A long-running LGBTQ+ film festival is returning to Fort Worth’s Near Southside this November, bringing a curated programme of features, shorts and community events to Amphibian Stage. Q Cinema’s revival offers local audiences a chance to discover queer stories together, while reconnecting with a festival that has been part of the city’s cultural life for three decades.

Essential Takeaways

  • Q Cinema is back: The festival runs from 13 to 15 November 2026 at Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth.
  • Three featured films: The programme includes Bookends, Clarissa and Jaripeo, alongside shorts and other events.
  • A community-centred revival: Trinity Pride Fort Worth is producing the curated, non-competitive festival, with Roger Calderon as its director.
  • A long local history: Q Cinema began as a film discussion group in 1996 and grew into a festival in 1999.
  • Tickets: Individual screenings cost $15, while a weekend pass is $125.

A familiar festival returns to the big screen

There’s something quietly powerful about watching a film in a room full of people, where a laugh or a tear becomes a shared moment. That sense of connection sits at the heart of Q Cinema’s return to Fort Worth, with the LGBTQ+ film festival scheduled for 13 to 15 November at Amphibian Stage.

Fort Worth Report says the three-day event is being revived by Trinity Pride Fort Worth, with Roger Calderon leading the programme. The festival is curated and non-competitive, and its three featured films are Bookends, Clarissa and Jaripeo. Short films include a documentary about Pride Kelso, an LGBTQ+ Pride event in Southlake.

The festival is marking its 30th anniversary with a return to the Near Southside. Trinity Pride Fort Worth describes the wider programme as including international films, documentaries, regional filmmakers, retrospectives, filmmaker conversations and community events.

From a film discussion group to a city festival

Q Cinema began in 1996 as a film discussion group founded by Todd Camp, who wanted to explore queer cinema and its history. It grew into a full festival in 1999 with help from Shawn Moore, and over the years welcomed guests including actor Leslie Jordan and filmmaker John Waters.

Camp told the Fort Worth Report that the early group screened queer films that were difficult to find before DVDs were widely available. That history gives the revival a welcome sense of continuity: the festival isn’t just returning with new films, but carrying forward a local effort to make space for stories that might otherwise be harder to see.

After Camp retired in 2013, Q Cinema continued, though its last large-scale festival was held in 2019. It later shifted to individual screenings before those ended in 2022, according to the Fort Worth Report.

Three features, three very different worlds

The featured films offer a varied route into queer storytelling. Trinity Pride Fort Worth describes Bookends as a comedy-drama about love, family and unexpected connections, while Clarissa moves Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway into contemporary Lagos and stars Sophie Okonedo and David Oyelowo.

The closing film, Jaripeo, explores rodeo culture, memory and queer desire in Michoacán, Mexico. The programme also includes short films and documentary work, giving audiences more than one way into the festival’s themes and perspectives.

For anyone choosing a screening, the practical approach is simple: check the schedule and pick the story that speaks to you, whether that’s a feature, a short-film programme or a film followed by a conversation. The festival’s organisers describe discovery and discussion as central to the event, rather than awards.

Why a shared cinema experience still matters

Calderon’s connection to Q Cinema reaches back to 2001, when he attended an early screening of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. He told the Fort Worth Report that being in a queer space celebrating diverse filmmaking made a lasting impression on him. Now, he hopes the festival can offer a similar sense of welcome to other local filmgoers.

Camp supports the revival and plans to display Q Cinema memorabilia in the Amphibian Stage lobby, though he isn’t organising the event. He told the Fort Worth Report that he was proud of the festival’s legacy and its role in encouraging people to tell their own stories.

Calderon’s plan is to make Q Cinema an annual event and build stronger connections with filmmakers and studios. That’s an inviting prospect for a festival whose appeal lies not only in what’s on screen, but in getting people together to experience it.

Plan your Q Cinema visit

Q Cinema takes place from 13 to 15 November at Amphibian Stage, 120 South Main Street, in Fort Worth’s Near Southside. The Fort Worth Report lists tickets at $15 for an individual screening and $125 for a weekend pass.

The programme is curated rather than competitive, so there’s no need to treat the weekend like a race through a shortlist. Choose a film, leave room for a conversation, and enjoy the uncommon pleasure of watching something new together.

A good film can stay with you; sharing it can make the experience feel even bigger.

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