aGLIFF/Polari Announces Dates and More

The newly re-rebranded Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF) has announced the dates and location of this year’s five-day event. This year, the whole shebang will take place at the freshly-vamped Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, September 10-14.

The festival's dates are earlier than prior years, putting aGLIFF just ahead of Fantastic Fest as the first film fest to utilize the new space. The one drawback to the September dates is that they partly overlap with the new StarGayZer music festival at Carson Creek, but as we’ve said before, Austin’s big enough for multiple queer festivals. Early bird badge pricing for aGLIFF is now available, and Polari (the nonprofit behind aGLIFF) is accepting film submissions through June 15.

The venerable aGLIFF is celebrating its 27th year, reclaiming the name that harkens back to its 1987 inception at the tiny, now lost Dobie Theater, but umbrella organization Polari continues to branch out and encourage a media-savvy culture in the local community. The Queer Youth Media Project (QYMP) gives queer teens the opportunity to participate in two free week-long media classes in the summer, and the product of last year’s efforts, a 10-minute narrative short called “Whitewash,” will be screened at the granddaddy of queer filmfestivals, Frameline 38 in San Francisco. QYMP is accepting applications for July 2014 classes through June 13.

For moviegoers of all ages, Polari also hosts the Free Family Screening Program, which provides free family fare every summer. The next screening will be the 1993 theatrical version of “The Secret Garden” (Dame Maggie friggin’ Smith, y’all!) at the Drafthouse Village on Saturday, June 21, 11am.