Festival Data:

• Established: 1989
• Genre: Gay - Lesbian (click to see)
• Attendance: 8000
• Total Number of Films Screened: 136
• Total Screenings: 45
• # of Shorts Screened: 115
• # of Features Screened: 21

• Competitive

Festival Website:

Festival Description:

The 11-day festival boasts the largest queer arts event in Western Canada and the second largest film festival in Vancouver. "The festival has grown by leaps and bounds and we expect an increase to 12,000 attendees this year. The range and quality of films is absolutely amazing. We're very excited about the continuing growth of the festival and looking forward to our 20th anniversary in 2008," says Drew Dennis, Executive Director of Out On Screen, the organization that puts on the festival. The success of the festival is due in no small part to Vancouverites' appetites for good independent film, of which there is plenty in this year’s lineup. Each year a roster of international and local films are showcased, representing the diversity of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, in short—queer experience from around the world.

VQFF Programming Director Vanessa Kwan has added an element of whimsy to the festival in addition to a wide array of films. This year the focus is on performance, with local performance artists livening up events with impromptu appearances at venues and even during film lineups. "We're really in a celebratory mood as we move closer to two decades of showing the best queer independent films from around the world," says Kwan. "Some fun, some levity, a spontaneous feel to the festival, a whole experience, is what we want to create for our audiences."

Film Submissions:

• Call for Entry: http:/ / www.outonscreen.com/ webuploads/ files/ Call/ 2007_SubmissionForm.pdf