Title: Why trans storytelling in film is more important than ever. Link To: Article 🔗 [Link: advocate.com/voices/trans-storytelling-outfest-opinion/] Author: Zackary Drucker
Date: 06 November 2025
In 2013 I premiered my experimental short film She Gone Rogue at Outfest and to my surprise it won the Grand Jury Award. That moment was not just a career milestone it was an act of recognition for the trans community. It affirmed that a trans artist could belong in cinema's future and that our stories could take up space in a world that had long refused to see us.
As the current administration works to silence and ultimately erase the trans community our visibility itself has become a form of resistance. The arts remain one of the few spaces where we can still tell the truth about who we are unfiltered and unafraid. Storytelling has always been our lifeline an avenue for empathy connection and transformation.
Outfest has long been the foundation of my filmmaking community. I have witnessed a kind of inclusion and joy that rarely exists outside the festival in Los Angeles. For more than forty years Outfest has been a vital platform for LGBTQIA+ filmmakers nurturing careers cultivating community and ensuring our stories reach those who need to see them.
This soft relaunch is not merely an organizational revival it is a declaration Queer and trans stories will not be erased. Storytelling is how we survive our stories are the evidence of now our stories are the future.
Best Wishes AlwaysSarah BGlobal Moderator
