33rd annual ‘Out on Film’ festival adjusts to a virtual setting

ATLANTA — Just because the coronavirus pandemic has limited face-to-face interaction doesn’t mean you can’t host a film festival.

That’s what organizers for Atlanta’s annual “Out on Film” festival are finding out in the midst of hosting their 33rd annual event.

The festival exists to help tell the LGBTQ community’s stories through film. Channel 2 Action News Anchor Jorge Estevez spoke to the festival director who says it took awhile for him to realize the festival could continue.

“I spent March really in kind of a sullen mood, just to sort of overwhelmed by all that was going on. And then I got up, you know in April and said we can still do,” said festival director Jim Farmer.

Farmer told Estevez it was difficult to give up face-to-face interaction with movie buffs, but by going virtual, the festival is reaching a whole new audience.

“We have roughly 125 films, we have visiting filmmakers throughout the 11 days, and it’s really a celebration of LGBT queer art,” Farmer added.

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Farmer believes the festival continues to have an impact for those who are in need of contact and inspiration from others they can relate to.

“We have a lot of people who come out on film, who don’t live in Atlanta, who live from other pockets around the state of the southeast and they don’t really have a support system. So it’s really great for them to come together and be with their community and see these kind of stories and see these positive images,” said Farmer.

If you want to learn more about the festival, you can go to the Out on Film website for more information.

Cox Media Group