Get ready to get your Q on! 

The 15th Annual QFest St. Louis — presented by Cinema St. Louis (CSL) — will take place from April 29-May 5 at the Galleria 6 Cinemas, with a selection of programs also available online. The online programs can be streamed at any time during the festival’s dates. 

The St. Louis-based LGBTQ film festival, QFest will present an eclectic array of 35 films from 13 countries (20 shorts, nine narrative features, and six documentary features). The participating filmmakers represent a wide variety of voices in contemporary queer world cinema. The mission of the film festival is to use the art of contemporary gay cinema to spotlight the lives of LGBTQ people and to celebrate queer culture.

The fest is especially pleased to host the St. Louis premiere of “The Depths,” a rarely seen 2001 work by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, and a reprise from SLIFF of Sebastian Meiser’s prison drama “Great Freedom.” Another highlight is this year’s Q Classic, Todd Hayne’s 1991 “Poison,” which was a part of the dawn of the New Queer Cinema movement of the early ’90s.

A special event, a two-film mini-festival and a panel discussion focused on Harvey Milk, takes place before QFest on the weekend of April 22-23 at Webster University. The event is presented in partnership with Opera Theatre of St. Louis in conjunction with its upcoming premiere of “Milk” in June. In addition, QFest features a “Poison”-themed dance party at Handlebar on Saturday, April 30.

QFest St. Louis begins on Friday, April 29, and runs through Thursday, May 5. Tickets go on sale April 1. Tickets are $15 general, $12 for Cinema St. Louis members and students with valid and current IDs. Passes are also available: Five-Film Passes are $65, and All-Access Passes are $200 ($50 and $150 for CSL members). Virtual screenings — limited to residents of Missouri and Illinois — will be offered through Eventive, CSL’s online presentation partner. Direct ticket links are available on the QFest website. 

QFest St. Louis is sponsored by AARP St. Louis, Arts & Education Council, Grizzell & Co., Missouri Arts Council, Bob Pohrer & Donnie Engle, CALOP, Just John Nightclub, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Regional Arts Commission, Deb Salls, St. Louis LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, St. Louis Public Radio, Cindy Walker, Webster U. Film Series, and Ted Wight.

For the full schedule of screenings, including trailers and descriptions of the films, visit the festival website at www.cinemastlouis.org/qfest. Advance digital screeners of the features and some of the shorts are available for press review on request. Please inquire with QFest St. Louis artistic director Chris Clark.

FILM PROGRAMS

Cut!

Marc Ferrer, Spain, 2021, 79 min., Spanish, narrative

The Depths

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Japan/Korea, 2010, 121 min., Japanese & Korean, narrative

Great Freedom (Grosse Freiheit)

Sebastian Meise, Germany, 2021, 116 min., German, narrative

Mama Bears 

Daresha Kyi, U.S., 2022, 90 min., documentary

Poison 

Todd Haynes, U.S., 1991, 85 min., narrative

Queer Shorts Programs 1-4

Multiple countries, program runtimes range between 79 and 99 minutes

Rebel Dykes 

Harri Shanahan & Siân A. Williams, U.K., 2021, 89 min., documentary

Sirens 

Rita Baghdadi, Lebanon, 2021, 78 min., Arabic & English, documentary

The Swimmer (HaSahyan)

Adam Kalderon, Israel, 2021, 83 min., Hebrew, narrative

The Therapy 

Zvi Landsman, Israel, 2021, 85 min., English & Hebrew, documentary

Two Eyes 

Travis Fine, U.S., 2019, 107 min., narrative

The Unabridged Mrs. Vera’s Daybook 

Robert James, U.S., 2021, 81 min., documentary

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair 

Jane Schoenbrun, U.S., 2021, 86 min., narrative

Social media: Facebook: @QFestSTL | Twitter: @QFestSTL | Instagram: @QFestSTL