{"id":420457,"date":"2026-10-06T18:38:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T18:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/420457\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T18:38:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T18:38:19","slug":"arts-guide-2026-27-best-south-florida-film-festivals-this-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/420457\/","title":{"rendered":"Arts Guide 2026-27: Best South Florida film festivals this season"},"content":{"rendered":"

As part of our 2026 Guide to the Arts in PRIME Magazine, entertainment writer Phillip Valys offers his Critic\u2019s Picks for the best film festivals coming up in South Florida. Want to see the full Guide? Go to SunSentinel.com\/prime<\/a>.<\/p>\n

OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival<\/p>\n

Oct. 15-25 at multiple Broward and Miami-Dade county venues including Paradigm Cinemas: Gateway Fort Lauderdale, Regal Dania Pointe in Dania Beach and Silverspot Cinema in Miami; and Oct. 26-Nov. 1 for OUTshine At Home virtual festival. 877-766-8156, OUTshineFilm.com<\/a><\/p>\n

The 28th edition of genre-bending, stereotype-smashing indie films, documentaries and rowdy after-parties is still firming up its movie lineup as of this writing. But based on the last OUTshine event earlier this year, we\u2019re in for a strong fall program. The spring edition featured screenings of \u201cThe Dinner (La cena),\u201d an acclaimed comedy-drama about a young lieutenant who arranges a banquet for generals after the end of the Spanish Civil War; and \u201cRock Out,\u201d an excavation of the queer roots of rock, metal and punk featuring talking-head interviews with Roger Daltrey, Dolly Parton and Danny Fields. As usual, OUTshine plans to split its fall festivities between Fort Lauderdale and Miami venues with panel discussions, parties and in-person screenings.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival \/ Courtesy<\/p>\n

A still from the 2025 comedy \u201cThe Dinner (La cena),\u201d one of the standout films that screened during the spring edition of the OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival. (OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival\/Courtesy)
\nGEMS 2026<\/p>\n

Oct. 29-Nov. 5 at Miami Dade College\u2019s Tower Theater Miami, 305-237-3456, MiamiFilmFestival.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s aptly named GEMS screened \u201cHamnet,\u201d \u201cSentimental Value\u201d and \u201cThe Secret Agent\u201d before their theatrical distribution \u2014 and long before they earned 2026 Oscar Best Picture nods. That makes this mini offshoot of the much-larger Miami Film Festival (whose 44th outing returns April 1-11, 2027) prestigious on its own, full of buzzy awards-season heavyweights and indie sleepers drawing early acclaim on film-festival circuits. As usual, this year\u2019s schedule is TBA, but visitors can expect appearances from filmmakers, seminars and post-screening parties. (And if nothing else, going to GEMS should give you an early edge on your next Oscar office betting pool.)<\/p>\n

Miami Jewish Film Festival<\/p>\n

Jan. 13-28, 2027, at multiple locations in Miami-Dade County, 305-573-7304, MiamiJewishFilmFestival.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Arguably the most powerful moment at this year\u2019s bash happened just after the credits rolled on \u201cA Letter to David,\u201d writer-director Tom Shoval\u2019s chilling documentary about actor David Cunio and brother Ariel, two of the last Israeli hostages freed by Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. The Cunios, in attendance at their first film festival after 738 days in captivity, got a lengthy standing ovation from a sold-out crowd that included Steven Spielberg\u2019s sister, Nancy. Such events make this festival, which had 45 sold-out premieres and a record-breaking 58,500 in-theater and virtual attendees, appointment viewing in South Florida. MJFF\u2019s 2027 event, marking its 30th anniversary, is poised to deliver another round of memorable moments.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Miami Jewish Film Festival \/ Courtesy<\/p>\n

Returning in January, the Miami Jewish Film Festival will mark its 30th anniversary. (Miami Jewish Film Festival\/Courtesy)
\nFort Lauderdale International Film Festival<\/p>\n

Feb. 19-27, 2027, at Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale, Cinema Paradiso Hollywood and other Broward County venues, 954-525-3456, FLIFF.com<\/a><\/p>\n

This long-running bash had its landmark 40th anniversary last February by leaning into, as FLIFF typically does, a frenzy of stars: Chevy Chase, Jamie Kennedy and Guy Harvey all made appearances<\/a>. Yet keen-eyed fanatics may have noticed stark differences this time around. It was the first FLIFF in more than 30 years not to be curated by ex-president and CEO Gregory Von Hausch; had a shorter run of 50 feature-length flicks; and was bumped from November to February to avoid competition with the boat show and elections. All this to say: FLIFF will be leaner and meaner come next February with 100 expected high-profile films, documentaries, shorts, plus another bevy of celebrities, we\u2019re sure.<\/p>\n

\"Chevy<\/p>\n

Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor<\/p>\n

Chevy Chase attends a Q&A after a screening of his movie \u201cI\u2019m Chevy Chase and You\u2019re Not\u201d during the 40th annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival at Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 26, 2026. (Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor)
\nPopcorn Frights Film Festival<\/p>\n

August 2027 at Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale and Cinema Paradiso Hollywood, PopcornFrights.com<\/a><\/p>\n

In case you haven\u2019t heard the screams (of delight) from Hollywood execs, horror\u2019s having a box-office moment, between \u201cWeapons\u201d and \u201cSinners\u201d last year to the low-budget bonanza of \u201cObsession\u201d and \u201cBackrooms\u201d this spring. Which is something the scare-peddlers behind Popcorn Frights, Igor Shteyrenberg and Marc Ferman, have been trying to teach us for years: Horror deserves its place in the sun. Their two-week film festival will return to the dead heat of summer with another bloody showcase of Florida-grown indies and nostalgia classics. Last August\u2019s frightfest had appearances from actors Stephen Lang and Michael Ironside; sold-out advance screenings of \u201cThe End of Oak Street\u201d (Ewan McGregor, Anne Hathaway) two days before its theatrical release; and a live shadowcast of \u201cLittle Shop of Horrors,\u201d where costumed performers acted out the film with props as the classic played in the background. Can\u2019t wait until next August? The festival is plotting a Nightmare Weekend trove of screenings this Halloween.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Popcorn Frights Film Festival \/ Courtesy<\/p>\n

The Popcorn Frights Film Festival will return for its next edition in August 2027. (Popcorn Frights Film Festival \/ Courtesy)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As part of our 2026 Guide to the Arts in PRIME Magazine, entertainment writer Phillip Valys offers his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420458,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[506,104,684,28,249,251,250,165737,114,373,5077,109,106],"class_list":["post-420457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-broward-county","tag-entertainment","tag-events","tag-florida","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-guide-to-the-arts","tag-latest-headlines","tag-miami-dade-county","tag-movies","tag-social","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}