SouthFlorida.com | City Link Magazine

If you don't have a good time at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, it's your own fault.

The festival is known for its abundance of parties, formal and otherwise. On a beautiful night last year, it opened with a fancy event at the Bank of America Sky Lobby, complete with glittering ice sculptures and fabulous people. This Friday, the festival will present a funkier opening-night ceremony at The Space Miami, 100 N.E. 25th St., in Miami's Wynwood Arts District. The party will follow a 7:30 p.m. screening of Reinas (Queens) at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts. Food will be provided by Karu Restaurant, which is scheduled to open this summer. Admission is $100 for the party, $26 for the screening.

Following is a selection of the festival's other big parties. Unless specified, admission to each film is $12.

Saturday: An afterparty for the screening of 20 Centimeters at the Colony Theatre will take place 9:30 p.m.-midnight at The Lobby Bar at The National Hotel, 1677 Collins Ave., in Miami Beach. The event will double as a salute to TLA Entertainment and feature a performance by cabaret singer Kimona. Admission is free.

Saturday: This 21-and-up women's party will follow the screening of Loving Annabelle at South Beach Cinema 18. The theme is naughty schoolgirls, and costumes are encouraged. The party will begin 10 p.m. at Score Nightclub, 727 Lincoln Road, in Miami Beach. Admission is $8 before 11 p.m., $10 after.

Monday: An afterparty for the film Eleven Men Out, screening at the Gateway Cinema in Fort Lauderdale, will take place 9:30 p.m. at Georgie's Alibi, 2266 Wilton Drive, in Wilton Manors. Admission is free.

Tuesday: The SoBe Social Club will host a martini party following the South Beach Cinema 18 screening of George Michael: A Different Story. The party will be held 9:30 p.m.-midnight at Hotel Victor, 1144 Ocean Drive, in Miami Beach. Admission is free.

April 26: The festival's centerpiece party will follow a screening of Whole New Thing at the Colony Theatre. It will take place 9:30-11:30 p.m. at Hotel Nash, 1120 Collins Ave., in Miami Beach. Admission is $25 for the screening, $10 for the party.

April 27: Beginning at 9:30 p.m., The Press Room, at 1233 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, will host an afterparty for festivalgoers who see the films Small Town Gay Bar or Gypo at South Beach Cinema 18. Admission is $10.

April 28: Following a screening of Boy Culture at South Beach Cinema 18, DJ Angelo Kortez will spin at the Boy Kultur Party, which will begin at midnight at Score, 727 Lincoln Road, in Miami Beach. Admission is $7.

April 29: This women's party will begin 9:30 p.m. at The Penthouse, 1434 Collins Ave., in Miami Beach following a screening of the documentary Laughing Matters … More! at the Colony Theatre. Admission is $15.

April 30: The festival's closing-night gala will feature a screening of Another Gay Movie at the Gusman, an awards ceremony and music by DJ Oren Nizri at the Alfred I. Dupont Building, 169 E. Flagler St., in Miami. Admission is $26 for the screening, $25 for the party.