QFest St. Louis uses the art of contemporary gay cinema to spotlight the lives of LGBTQ people and to celebrate queer culture. The event will excite, entertain, and enlighten audiences of all identities.

This year marks the 13th anniversary of QFest. The fest, which features films that would not otherwise screen in St. Louis, is presented by Cinema St. Louis (CSL), organizers of the St. Louis International Film Festival.

QFest St. Louis is underwritten in part through a grant from the Creative Impact Fund for Diversifying the Arts, a partnership between the Arts & Education Council and local community leaders.

Because of the Covid-19 health crisis, QFest will be presented virtually in 2020. This short video provides more information on CSL's decision to move its 2020 festivals and events online. CSL is partnering with Eventive, which also handles our ticketing, to present the Virtual Festival.

Virtual Festival Basics:

QFest's complete lineup of films and shorts programs will be available to view on demand anytime from June 19-28.

Recorded Q&As and livestreams with filmmakers will accompany many of the programs.

Access to programs is limited to Missouri and Illinois.

Once a ticket-holder begins watching a program, access to it remains available for 24 hours.

Full information on access, including system requirements, is found in the Virtual Fest FAQ.

Help with playing films on your TV (through HDMI, casting/airplay, or apps) is found here.

Tickets: Individual tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for Cinema St. Louis members and students with valid and current photo IDs. (There will be a credit-card/handling fee of $1.50 for all tickets.) To obtain a student discount code, contact Brian Spath (brian@cinemastlouis.org) and provide an image of a currently valid student ID.

Passes: All-access passes are available for $75, $60 for CSL members. (There will be a credit-card/handling fee of $4.89 for the $75 pass and of $4.11 for the $60 member pass.) If you’re interested in seeing all QFest programs, the pass offers great value: With a pass, the 12 paid QFest programs — $120 if purchased individually — cost only $75, a savings of $45. CSL members also receive a substantial discount: $60 for a pass vs. $96 for tickets to the dozen paid programs.

Free Screenings: Documentary Shorts 1, Documentary Shorts 2, Narrative Shorts 1, Narrative Shorts 2, and “These Thems” are free, thanks to the generous support of sponsors. If you’d like to “Gay It Forward,” helping ensure that CSL can continue to offer free screenings during QFest in the future, you’ll have the option of making a contribution when ordering tickets for the free screenings.

AARP Free Screenings: A limited number of free tickets to QFest screenings — including the AARP-sponsored films "Sordid Lives" and "Surviving the Silence" — are available exclusively through AARP in St. Louis. Visit AARP to obtain a code for a free ticket.

Contributions: CSL will gratefully accept contributions of any size to help with the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Click here for ways to support the organization.