OutFest 2020 has an amazing selection of Latinx LGBTQ films to round off the summer with. You can purchase a full festival pass here for $49.99 and stream as many films as your heart desires! Alternatively, you can also purchase smaller packages of films for $20.
The Latinx Voices package that you can purchase here comes with ¡Gaytino! Made in America, Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of Jose Sarria, Your Mother’s Comfort (Aconchego Da Tua Mãe), MC Jess, Offline (Desconexo), Caro Comes Out, Femenina, In Colour (En Color), Muy Gay Too Mexicano, and Water (Agua).
Remember that films are available for a limited amount of time, so if something looks good, you might need to get to watching. Check out the list below of Latinx films showing at OutFest this year:
DRY WIND (VENTO SECO)
In this blissfully erotic tale from Outfest alum and Brazilian filmmaker Daniel Nolasco (Mr. Leather), factory worker Sandro escapes his mundane rural existence via secret trysts with his co-worker Ricardo, and through elaborate sexual fantasies that would make Tom of Finland blush. Though his sex life is in full swing, Sandro shies away from emotional attachment, preferring instead to imagine worlds of anonymity, leather, and unbridled fetish – which Nolasco brings to stunning life in color-drenched widescreen glory. When a new arrival at the factory — a certified hunk who could be straight out of Sandro’s dreams — sets his sights on Ricardo, Sandro finds himself brimming with jealousy and fearing exclusion from the kind of romance he wasn’t sure he wanted. Available to stream August 23, 24, and 25.
THE STRONG ONES (LOS FUERTES)
Lucas visits his sister in a small coastal town in southern Chile before embarking to Canada for an architectural scholarship. There, he meets Antonio, a handsome local who crews a fishing boat and performs in historical war reenactments beneath the windswept ruins of the colonial-era fortifications. As a romance develops between the two amid the breathtaking light, rugged coastline and intimate interiors, inner desires begin to clash with outer expectations of masculinity and hardscrabble living. Fans of Gods Own Country and Weekend will fall in love this effortlessly sensual exploration of male sexuality, wanderlust, and the emotional allure of the road not taken. Directed by Omar Zuñiga Hidalgo. Available to stream August 24, 25, and 26.
VALENTINA
Seventeen-year-old Valentina moves to the countryside of Brazil with her mother to start a fresh new life. To avoid being bullied in her new school, Valentina tries to enroll with her new name and hopes to be private about her gender history. However, she and her mother quickly face dilemmas when the local high school needs a second parental signature for enrollment. Presenting trans actress Thiessa Woinbackk’s debut, Valentina is a reflection of the real life hardships that society forces a strong young woman to endure in order to embrace who she is. Available to stream August 25, 26, and 27.
I AM THE OTHER ONE (EU, UM OUTRO)
Luca Scarpelli, Raul Capistrano, and Thalles Rocha — three Brazilian men of trans experience— invite director Silvia Godinho into their lives for a bold filmmaking experiment. With an enthralling blend of documentary and performance, Godinho’s vibrant, politically-active subjects navigate romantic entanglements, fights with local government bureaucracy, and plans for the future. Godinho allows these men to exist in heightened versions of their realities, and in doing so, crafts a rare and sensitive portrait of their struggle to live authentically. Available to stream August 27, 28, and 29.
YOUR MOTHER’S COMFORT
A sex worker, trans activist and political hopeful, Indianara Siqueira launches a bid for the city council of Rio de Janeiro against the backdrop of the contentious 2018 Brazilian national elections. The co-founder of Casa Nem, a shelter and resource center for queer and trans people, her vocal advocacy for the marginalized — the unhoused, sex workers, trans women — disrupts politics-as-usual. Further spurred by the brutal assassination of Marielle Franco (Rio’s first Black woman council member and an out lesbian), Siquieira and her comrades occupy abandoned government buildings to create housing as a form of direct action. Outfest alum Adam Golub’s film is a vital chronicle of on-the- ground resistance to the open-throated transphobia and homophobia of the Bolsonaro regime amid the global rise of right-wing anti-LGBTQ populism. Available to stream August 28, 29, and 30.
¡GAYTINO! MADE IN AMERICA
Mariachi to Merman. Sondheim to Cesar Chavez. Director Dan Guerrero’s autobiographical one-man play explores his upbringing in East LA as a gay kid with a Chicano music legend of a father (Lalo Guerrero), moving to New York City after high school to take on Broadway in the time of Stonewall, the gay liberation movement, and moving back to East LA to work with Cesar Chavez. Guerrero shares his story with lovable humor, transporting us through decades of rich history with his unique perspective. Available to stream August 25, 26, and 27.
