Collaborating with TAG!

Thank you for your interest in working with TAG! Queer Shorts Festival on a custom-curated program partnership. This page contains detailed information about the collaboration framework we have used in the past; we invite in-depth conversation with people and organizations interested in working with us about how our partnership should look.

As we celebrate queer cinema in short form, we are working to reframe the way that festivals work and how artistic communities in the QTBIPOC/LGBTQIA+ intersections can establish themselves while affirming financially the work in this medium.

We would like our partnership to accomplish these things:

  • Provide a physical or virtual space where queer and trans filmmakers can exhibit their art
  • Affirm the work of filmmakers and support the creation of new pieces by generating revenue for our directors 
  • Provide underrepresented LGBTQIA+ audiences access to cinematic art that speaks to their experiences and communities and encourages critical dialogue and healing
  • Bring visibility and financial support to organizations that have shown a commitment to serving LGBTQIA+ people equitably
  • Help TAG! build its capacity to create sustainable queer community around film by reaching new audiences, creators, and financial supporters

Everyone has a role to play in helping us meet these objectives, and in general this is what each of us would be expected to do.

Community Partner (you)

We are counting on you to bring your particular community into our ongoing conversations abour queer experience in a very direct way. That involves significant outreach to publicize the event and, if you wish to engage more deeply, facilitating direct interaction with audience members:

Six to eight weeks before planned event:

  • Provide us with publicity resources we need to create materials that represent your organization appropriately (logos, mission statements, bios, video, etc.)
  • Communicate with us about content. What conversations are you hoping to support? What identities and experiences resonate with your community? 
  • Decide whether you’re including extra engagement opportunities such as Q/A with directors, panels, etc.




Beginning about one month before event:

  • Announce the event on your main site (link/post/button) and include the ticketing link we provide you as early as possible
  • Promote the event vigorously on social media, newsletters, and mailing lists using the publicity images we generate for the screening 
  • Run print ads in physical publications you edit or have access to (as available) 
  • Pre-schedule and provide us connection details for any live events to be hosted on Zoom, Stream Yard, Twitch, Skype, etc. Be sure you have the computing capacity for the size of live streaming audience you envision





On the event dates:

  • Launch and test configuration for any streaming live events around 30 minutes before the scheduled public start time
  • Have tech support available for your streaming platform as well as a moderation system in place to maintain a safe space for participants (on Facebook Live, for example).
  • Continue social media engagement throughout the period that ticket sales are active (usually up to 2 hours before our scheduled end time)



TAG! Queer Shorts* (us)





Six to eight weeks before planned event:

  • Based on our conversations about your organization and audience, we curate a program and obtain legal permission from filmmakers to display their copyrighted work on our streaming platform (Vimeo)
  • We set up ticketing and begin to publicize the link; our standard pricing model is a suggested contribution of $15/person with a sliding scale option that allows viewers to pay more or less as their circumstances permit.
  • We generate publicity materials to be used to share the event on social media using information and images sent to us by community partners and filmmakers


Beginning about one month before event:

  • We finalize curation of the program and create a customized Vimeo streaming site that presents films in an intentional order and with useful descriptions and content information
  • We promote the event through our festival mailing list and social media accounts:
    • Instagram: @qsftag
    • Twitter: @qsftag
    • Facebook: @TagQueerShortsFestival
  • We continue to support community partner promotion by linking back to your posts on social media
  • We support requests for additional engagement by pre-recording Q/A segments or scheduling appearances by filmmakers 
  • We sell tickets directly from the Tag! festival website to our existing audiences


On the event dates:

  • We monitor email and provide tech support for users with questions about ticketing and Vimeo streaming
  • We join any live events to introduce filmmaker guests and help initiate conversations between the filmmakers and audience if requested


After the event:

  • Upon payment by our ticketing service (usually no longer than 10 days, usually sooner) we distribute money earned from ticket sales to community partners and participating filmmakers through PayPal (other options can be discussed)
  • The standard distribution formula is an even 3-way split between filmmakers, community partners, and TAG! of all sales (less any expenses for venues, ticketing, streaming or other fees owed to our fiscal sponsor), however any party is free to donate/redirect their share to one or more of the other groups.


* Note: The legal entity responsible for the Tag! Queer Shorts Festival and its programs is Tag Queer Shorts Festival LLC, which is registered as a media production company in the state of Oregon. This is the name that will appear on contracts, checks, etc.