Outfest’s 2018 Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival kicks off Thursday with several GLAAD-sponsored events worth checking out.

This year’s festival will include eleven days of not-to-be-missed world-class films, panels, and parties. Each summer Outfest Los Angeles screens more than 150 feature and short films to an audience of more than 40,000 people. Outfest Los Angeles is the oldest film festival in Los Angeles and is considered the preeminent LGBTQ film festival in the world.

This year’s Opening Night Gala on Thursday, July 12th will feature Matt Tyrnauer’s vibrantly nostalgic documentary, Studio 54, featuring interviews with many of the legendary nightclub’s famous patrons, as well as those who worked behind the scenes during its heyday. The Achievement Award Ceremony will take place first at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown LA, followed by the screening of the film. 

On Saturday, July 14th, GLAAD will co-sponsor a special Outfest screening of TransMilitary, the first film ever funded by the GLAAD Media Institute. The full-length feature documentary chronicles the lives of four American transgender troops defending their country’s freedom while fighting for their own, and the larger efforts to help rescind the military ban on transgender service members serving openly. You can purchase tickets to the screening here. 

Later that evening, Megan Townsend, GLAAD’s Director of Entertainment Research & Analysis, will participate in a panel titled Bi in the Biz, presented by SAG-AFTRA’s National LGBT Committee, SAGindie in conjunction with Outfest LA, at the Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles. Additional panelists will include Stephanie Beatriz (actor, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Travon Free (writer, The Daily Show, Him or Her), Zelda Williams (actor, Dark/Web, The Legend of Korra), Dalila Ali Rajah (actor, Cherry Bomb), and Jen Richards (actor, writer, Her Story). The panel is a ticketed event. Tickets can be purchased at the DGA Box office or online by clicking here.

On Monday, July 16th, GLAAD and Outfest LA present The New AIDS Narrative Panel taking place at 5 pm at the Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, moderated by journalist Marc Malkin. Panelists will include Our Lady J (producer/writer, Transparent, Pose), Twiggy Pucci Garcon (Kiki, Pose; Outfest), Yen Tan (director, 1985, Pit Stop), Jazzmun Crayton (actress, When We Rise, Glee), and Alonso Duralde (film critic, TheWrap/Outfest). The panel is a ticketed event. Reception to follow. Tickets can be purchased at the DGA Box office or online by clicking here.

Nearly 30 years since the first films about the HIV/AIDS epidemic hit the big screen, a new wave of scripted dramas is emerging. Join Outfest and GLAAD for a discussion of the history of HIV/AIDS representation in cinema, and what the arrival of films like BPM (Beats Per Minute), 1985, and Bohemian Rhapsody mean with regards to telling HIV/AIDS stories to a new generation. The panel will discuss all of these topics and more.

The 2018 Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival will close on July 22nd at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel with Desiree Akhavan’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, an unapologetically bold take on the topic of conversion therapy, starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Jennifer Ehle, Sasha Lane, John Gallagher Jr., and Forrest Goodluck.

For more information about Outfest Los Angeles, head here. And for a complete listing of screenings and events, head here or download the PDF guide here.