QFest St. Louis is celebrating its 19th year with a vibrant showcase of contemporary LGBTQ+ cinema and related programming at the Hi-Pointe Theatre from June 12-21. This year’s festival features eight feature films and four shorts blocks—three dedicated to narrative shorts and one to documentary shorts.
The festival’s theme, “OUT, LOUD,” emphasizes resilience and joy while amplifying LGBTQ+ voices and experiences. According to Emmett Williams, Cinema St. Louis’s director of festival curation and education, the theme serves as an important counter to rising anti-queer sentiment nationwide.
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Williams explains, “The films selected for each festival reflect what’s happening in society at that moment. They reveal what’s on people’s minds, and it’s powerful to have a space where people can see themselves, connect with others, and envision a better future.”
Over the past two decades, QFest has established itself as an inclusive community hub. This year’s expansion goes beyond film screenings. For the first time, the festival will host a live TV taping of the sapphic dating show Closet Space on June 13 at 6:30 p.m., followed by an afterparty at Platypus. The festival is also bringing back the Trans Youth Art Sale on June 20 at 11:30 a.m., showcasing work by trans and nonbinary young artists. These additions, combined with screenings and panel discussions, transform the Hi-Pointe into a vibrant community gathering space.
“My goal is to ensure that everyone sees themselves represented on our screen, and has the opportunity to share their work on it too,” Williams says.
Tickets and passes are now available online. Here are some highlights from this year’s lineup:
Moonlight | June 12, 7:30 p.m.
The festival opens with a 10th anniversary screening of Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning Moonlight, which claimed Best Picture at the 2017 Academy Awards. The film traces three pivotal moments in the life of Chiron, a young Black gay man in Miami, as he navigates questions of identity, family, love, and masculinity. A panel discussion following the screening will explore the film’s significance for Black queer audiences.
Lesbians in Boystown & Free Beer Tomorrow | June 13, 1 p.m.
This pairing illuminates overlooked lesbian history. The documentary short Lesbians in Boystown explores the legacy of queer women in West Hollywood, America’s first gay city. Free Beer Tomorrow, a documentary feature, celebrates Jack’s A Go-Go (later Summit Station), Ohio’s longest-operating lesbian-owned bar. Director Betsy Kalin will join activist and theater artist Joan Lipkin for a post-screening conversation.
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World | June 19, 7 p.m.
This documentary from PBS’s American Masters series premiered at True/False Film Fest and explores poet Mary Oliver’s guarded life as an out queer woman. Featuring celebrity perspectives from Stephen Colbert, Lucy Dacus, and Steve Buscemi, the film is particularly enriched by director John Waters, who was Oliver’s neighbor in Provincetown for decades, offering both depth and unexpected humor.
Come See Me in the Good Light | June 20, 1:30 p.m.
Each year, QFest invites a prominent local LGBTQ+ figure to select a meaningful queer film for the OUT, LOUD series. This year, photographer Jess T. Dugan chose Come See Me in the Good Light, a 2025 Oscar-nominated documentary about poet and activist Andrea Gibson’s battle with ovarian cancer. This free screening will include an introduction from Dugan explaining the film’s personal significance.
The Dads | June 21, 1 p.m.
Timed to Father’s Day weekend, the festival’s final day features The Dads, an expansion of the 2023 short film. The documentary follows a group of fathers across the country who support their trans and gender nonconforming children. As anti-trans legislation intensifies, these families face an agonizing decision: remain and fight for their rights or leave the country.
