An LGBTQ+ film festival in New York is giving Arizonans free virtual access after Donald Trump's executive orders against diversity, equity, and inclusion forced a beloved festival in Phoenix to shut down.
People living in Arizona will be able to view a selection of the New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival's 130 films, including all of its 100 short films, online and for free throughout the duration of the festival, its parent organization NewFest announced in a statement Tuesday.
“As the country’s largest LGBTQ+ film festival, we have a responsibility to show up when access to queer stories is threatened," said executive director David Hatkoff. "We refuse to stand by in the face of attempts to silence queer voices.”
Trump signed executive orders in February calling for the termination of all DEI positions in the federal government and directing private companies to abandon the practices. He also rescinded Lyndon B. Johnson's Executive Order 11246, which went far beyond DEI by implementing civil rights protections that prevented the federal government from discriminating "against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin."
The Desperado LGBTQ+ Film Festival, which is hosted annually at Paradise Valley Community College, announced in July that its 2026 events were cancelled due to "recent presidential executive orders impacting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts at public institutions, including our community college district."
“As a publicly funded institution, we must comply with these orders. Failure to do so would jeopardize the district’s federal funding, including student financial aid and grants that support over 300 positions across our campuses,” the group wrote. “The loss of such funding would create a ripple effect, significantly affecting students, faculty, staff, the community, and the educational services we provide.”
“While we are heartbroken to pause this year’s event, we hope this is not a farewell but a momentary pause,” it concluded. “We look forward to the possibility of resuming the festival when conditions allow.”
NewFest will announce its lineup on Sept. 10, and the festival will run from Oct. 9 to Oct. 21. Arizona residents can sign up for virtual viewings online through the Arizona Queer Film Access Initiative.
“Desperado is very grateful for this opportunity presented by NewFest," said Dale Heuser, co-coordinator of Desperado. "We are adapting to new challenges, but our vision remains the same and we look forward to gathering again in 2026 to celebrate queer film, build community, and support LGBTQ+ artists and audiences.”
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