ImageOut is a premier LGBTQ+ film festival in Rochester, NY. We present and support LGBTQ+ arts and cultural experiences showcasing films, creative works and artists to promote awareness, foster dialogue and build community. ImageOut is recognized and respected as a major arts and cultural organization in New York State, celebrating and bringing visibility to LGBTQ+ artists and themed work.

This year, we are hosting our 6th annual First Cut LGBTQ+ Spring Film Festival on April 23-27, 2026 and our 34th annual LGBTQ+ Fall Film Festival on October 8-18, 2026. We are currently accepting submissions to the Fall Festival.

ImageOut is an Iris Prize partner and is one of the few select LGBTQ+ film festivals from around the world who can outrightly nominate a film for the Iris Prize Shorts Film Competition in Cardiff, Wales. It is one of the richest shorts film competition in the world.

Awards & Prizes

The festival awards Jury Prizes for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Short. The audiences also vote for their favorites and Audience Prizes are given for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Short.

FLOWER CITY FLICKS: Short films by local and area filmmakers can also compete in a juried competition with the winner receiving a cash prize and certificate. This is to encourage LGBTQ+ filmmaking in Western New York. The annual awarding of this prize is subject to festival discretion and contingent upon number of submissions.

Short film submissions will also be considered for possible nomination to the Iris Prize competition in Cardiff, Wales.

Rules & Terms

- All films submitted for consideration must contain LGBTQ+ content/themes or be from an LGBTQ+ identifying filmmaker. Submission fees are non-refundable.

- We strongly encourage filmmakers to provide captioning for their films in order to make them more accessible to a larger audience. If your film includes captions (as opposed to subtitles), please contact us for a fee waiver code.

- Films selected for the lineup are all eligible for the Jury and Audience awards.

- A screening committee determines which films shall be exhibited; submissions are not guaranteed to be shown. All decisions of the committee are final.

- Foreign-language films are welcome and encouraged to apply, but must include English subtitles. (Subtitles must be "burned-in" as part of the on-screen image, not a separate SRT file.)

- Selected films must be made available as a downloadable Quicktime file. DCP plus a Quicktime backup is preferred.

- ImageOut reserves the right to use film stills, posters, and/or excerpts of accepted films for promotional purposes.

- Films are scheduled at the discretion of ImageOut, which retains the right to make changes to the published schedule at any time and for any reason.

LEGAL / RIGHTS / CLEARANCES
It is the responsibility of the filmmaker to clear all rights before your film screens at the festival. By submitting a film, the filmmaker acknowledges that they have secured all applicable licenses and waivers of copyrights, moral rights, trademarks and any intellectual property rights.

The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations.

The submitter shall indemnify and hold harmless ImageOut from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.
15 Reviews
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  • Jacob McKee

    We were so honored to have the world premiere of MY DEAR WATSON at ImageOut’s spring festival this year! The entire team was so nice and generous to us, really making us feel special the entire time. In addition, the community in Rochester was so welcoming and supportive, both before and after our film screening! Highly recommend submitting to ImageOut.

    May 2026
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  • Aaron Jin

    The communication from this festival was fantastic (shout-out to Paul!), and they were so helpful about helping us filmmakers see as many films as possible.

    November 2025
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  • Mark Allan Davis

    I have to thank ImageOut for selecting our film Before the After for their shorts shown virtually. They also kindly extended the viewing possibilities for a week after the festival closed. The support and graciousness they showed was unparalleled when they filmed a Talk Back to accompany our film. As a Rochester native I was very pleased and hope to return to the festival in the near future!! Thank you all SO much!!

    November 2024
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  • Gisela Chicolino

    A festival on this topic is really a necessary one. Please keep working on generating this exquisite programming for the audiences. Thank you for selecting our Latin American film! @films.to.festivals

    November 2024
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  • El Delirio Cine

    Everything OK! Great LGBT film festival

    November 2022
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