The Long Beach QFilm Festival, the city’s longest-running and the only exclusively LGBTQIA+ film festival is back for its 30th anniversary.
Every year, documentaries, narrative-style movies and short films are shown at the festival. Aside from showing films, the festival has social events and Q&A sessions with the filmmakers and the cast. Over the years, the QFilm Festival has welcomed many movie lovers, industry professionals and community members.
The festival was held at the historic Art Theater next door to The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach, both located on Long Beach’s renowned 4th Street.
On Saturday, Sept. 16, the festival opened with the premiere of “Commitment to Life,” a documentary that tells the true story of the AIDS Project Los Angeles’s fight against HIV/AIDS with the support of Hollywood actors, studio moguls and activists.
Another documentary that highlighted opening day was award-winning filmmaker Madeleine Lim’s “Jewelle: A Just Vision.”
Lim’s documentary spotlights the novelist, playwright, poet and journalist Jewelle Gomez and examines social movements such as the late ‘60s Black Power movement in Boston, to marriage equality in the early ‘10s in San Francisco.
Aside from feature films, there were also special showings of many short films such as LatinXqueer Shorts, Men in Briefs, Women in Shorts and Long Beach/LA Queer Shorts.
The Long Beach and Los Angeles Queer Shorts program included ten films highlighting local queer stories.
“Twenty Two” opened the program, the first award-winning short from the festival’s first event 30 years ago. Following “Twenty Two,” was Johanna Hernandez’s story of love at first sight, entitled “Love and Gratitude.”
At a little over five minutes long, “Love and Gratitude” is narrated by Hernandez, is about a past relationship and serves as an ode to her partner that has since passed. Hernandez described their story as a “cosmic lovers reunion” and expressed gratitude to the universal cosmic big bang that brought them together once again.
“One of the biggest challenges of making this film was figuring out what message I wanted to send out there,” Hernandez said. “I wanted to send out the message of love, believing in yourself and finding your soulmate.”
Hernandez did not always have luck with dating. Often times, she felt empty and not connected to people. She then decided to shift her focus to fostering better friendships instead.
“I felt like there was something in me that needed to grow. In that process of letting go of this heaviness and my mission to make friends to form connections, I fell in love. Love found me.”
Another film that received much applause was “Born This Way,” directed by CSULB alumna, Tatiana Jolie Navarrette.
In the film, a Christian summer camp counselor must take action against strict church policies, and create a safe environment for the LGBTQIA+ campers, including a transgender camper who was forced to hide his identity.
Navarrette’s film was heavily inspired by the struggles she had to endure. As an adult, she returned to the church she attended as a young child, where she found herself surrounded by hundreds of people who supported LGBTQIA+ people.
“It was very emotional because I could not believe that a place that had hurt me so deeply could celebrate me in a way that I’ve never felt before,” Navarrette said.
The film was shot at the Grace First Presbyterian Church in Long Beach near Mcbride High School.
Navarrette shared that finding a church that agreed with their values was challenging, however, the Grace First Presbyterian Church offered their space for free and was helpful throughout the process.
“We don’t often realize how well we are here in Long Beach because there are many LGBTQ and queer-inclusive churches here,” said Robert Cano, the founder of the QFilm Festival.
Cano said he was kicked out of his family’s home after coming out, which led him to Long Beach.
“When I came here I did not look for bars, I looked for the churches first. I found Christ Chapel of Long Beach. When I walked in, I was accepted for who I was and I was crying during the whole service,” said Cano.
The Long Beach and Los Angeles Queer Shorts program included films that showed the diverse backgrounds of LGBTQIA+ people and how cultural stigmas play a big role in their lives.
“Zindagi Dobara- Life Again” is a short film that focuses on the tragic life of a South Asian teenager who is forced to live with a distant aunt whom she has never met.
Directed by Amritpal Kaur, the film explores how culture brought them closer and enabled them to form an accepting relationship with each other.
All the proceeds from the festival will directly support The LGBTQ Center Long Beach.
Serving the community for over 40 years, The Center supports more than 25,000 people a year through HIV and STI testing, youth services, senior services, counseling, legal services, domestic violence support, trans health programs and more than 20 weekly support groups.