From Gay Conversion Therapy to Leather Competitions: 11 Must-See Latino Movies Playing Outfest

Pride month may be over, but Outfest Los Angeles is very much ready to keep its spirit alive this month of July. The annual LGBTQ film festival has, as always, curated a program that showcases the wild variety of the queer experience. Indeed, for the second year in a row, more than two-thirds of Outfest Los Angeles’ content is directed by women, people of color, and trans filmmakers. “The festival is about the extraordinary, diverse, adventurous, and politically engaged work from more than 240 filmmakers who have the courage and confidence to share their visions with us,” said Christopher Racster, executive director, and Mike Dougherty, director of festival programming.

With films from all over the globe, the 2019 roster will offer LA audiences the chance to see some of the best LGBTQ cinema coming out of Latin America, as well as some of the most exciting queer U.S. Latino work being produced. This is particularly the case in the Episodic and Shorts selections that tell stories of Dominican teenagers in the Bronx, indigenous young men living in the Amazon, and budding lesbians who love going to Church. They also feature work from both established (Lizette Barrera) and up-and-coming (Kayden Phoenix) Chicana directors.

If you’re looking for recommendations on what feature films to catch, look no further than these 11, which cover everything from the perils of so-called gay conversion therapy in the U.S. and Guatemala to leather competitions in Brazil. Take a look at them below.

Outfest Los Angeles runs July 18-28, 2019.