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LGBTQ+ film festival is back with a new name, more events
Trans Pride Weekend events will be held in both St. Petersburg and Tampa.
The Tampa Bay International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival started nearly 40 years ago as an extension of Tampa Pride.
The group re-branded this year as simply “TIGLFF,” making events even more inclusive and accessible, and emphasizing support for the trans community.
“The state of the world right now definitely puts queer and trans people in a place where we seek community, and we want to find each other,” said Unity Jalal, TIGLFF president.
“We want to protect each other. We want to have safe spaces for us. We want to see ourselves on the screen. We want to see ourselves in community. We want to find each other. And I think that’s critical, and that’s important,” Jalal continued.
Trans film fest & Pride weekend
The Tampa Bay Transgender Film Festival, one of its signature events, started as a partnership with St. Pete Pride in 2020. This year, it’s expanding to a full Trans Pride Weekend. Events will be held in both St. Petersburg and Tampa, for the first time, this weekend.
Jalal said the organization is used to hosting three film festivals, but decided to try a different approach in 2026.
“Why not host two, but make them bigger and better and with more films, more events, more ability to expand across the Bay instead of being limited to only one location,” Jalal said.
She said the rebrand and event expansions also make clear their commitment to welcoming and celebrating trans and gender-diverse people.
“It’s always been community-oriented. It’s always been by us, for us when it comes to queer arts and film, and we want to respect that history and that legacy, while also moving TIGLFF forward.”
Trans Pride Weekend (March 26-29) and will feature several film screenings, an art market and a community picnic.
Film-by-film and screening location guide
While some of the films may issue trigger warnings for topics like dysphoria, violence and death, Jalal wants viewers to know not every film necessarily features depressing, traumatic or heavy content.
“We really try to include film from all different genres. We’ve had sci-fi and action and we’ve had comedies and romance and like all kinds of different types of films that so happened to feature queer characters.”
Daylina Miller is a multimedia journalist for WUSF, the NPR station for the greater Tampa Bay area.
