Monthly Film Festival | InFocus: LGBTQ+ Cinema

NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) hosts its June Monthly Film Festival dedicated to its celebration of its annual InFocus: LGBTQ+ Cinema program. The day consists of two InFocus: LGBTQ+ shorts programs showcasing a diverse range of exciting work from emerging LGBTQ+ creators whose films have screened at a variety of festivals and will take you on a journey, as well as writer-director Benjamin Howard’s queer coming of age feature film, Riley.

The day begins with InFocus: LGBTQ+ Cinema Shorts I, a collection of work that explores gender and gender identity, nonmonogamy, queer high school drama, history, passion, the struggle and joy of being an artist and complex family dynamics. This block includes two world premieres, Molly Kirschenbaum ‘s Harpies, and a brand new episode of Frank Arthur Smith’s series Open to It.

The afternoon continues with InFocus: LGBTQ+ Cinema Shorts II, a selection that highlights queer joy, self-expression, vulnerability between strangers and yet more complex family dynamics in the face of one’s own journey to authenticity. This block also includes two world premieres, Leigh Reddick and Jordyn Katz’s The Craine Maiden – Friday Night Dinner and Derek Mari’s Skunk.

The evening concludes with the Los Angeles Premiere of Student Academy Award Winner Benjamin Howard’s debut feature, Riley. The film is a a grounded, modern and deeply personal coming out story of a high school athlete. “I wrote this film as a way to express what thousands of queer youth are going through right now,” says Howard. “Riley is a movie that aims to shine a light on the coming-out experience through a contemporary lens, and to tell these young, queer athletes that they aren’t alone in their journeys – and that everything is going to be okay.”

NFMLA showcases films by filmmakers of all backgrounds throughout the year, across both our general and InFocus programming. All filmmakers are welcome and encouraged to submit their projects for consideration for upcoming NFMLA Festivals, regardless of the schedule for InFocus programming, which celebrates diversity, inclusion and region by spotlighting communities of filmmakers within our filmmaking community as part of our monthly program. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The South Park Center is an ADA compliant venue and is wheelchair accessible. We request captioned films from all filmmakers participating at our Festival. For any accessibility needs, please send a request to info@nfmla.org at least 72 hours prior to the event.