- Sometimes all it takes is seeing a piece of your own story on the screen to feel a little less alone.

And Cat Palmer joins us right now in the Contact Studio to talk about the Utah Queer Film Festival and how film creates connection through shared human experiences.

Thank you so much for being here.

- [Cat] Thanks for having me.

- So is this right?

I've read that the film festival has welcomed over 33,000 people over the years.

- That is correct.

Yeah.

Can you believe that?

- That's incredible.

- Yeah.

- In the 23rd year, how do you keep those audiences coming back?

- Well, we bring in filmmakers from all around the world and I think that that helps us keep bringing people back and helping these audiences have something to want to come and see.

And we're celebrating local film as well as films worldwide, so.

- And it's a festival for everyone.

Everyone can participate, - Absolutely.

- And take advantage of meeting these filmmakers, but there's something special in making sure that there's representation in these films, right?

- Absolutely.

And I think that that's really important.

And thank you.

You hit on two things I think that are really important.

One, this is for everybody.

We want everyone to feel welcome here.

I've gotten several text messages over the last couple of weeks.

"Am I welcome here?

Can I come?

I'm not gay.

Can I come to your festival because there are films I wanna see?

Can I come watch these films?"

Absolutely.

Everyone is welcome here.

No matter where you fall on the spectrum, whether you identify as part of our community or not, you're welcome at our festival, first of all.

- And no matter how much you can afford as well.

- Correct.

And that's one of my favorite things about our festival is we make it accessible to everybody.

We have a sliding scale on our website, uqff.org, and you pay what you can afford.

And it's one of my favorite things.

We're not gonna turn you away.

Come hang out with us.

And then the other thing you hit upon is representation.

I came out late in life and it's, I didn't grow up seeing myself on the screen.

And there's something powerful about watching a film and seeing yourself up there no matter where you fall on the spectrum.

And we love that.

We love showing films and having yourself represented on the screen.

And so queer films, queer futures, come see us, come hang out with us.

Whether you're coming with friends or family or alone, come find community with us.

- I love that.

Thank you so much for joining us and sharing this.

- Thank you.

- If you would like to check out the Utah Queer Film Festival, November 8th, going all the way, or November 6th going all the way until November 8th, just head to that website that's on your screen.

That's uqff.org.

I'm Liz Adeola and thank you for watching "Contact."

(cheerful upbeat music continues) Philanthropy, Arts, culture.

It's what brings us together.

Hi, I'm Liz Adeola, the host of Contact, a show that connects you with local events and organizations that serve your community.

If you work for a nonprofit and would like to be on Contact, please visit pbs.org/contact