The Phoenix LGBTQ+ Film Festival Has Been Canceled Because…Trump
The cancellation is a wake-up call to defend LGBTQ+ spaces.
The 17th annual Desperado LGBTQ+ Film Festival has been canceled in response to executive orders from President Donald Trump targeting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs at public institutions.
The announcement, shared by organizers earlier this month, comes after Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC), which hosts the event, said it must shut down DEI-related initiatives or risk losing federal funding. The college is part of the Maricopa County Community College District, which has begun rolling back programs across its campuses.
“As a publicly funded institution, we must comply with these orders,” read a statement from the festival’s organizing team, a student group at PVCC.
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The executive orders, signed by Trump shortly after beginning his second term in January, direct public colleges and universities to dismantle DEI programming. Noncompliance could jeopardize financial aid, federal grants, and other funding that supports operations across the district.
“Continuing with the festival would put critical federal funding at risk, including student financial aid and grants that support hundreds of employees across the district,” Dale Heuser, a PVCC faculty member and co-coordinator of the festival, told the Phoenix New Times.
The Maricopa County Community College District has responded by disbanding DEI efforts, including Equality Maricopa, a staff-led initiative focused on inclusion and equity. In an email to employees, Chancellor Steven Gonzalez outlined new policies that include removing gender pronouns from communications, altering restroom signage, and eliminating diversity-focused groups and events.
Though the Desperado Film Festival generated modest revenue of under $10,000 annually, its organizers and supporters say the event’s impact reached far beyond financial figures.
“For many years, there was no queer film festival presence in the Phoenix area,” Heuser said. “Desperado helped fill that void for 16 remarkable years, and we are proud of the space it provided for dialogue, celebration and connection.”
The festival, held each January at PVCC’s Center for the Performing Arts, featured independent films highlighting LGBTQ+ stories and perspectives. It served both the college and the broader Phoenix arts community.
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“The festival has long been a space for celebration and visibility for students at Paradise Valley Community College and for the Phoenix LGBTQ+ film and arts family,” said Alan East, the festival’s longtime programmer. “Without events such as ours, storytelling from LGBTQ+ filmmakers will be harder to find. We’re hopeful that the festival will return.”
In its public cancellation notice, the Desperado team acknowledged the weight of the decision, writing: “We are heartbroken to pause this year’s event, but we hope this is not a farewell — only a momentary pause. We look forward to the possibility of resuming the festival when conditions allow.”
The cancellation has not erased the need for the festival. The screens may be dark this year, but queer visibility isn’t something that disappears on command.
