The North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (NCGLFF) is the second largest gay, lesbian and transgender film festival in the Southeastern United States, attracting thousands of patrons yearly. Since its beginning in 1995, the Festival has featured a diverse array of shorts, documentaries and feature films. The Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau named the NCGLFF a Signature Event for Durham, the highest honor bestowed on a cultural event or attraction by the organization. The Carolina Theatre of Durham, NC produces the festival.

The NCGLFF celebrates a worldwide glimpse of today's gay, lesbian and transgender life, helps bring the community together and features entertaining and sophisticated films and filmmaking.

NCGLFF seeks submissions in many categories. Please extensively review the categories BEFORE submitting your film. We are especially seeking submissions that include African-American, Asian or Latino characters and themes. We include animated short films.

The 2018 North Carolina Gay + Lesbian Film Festival (NCGLFF) is scheduled for August 16-19.
Apres-Fest takes place August 20-23.

#NCGLFF2018

Awards & Prizes

JURY AWARDS
Best Gay Themed U.S. Feature Film
Best Gay Themed International Feature Film
Best Gay Themed U.S. Short Film
Best Gay Themed International Short Film
Best Gay Themed Long-Form Narrative Short Film

Best Lesbian Themed U.S. Feature Film
Best Lesbian Themed International Feature Film
Best Lesbian Themed U.S. Short Film
Best Lesbian Themed International Short Film
Best Lesbian Themed Long-Form Narrative Short Film

Best Transgender or Intersex Themed U.S. Feature Film
Best Transgender or Intersex Themed International Feature Film
Best Transgender or Intersex Themed U.S. Short Film
Best Transgender or Intersex Themed International Short Film
Best Transgender or Intersex Themed Long-Form Narrative Short Film

Best Animated Short Film

Note: If NCGLFF deems there are not enough worthy entries in any given category, the festival reserves the right to not present an award in any given category.

Rules & Terms

The Deadline to submit SHORTS in ALL categories is May 18th.

ARTIST TRANSPORTATION:
NCGLFF does NOT pay for artist transportation such as travel per diems, airfare, train, hotel, etc. We also do not coordinate travel arrangements with International Cultural Agencies. Please do not ask. If your film is accepted, all transportation and lodging is 100% the responsibility of the artist, including all travel arrangements.

RENTAL OR SCREENING FEES:
NCGLFF does NOT pay rental or screening fees for films.

NCGLFF is seeking new narrative feature films that have NOT yet been released (or planned to be released) on Netflix, DVD/BluRay, or other pay services prior to Monday, August 20th, the first day after the end of fest. VOD is acceptable. (If your feature film is ONLY available for purchase on your website but NOT on any other service such as Amazon, etc., it is indeed eligible.)

Short films that are available on Youtube, Vimeo or other media services are indeed eligible.

Unsolicited feature-length documentaries are not accepted. We do not program unsolicited feature-length documentaries. Documentaries must have a waiver code for submission through FilmFreeway. NCGLFF does NOT accept music videos or similar.

EXHIBITION FORMATS:
If your FEATURE FILM (55+ min) is ACCEPTED, you MUST provide NCGLFF with a Bluray or DVD exhibition copy. We do NOT accept video/digital files for features.

If you cannot provide a Bluray or DVD, please do NOT submit. (This is expecially important for International films!)

If your SHORT FILM (1-54 min) is ACCEPTED, you can provide NCGLFF with either a Bluray, DVD or video/digital files. Files must be in .mp4, Apple ProRes, .mov, .avi, or .wmv formats.

Feel Free to contact Committee members about your submission questions.
We encourage films with or without distribution to submit.

27 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
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Networking
  • Festival Formula Ltd

    We are always thrilled when we get clients selected here, a fantastic level of programming and communication was superb. We heart these folks a lot!

    August 2018
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  • Mark Elias

    LOVE this film festival. All the volunteers are amazing. The venue is amazing. Can't wait to go back.

    August 2018
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  • Andy Bosnak

    It was consistently a pleasure to deal with the festival manager and staff. They communicated about event details clearly and consistently. The festival crew was always encouraging to me as a filmmaker. They were sincere film fans and top-notch people. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the screenings, but I do highly recommend this festival.

    August 2018
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  • Scott T. Hinson

    This was a great festival! The program was massive and very well put together. Great people, great venue, great films. Thank you NCGLFF for programming MICHAEL JOSEPH JASON JOHN! You folks do an excellent job.

    August 2018
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  • Ingeborg Putter

    Our director Niels Bourgonje won Best Short (Male) twice with his films Buddy and (our collaboration) Turn it Around. Obviously we are big fans of the festival. We value our relationship with NCGLFF greatly and hope to be back very soon. We can recommend this festival to anyone who holds LGBTQ film dear to their heart.

    August 2018
    Helpful