Variety’s Marc Malkin Moderates All-Star Filmmaker Panel for Outfest Fundraiser Sept. 24

Marc Malkin, moderator

The Outfest Salon – Saving Queer Media features a panel of top filmmakers discussing the future of queer cinema on Thursday, Sept. 24, at Variety in Beverly Hills.

Panelists include filmmakers Hayley Kiyoko, Angela Robinson, Adam Shankman, and Wash Westmoreland. The event will be moderated by Marc Malkin,  Variety’s senior culture/events editor and host of the “Just for Variety” podcast.

The veteran writers-directors and producers will break down the state of queer film and what the future of LGBTQ+ storytelling looks like.

Outfest and UTA (United Talent Agency) are hosting this timely and candid conversation about the forces shaping queer film and television today. With shifting industry priorities and shrinking opportunities, artists and audiences are challenged with keeping LGBTQ+ stories visible.

A Place for LGBTQ Stories

Moderater Marc Malkin will steer the conversation toward an honest look at where queer media is headed, what’s at stake, and how to build a future where LGBTQ stories have a place to thrive.

The public is invited to the event, being held at 6:30 p.m. in Variety’s UTA Screening Room, 9336 Civic Center Drive, Beverly Hills. A reception with small bites will follow the conversation.

Tickets to the fundraiser are $75. To reserve your seat click here.

The Filmmaker Panelists

Hayley Kiyoko

Singer, songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker HAYLEY KIYOKO co-starred in “Becks,” the Centerpiece screening at Outfest 2017. Her 2015 queer anthem “Girls Like Girls” and its music video, which she also directed, became a New York Times bestselling novel. This year, her feature film adaptation of “Girls Like Girls” became her directorial debut for Focus Features.

Angela Robinson

Writer, director and producer ANGELA ROBINSON is one of Outfest’s most celebrated honorees. Her short “D.E.B.S.” won the Audience Award at Outfest in 2003. She went on to receive the Outfest Fusion Achievement Award in 2013 and the Outfest Achievement Award in 2018. Her credits include the cult hit “D.E.B.S.,” “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women,” “The L Word,” “True Blood” and “How to Get Away with Murder.”

Adam Shankman

Director, producer and choreographer ADAM SHANKMAN received Outfest’s Visionary Award in 2011 for his contribution to LGBTQ+ arts and media visibility. He is known for the musicals “Hairspray,” “Rock of Ages” and “Disenchanted.” Most recently he directed “Stop! That! Train!,” a campy disaster-movie spoof starring RuPaul and a lineup of Drag Race favorites.

Wash Westmoreland

Writer-director WASH WESTMORELAND made his name with queer independent cinema, co-directing “The Fluffer” with his husband Richard Glatzer. The pair’s “Quinceañera” won both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2006 and screened at Outfest in 2021 as a 15th-anniversary Legacy presentation. His other films include “Still Alice,” which brought Julianne Moore her first Oscar, and the much anticipated “Heartstopper Forever.”