NELLY QUEEN: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOSÉ SARRIA
In, 1961, José Sarria was the first openly gay man to run for public office in the United States, and he ran in heels. When San Francisco city officials vowed to shut down all the gay bars in 1961, the 38-year- old female impersonator threw caution to the wind and campaigned for a seat on the Board of Supervisors. Sarria lost the election but garnered nearly 6,000 votes and proved for the first time that there is a gay voting bloc. Nelly Queen is not just an LGBTQ history lesson, it’s a triumphant story of the human spirit, a hero’s journey of man in fighting unjust laws and uniting a fractured community. Directed by Joe Castel. Available to stream August 26, 27, and 28.
LA LEYENDA NEGRA
Aleteia, a gifted high school student in Compton with designs on a college scholarship, has spent her teenage years balancing her academic prowess with her need to speak out through underground activism. The daughter of El Salvadoran immigrants — and undocumented herself — she maintains a tough exterior until her intended path forward in life is rerouted by two events: a new maybe-more-than- friendship with popular girl Rosarito, and the potential revocation of her temporary protection status. With its stylish black- and-white photography and unabashed political streak, Patricia Vidal Delgado’s irresistible debut feature evokes the unpredictable,energetic style of ‘90s American indies, and announces a bold new filmmaking voice. Available through the Outfest Drive-In experience.
ALICE JUNIOR
Enter the cotton candy-colored and carefree world of teenage YouTube sensation Alice Junior: pulsing to the beat of bright lights and emoji, brazenly queer and Brazilian in the big city, and bursting at the seams with an electric sense of authenticity. But when her father unexpectedly moves the family to the more conservative countryside, where the local high school seems stuck in the stone age, Alice unleashes her truest survival instinct to make it as a trans girl and catch her long overdue first kiss: by being loud and proud and unapologetically herself. Beyond effortlessly capturing the experience of Generation Z by speaking fluently in its own audiovisual tongue, this coming-of-age gem is a gust of fresh air, and a reminder than even amidst hostile socio-political turmoil, the stories of trans Brazilians still, above all else, radiate life, joy, and infinite possibility. Directed by Gil Baroni. Available to stream August 21, 22, and 23.
SHORTS: LATINXCELLENCE
Experiencing new sensations, good and bad, can be overwhelming. In these Latinx shorts we are exposed to colorful, frightening and even musical moments of queerness within the Latinx community. These wonderfully diverse shorts explore a wide range of Latinx experiences, from the realistic story of a single mother in crisis (Dascha Polanco) to a funny coming out story set in Miami, to telling your crush that you’re transgender. The shorts are followed by a Q&A with the talented filmmakers.
Femenina (USA; directed by Ilana Garcia-Mittlean); In Colour (En Color) (Mexico; directed by James Lucas); Caro Comes Out (USA; directed by Brit Fryer); Water (Agua) (Mexico; directed by Santiago Zermeno); Muy Gay Too Mexicano (USA; directed by Lorena Lourenco); Spilt Milk (USA; directed by Cierra Glaude)
SHORTS: THREE FROM BRAZIL
In a year that sees Outfest highlighting a treasure trove of dazzling filmmaking from Brazil, don’t miss these three short-form works that encapsulate the beautiful diversity of queer people boldly expressing themselves in a nation currently waging a battle against ignorance and oppression. The specter of president Jair Bolsonaro’s right wing agenda looms over each story, but inspiration and joy are in abundant supply in these snapshots of an LGBTQIA+ community defiantly dedicated to existing, living, and loving.
Etérea (directed by Pedro Inoue & Tino Monetti); MC Jess (directed by Carla Villa-Lobos); Offline (Desconexo) (directed by Lui Avallos)
ADDITIONAL SHORTS IN OTHER SHOWCASES
Instructions to Let Go (Instrucciones Para Soltar) (directed by Gustavo Gamero) in the Shorts: Hearts to Break showcase.
Yunior (directed by Francisco Cabrera-Feo) in the Shorts: I Used To Be Seventeen showcase.
The Mistress (La Amante) (Directed by Pati Cruz) in the Shorts: Girl Shorts showcase.
Of Hearts and Castles (directed by Ruben Navarro); Stalls (directed by João Dall’stella); The Gift (O Presente) (directed by Daniel Wierman) in the Shorts: What A Boy Needs showcase.
See You Soon (directed by Tyler Rabinowitz) in the Boy Shorts showcase.
Acuitzeramo (directed by Miguel Angel Caballero) in the Shorts: S.O.S. (Silvers on Screen) showcase.
La Gloria (directed by Mary Evangelista); The House of Mariana Y Gabriel (directed by Hena Ashraf) in the Shorts: Family Affair showcase.
Before the Blue (Dir. Romy Pocztaruk) in the Platinum Showcase.