The Divine Queer Film Festival (DQFF - www.divinequeer.it) is an independent film festival deeply entrenched in the Queer scene. It delves into the ever-evolving themes of gender, diversabilities, and migration. The inaugural Divine was inspired by the idea of harnessing the power of cinema to dismantle stereotypes, prejudices, taboos, and fears.

With an international perspective, Divine aims to showcase films, documentaries, and fictional works from around the globe, spanning cult, feature film, and short film categories. The 2026 edition will be dedicated to "Divine".

"Divine", born as Harris Glenn Milstead in Baltimore, Maryland, was a drag performer, actor, and singer who became one of cinema’s most boundary-breaking stars. As the muse of filmmaker John Waters, "Divine" rose to cult fame for portraying outrageous, camp, and shock-driven characters, most notably Babs Johnson in Pink Flamingos, a film that redefined queer counter-culture and cinematic censorship.

"Divine" later reached mainstream audiences as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, bringing drag artistry into family comedy and expanding global visibility for queer performers long before broad acceptance. Known for bold glamour, fearless satire, and radical humor, Divine challenged norms of gender, beauty, and taste, inspiring generations of artists in fashion, film, and music.

Today, "Divine" remains an enduring icon of artistic freedom and queer self-expression, celebrated around the world in LGBTQ+ culture and transgressive cinema.

DQFF 2026 will be hosted in Barriera di Milano, the suburban neighbourhood of the city of Torino/Italy, specifically at Laboratori di Via Baltea (www.viabaltea.it), a vibrant multicultural centre. The 10th DQFF edition is scheduled for May 15-16-17, 2026. The venue is wheelchair-accessible, and all screenings will include subtitles to ensure enjoyment for both deaf and hearing audiences. Admission to screenings is free.

Awards & Prizes

1) Jury Award
2) Audience Award
3) Divine Award*

* (Each year, the artistic direction presents an award to a film, institution, individual, or association that exceptionally embodies the Festival's vision in an original manner)

Rules & Terms

The deadline for movie submissions is 15th February 2026. The selected films will be announced on 15th March 2026. All movies must include English subtitles (in the formats of word/rtf/txt) as a minimum requirement, and the inclusion of Italian subtitles is considered an added value.

Films should focus on themes related to gender, diverse abilities, and migration. Please carefully review the detailed explanations provided for each topic.

Our inclusive perspective on human existence goes beyond the confines of the gender binary and cisnormativity. This encompasses experiences such as being transgender/transexual, agender, non-gendered, genderless, genderfluid, genderfree, or having a neutrois identity, among others.

In the context of physical and/or mental diversability, we aim to highlight the diverse abilities and talents of individuals with "disabilities," promoting these as sources that offer a new understanding of ourselves.

Our approach to migration encompasses physical, mental, economic, and geographical changes in places, bodies, souls, and nations. Therefore, crossing these "borders" and "barriers" lies at the core of our queer vision.

We hope that the nominated works narrate the crossing of borders with an evolutionary perspective.
8 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
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  • Orlando Myxx

    It was a joy to be part of the Divine Queer Film Festival.
    I loved its radical and political commitment to promoting queerness and social justice not only through film but also through a deep connection with the local community.
    I attended the whole festival and enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and meeting like-minded people and filmmakers.
    The organisation was seamless, proactive, and very attentive to my needs.

    May 2026
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  • Mária Takács

    A truly unique film festival, with excellent communication and heartwarming feedback.
    Thank you for the Jury Award for The Rebellion of the Lesbian Jacobines — we are honored to receive this recognition.

    May 2026
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  • Andres Lubbert

    Very good communication! Lovely festival! An honour to be part of it :) Important space for Queer Cinema in Italy

    May 2024
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  • Sean Dorsey

    INCREDIBLE! ***** I have nothing but praise for this incredible film festival -- it is outstanding in every aspect. I have had the privilege of having my films screened at 3 Divine Film Festivals, and they are WONDERFUL to work with.

    This year, I attended the film festival in person, and it was an extremely moving, inspiring and powerful experience. The Divine Film Festival team succeeds at reaching and attracting many, many different parts of our community and brings them together to share screenings, dialogue and celebration. I recommend this festival VERY highly! Congratulations to the organizers for creating and sustaining such an incredible festival.

    May 2024
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  • STORM DI SCOZIA

    As a filmmaker showing my film to a festival is a thrilling experience. This festival was disappointing because there was no organization of networking opportunity for independent queer Film makers. I have no regrets, but was underwhelmed at the time spent with a filmmaker who payed lots of money and time to arrive at the event. I have noticed in my experience each festival has different priorities. While it’s always an honor to be officially selected to screen, particularly in a queer festival festival, I expected more in the way of interacting with other queer film makers of which there are so few. That being said, I have no regrets and am grateful for the experience. Perhaps in future less attention should be payed to sponsors and more time dedicated to filmmakers? Lovely people though, and a beautiful city.

    April 2023
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