The 2023 Sundance Film Festival is back and with it an exciting slate of new films by Outfest alumni you need to watch out for. Addtionally, Outfest is excited to return this year to Park City in-person to celebrate all things queer at the Sundance Film Festival. The Outfest team decided to make this guide to all things Outfest and other queer gems at the festival.
Watch These Films by Outfest Alumni
Outfest alumni are making big waves in all of the major features categories. In the US Documentary Competition, Outfest alum and board member Zackary Drucker debuts her new film The Stroll, a striking black and white portrait of New York City’s Meatpacking District told from the perspective of the transgender women of color who created its history. Another black and white documentary that centers the story of trans women, KOKOMO CITY, produced by Outfest alum Harris Doran, tells the stories of four Black transgender sex workers in New York and Georgia
In the US Dramatic Competition, Lío Mehiel, the artist behind Outfest Los Angeles’ first ever gallery installation at the DGA, stars in Mutt. The film follows a young trans guy in New York City during an incessantly challenging day that resurrects ghosts from his past. Other alumni films premiering at this year’s festival include Ira Sachs’ Passages, a film about a queer filmmaker who engages in a love affair with woman complicating his relationship with his husband.
Longtime Sundance and Outfest veteran Sebastián Silva returns with his latest film Rotting in the Sun in which he plays himself embarking on journey to snap himself out of a depression. Also returning to Sundance, queer favorite’s from Outfest alumni like Gregg Araki’s The Doom Generation and Saim Sadiq’s recently Oscar shortlisted documentary Joyland.
There are also several shorts premiering at the festival by Outfest alum. Angelo Madsen Minax’s Bigger on the Inside is a portrait of desire and distance told through snowy stargazing, flirting with guys on dating apps and (maybe) taking ketamine. Xavier Dolan’s The Night Logan Woke Up follows the unraveling of an intricate string of secrets that have haunted and shaped a family after their mother passes away. Finally, Mike Donahue’s Troy, which screened at Outfest LA last year, shares a humorous story of couple who have an interesting relationship with their gay neighbor who has loud sex 24/7.
Queer Happenings
With so many exciting queer titles showing this year, Outfest is thrilled to partner with Acura to host Outfest Outpost, a celebration of everything queer at Sundance and beyond. Continuing a longstanding tradition, Outfest will be celebrating LGBTQIA+ artists with a light breakfast reception and three panels discussions in collaboration with program sponsor Warner Bros. Discovery and programming partners GLAAD, ReadySet and Easterseales Disability Services. Happening January 20 from 12 – 3pm MT at the Acura Festival Village. Learn more here.
Outfest partners GLAAD is hosting an intimate conversation with the co-directors of The Stroll, Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker. Stop by The Box at The Ray on Monday, January 23rd at 2:00pm MT as Anthony Allen Ramos moderates a discussion on how this upcoming documentary reclaims ownership and shifts the lens on trans storytelling prior to the documentary’s official 2023 Sundance Film Festival premiere. No RSVP is required, however please note that space will be limited.