LGBTQ+ community speaks in its own voice at OSU’s Queer Film Festival.

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Queer Film Festival
Queer Film Festival organizers, directors and cast of the NW directors program: Devin Tau and crew, Burton (from the film, "Burton Before and After"), Samuel Lora, Juan Trujillo and Andrew Lush.

The annual festival — which had its fifth showing in February — celebrates all life experiences. It provides an avenue to speak about them in a way the mainstream media can’t — or won’t. And it encourages filmgoers to connect and start their own dialogues.

This year’s event — organized by OSU assistant professor Juan Trujillo and artist Samuel Lora — featured a range of 50+ short films from animation to experimental work to narrative shorts and music videos, and topics like youth living in queer families and the joys and challenges of personal relationships. It also serves as a vital outlet for LGBTQ+ filmmakers as one of the few festivals that only accepts work from people who identify as queer or transgender.

Juan Trujillo, assistant professor of linguistics in the College of Liberal Arts, adds that submissions from people of color are prioritized, as their work can be overlooked in larger festivals.

In addition to creating opportunity, the festival also builds community. At this year’s event, a record number of film directors arrived for showings and OSU exchange student Dongning Pu debuted his first piece — about the identities U.S. gay culture has projected on him.

“It was beautiful to feel the energy and connection in the room as we spoke with the audience after each screening as well as in our interactions outside the auditorium," Trujillo says. “Not only have we strengthened the sense of community among Corvallis locals, we have extended that community well beyond Oregon’s borders.”

Acceptance and understanding start with conversation. And the Queer Film Festival has not only opened doors — it has opened minds.