The 28th Annual OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Spring Edition Unveils Full Film Lineup

The OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival has unveiled its full film lineup for this year’s Spring Edition running April 23 – May 3, 2026 in South Florida. This year’s festival will feature more than 20 international, North American and East Coast premieres from 20 countries across Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Ticket subscription packages and individual tickets starting at $17 are on sale now. 

Additionally, there will be a special recognition ceremony for award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, whose Rock Out (USA, 2025) film will be screening on Monday, April 27, at Paradigm Cinemas: Gateway Fort Lauderdale (1820 E Sunrise Blvd). Other special events, filmmaker panels and afterparties will also take place during the event. 

One of the largest LGBTQ+ cultural festivals in the world, OUTshine will debut its first Opening Night Under the Stars party featuring The Dinner (La Cena) (Spain, 2025), a delicious blend of tension, history, and irreverent humor, on Thursday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m., at Miami Beach Botanical Gardens (2000 Convention Ctr Dr, Miami Beach).

This year’s previously announced Centerpiece film, Maspalomas (Spain, 2025), an intimate story that delves into the subject of homosexuality in elder age through the journey of a 76-year-old man confronting fears and dilemmas that cross generations, screens at the Koubek Center Theater (2705 SW 3rd St, Miami) at 7:30 p.m. on April 30. Closing night on Sunday, May 3, at 6 p.m., at Savor Cinema (503 SE 6th St, Fort Lauderdale) will feature the international premiere of We’ll Find Happiness (Canada, 2025), an award-winning drama about how far one will go for love,  followed by another first - a Closing Night Community Block Party featuring food vendors, filmmakers, live performers, entertainment and more.

Other festival highlights this season include the international premieres of An Island Away From You (A Una Isla Deti) (Spain, 2025); The Children of Silverstreet Take a Stand (Børnene Fra Sølvgade Tager Kampen Op) (Denmark, 2025); and Unicorns (Italy/Spain, 2025).

This edition’s North American premieres include the star-studded documentary Armani And The Birth of Italian Fashion (Italy, 2026) that traces the rise of Italian fashion through the story of the families that have been ruling it for decades, from Armani, Versace, Gucci and Valentino to Missoni, Zegna, Ferragamo, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada and featuring legendary insiders, rivalries, personal stories and the enduring love affair between Hollywood and Italian designers.

Others include Baracoa (Cuba/Italy, 2025); Free At Heart (Germany, 2025); In A Whisper (À voix basse) (France/Tunisia, 2025); Jone, Sometimes (Jone, batzuetan) (Spain, 2025), OUTshine’s Ladies Latin Spotlight Film; La Carn (Spain, 2025); Lone Star Bull (USA, 2025) starring Luke Macfarlane, Sebastian Roché, and D.J. “Shangela” Pierce; Patty Is Such A Girly Name (Greece, 2025); and Madfabulous (UK, 2026), a uncompromising celebration of otherness inspired by the unlikely British aristocrat who bankrupted his estate, lived fast and died young starring Rupert Everett, Greta Jones, and Ruby Stokes.

Additional films of note include the U.S. premiere of Lunar Sway (Canada, 2026), a dark mother-son adventure comedy; the East Coast premiere of A Man Walks Down The Street (Israel, 2025), the dramatic story of Raanan, a middle-aged man who, for the first time faces his internalized homophobia, and tries to make amends with his past; Blue Boy Trial (Japan, 2025), OUTshine’s Trans Spotlight Film, inspired by true events and directed by an out trans filmmaker, Blue Boy Trial tells the story of a 1960s doctor facing trial for performing sex-change surgeries on male prostitutes that ignited a debate over identity, desire, and the true meaning of happiness; and Uncle Roy (USA, 2026), a documentary about Roy Blakey, a trailblazing figure skater, ice show archivist, and gay photographer whose male nudes etched their way into history.                                                                

Adding to the excitement will be a special recognition ceremony for Dustin Lance Black, director of Rock Out (USA, 2025), an excavation of the queer roots of rock, punk and metal featuring Roger Daltrey, Dolly Parton, John Reid, Danny Fields and more, at the Monday, April 27 Paradigm Cinemas: Gateway Fort Lauderdale Cocktails & Cinema screening.

An American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBTQ+ rights activist, Black won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2009 for Milk, a biographical drama film based on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He also wrote the screenplay for the film J. Edgar and the 2022 crime miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven.