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.
Awards & Prizes
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.
Rules & Terms
Out On Film is now accepting entries for the 2025 Festival. We seek films that resonate with and are inclusive of the LGBTQIA+ community, showcasing life’s diverse experiences through the moving image. Submissions should include a completed submission form, entry fee, JPEG publicity photos, a two-sentence synopsis, downloadable trailer URL (if available), and a Vimeo link with a password to preview the film. Preview links and passwords for selected films must remain active until August 29, 2025. Films must have been completed in 2024 or later and must include English subtitles if not in English.
Multiple entries are allowed, each with its own submission form. However, entries containing multiple films will be disqualified. Applicants are responsible for the shipment of exhibition assets to the festival.
By submitting, you certify ownership and rights for public screenings. Out On Film is granted a non-exclusive license to use an excerpt of up to two minutes for promotional purposes only.
Out On Film requires a minimum of Atlanta premiere status for official selections and Georgia premieres for programs such as our Local Shorts block. We reserve the right to determine screening format (in-person, virtual, or both) and apply geo-blocking measures for virtual screenings. Films screened virtually must be available for at least one week throughout the U.S. and may be subject to encore screenings in October.
We value relationships with filmmakers and strive to facilitate their presence. For those invited, we offer airfare, lodging, and transportation. For those attending independently, we do our best to assist with housing.
IMPORTANT: Time-sensitive communications will be distributed from traffic@outonfilm.org, if selected. Please ensure this email address is whitelisted in your email service provider.