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 wasn’t 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.
More than a decade later, that act of visibility feels more urgent than ever. 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. When protest feels insufficient, creativity becomes its own act of defiance.
Outfest has long been the foundation of my filmmaking community. I’ve met creators from around the world and forged relationships that have shaped my life and career. As an attendee over the years, I’ve witnessed a kind of inclusion and joy that rarely exists outside the festival in Los Angeles. Outfest has offered international filmmakers not just a platform, but an invitation into the birthplace of cinema and to a community that understands the power of belonging.
In 2013 and 2014, trans narratives were entering the mainstream, a moment heralded by what many called a “tipping point.” In 2018, during Trump’s first term, I delivered the keynote address at Outfest’s inaugural Trans Summit. Laverne Cox was in the room with many other trans folks, and we all strategized how to confront anti-trans policies. Even amid outside hostility, it felt as though we were advancing as a community.
Now, in Trump’s second term, our rights are not only being unconstitutionally stripped away, they are being aggressively reversed. We are being punished for being trans.
When my friend Rachel Mason premiered Circus of Books at Outfest in 2019, I knew she had created something singular. Her documentary memorialized an LA landmark, a high-traffic porn rental shop owned by her unassuming Jewish parents, a monument to LA’s eclectic queer world.
Many brilliant filmmakers like Rachel have emerged in recent years. Yet the ecosystem that once nurtured them has been destabilized. The collapse of LGBTQIA+ media, attacks on a free and fair press, and a coordinated effort to vilify urban life have contributed to our stories being minimized, politicized, and distorted. Our narratives have been hijacked by those who fear our existence.
That’s why Outfest’s return matters so deeply now. After a challenging chapter, the organization is reemerging with renewed purpose. 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.
Today, that mission expands even further through initiatives like Outfest Fusion, which centers trans and BIPOC storytellers and ensures the most marginalized voices are not just included, but uplifted.
When a community is under attack, the response cannot be silence. We must amplify. We must speak louder. We must create more. Outfest is doing precisely that – doubling down on its commitment to the artists shaping the next generation of queer cinema. Our legendary Screenwriting Lab, now two decades strong, has supported dozens of filmmakers, including standouts like Yen Tan and Javier Fuentes-León.
Serving on Outfest’s board for the past seven years has been both an honor and a lesson in what perseverance looks like. 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, and through festivals like Outfest, we will continue to insist on our visibility, our humanity, and our future. From November 6–9, 2025, at OutfestNEXT’s screening series, films like State of First, directed by Chase Joint, and the coming-of-age documentary Niñxs, directed by Kani Lapuerta, will offer new visions of trans life that deserve, and demand, an audience.
Corporate support may be retreating, but we won't follow. We need viewers, supporters, and allies to show up: to stand with trans filmmakers, and to ensure cultural institutions like Outfest continue to thrive rather than slip away.
Our stories will not be just a footnote in history. Our stories are the evidence of now. Our stories are the future. And we are not going anywhere.
Zackary Drucker is a filmmaker and a board member of Outfest.
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