lipman, 36, was convicted Thursday of a federal felony...

Hollywood Park to Add Movie Studio and Olympic Broadcast Center in 2028

May 18, 2025

May 18, 2025

Studio Will Serve as International Broadcast Center for LA28 Games Hollywood Park, the massive 300-acre mixed-use development led by Los...

Mega Producer Quincy Jones’ Custom-Built Bel Air Estate Lists for $59.995 Million

May 18, 2025

May 18, 2025

Music Icon’s 25,000-Square-Foot Mansion, Inspired by a South African Palace The Bel Air estate of the late music legend Quincy...

Lisa Vanderpump Hosts 8th Annual World Dog Day in West Hollywood

May 18, 2025

May 18, 2025

Thousands Attend Celebration Supporting Dog Rescue and Welfare More than 2,000 dog lovers and their four-legged companions gathered in West...

Beverly Hills Claims Two Spots on April’s List of Most Expensive U.S. Home Sales

May 18, 2025

May 18, 2025

Real Estate Report Shows LA Leads in Active Listings Over $135 Million Two of the 10 most expensive homes sold...

Yeastie Boys and Netflix Launch Nobody Wants This Bagel Pop-Up for Emmy Season

May 16, 2025

May 16, 2025

Two-Day Event Rolls Through Brentwood on May 17 With Themed Menu In a pitch-perfect blend of street food and streaming...

One Arrested After Attempted Westwood Burglary; Security Guard Fires at Fleeing Suspect

May 16, 2025

May 16, 2025

LAPD Searching for Three Additional Suspects After Early-Morning Break-in Near UCLA One person is in custody and three others remain...