The submission period opens this week for Tag! Queer Shorts Festival 2027: You’re It! Submissions will be accepted July 1 through December 1, 2026 exclusively at filmfreeway.com/tagqsf. LGBTQIA+ filmmakers are invited to submit films with a runtime of 15 minutes or under for consideration. The two-day festival will take place at the historic Clinton Street Theater in Portland, Oregon on March 20-21 with an official selection of approximately 40 shorts.
The 2027 theme “You’re It!” references the familiar childhood game of tag. It is an invitation to explore the playful and carefree side of queer experience, and it also provides the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be pursued, singled out, or to be called into action whether in a lighthearted way or perhaps in a more serious context. Tag! programmers are particularly eager to see how these ideas may be developed by queer filmmakers, but the festival accepts films of any theme and from any genre. Past festivals have included both live action and animated work of all types; narrative, documentary, comedy, dance, music video, erotica/porn, spoken word, and experimental films are all welcome.
Tag! returns with 5 award categories: Best Erotic Short, Power of Community, Hispane/Latine Creativity, a best-of-festival Festival Director’s Award, and the all-new Radical Futures prize for student films sponsored by the PSU Queer Resource Center. For submission guidelines and rules visit tagqsf.org and the submission portal at filmfreeway.com/tagqsf. Information on discounts for PNW filmmakers and fee waivers for underrepresented filmmakers is available by writing to the festival at [email protected].
