News

Record year for Palm Springs’ LGBTQ Film Festival

Published September 25, 2018 3:41 PM

Lines were out the door at this year’s LGBTQ Film Festival in Palm Springs.

“Every year more and more people know about us…and more and more people talk about us,” said Michael Green, the festival’s Executive Director.

Some filmmakers chose to have their world premiere in Palm Springs this weekend, and several shows sold out entirely — bringing a boost in tourism during the shoulder season. Green says this has been the most successful year for the festival so far — selling a record number of tickets. He attributes much of the event’s growth to social media promotion, community partnerships and the unique films they’re featuring. “They’re making incredible films. And unfortunately many of these films never make it to mass distribution. So the only way you get to see them is to come to a festival like ours,” he said.

And the theater says this is one of the biggest in-house events of the year — bringing audiences to Palm Springs who have never been here before. “This year we’ve actually hit the marketing campaign…we’ve got banners downtown, we’re hitting social media like we’ve never hit before…it’s flyers, it’s posts…it’s the art installation with the big love balls you see over here…” said Matt Christensen, the General Manager of the theater and Palm Springs Cultural Center.

Those inflatable love balls seen outside the theater are part of a major nation-wide art installation by Wendy Williams Watt. Guests were encouraged to sign their name and leave a loving message.

A common theme in this year’s festival was taking a look at the history of the LGBTQ community and what can be learned from the past. Organizers and filmmakers alike say they hope these films leave a lasting impression on their audience. “I made it a point to go to the history films because I think it’s important especially during these political times for our generations to understand how we got to this point,” said Tim Rains, the Public Relations Director for the Palm Springs Cultural Center.

The festival has added a special bonus weekend September 28th and 29th at the Mary Pickford Theater in Cathedral City. Tickets are available online.