Jack'd Launches Queer Film Festival With TS Madison and Pose Star as Judges

Jack'd, the largest dating app for queer people of color in the United States, is launching its first film festival — and it has enlisted TS Madison, Miss Lawrence and Dyllón Burnside to judge the entries.

The inaugural Jack'd Film Festival is a showcase and competition celebrating original films by queer creators, with a particular focus on work that centers the experiences, stories and perspectives of queer people of color. TS Madison ("Outlaws With TS Madison" podcast, "Beauty in Black," "RuPaul's Drag Race"), Miss Lawrence ("Fashion Queens," "Empire"), Bobby Ashley ("The Ave," "Single Man Problems"), Mike Gauyo ("Ginny & Georgia," "Send Help") and Dyllón Burnside ("Pose") will serve as judges.

The festival carries real money. The grand jury award and the audience choice award winners will each receive $10,000, drawn from a $20,000 prize pool. Both short and full-length films are eligible.

Tyrus Townsend, the Jack'd Film Festival manager, framed the initiative as a direct pipeline between makers and viewers. "Queer filmmakers have always created stories that challenge conventions, expand perspectives and help people feel seen," Townsend said. "The Jack'd Film Festival enables a new crop of filmmakers to bring their stories directly to their audience and gives audiences an active role in celebrating the filmmakers behind them."

The festival runs entirely inside the app. Joining Jack'd and participating is free, but members must download and install the app to view films and vote. Selected entries will appear only to app users from Monday, Nov. 2, through Dec. 3. Jack'd members vote on their favorite films in-app to help select the winner of the Audience Choice Award, while the jury panel determines the grand jury award. All films will be available for streaming from the app throughout the festival.

The submission deadline is tight: films must be submitted online by 5 p.m. PT on Oct. 21, following instructions at jackd.com/filmfestival.

The platform backing the festival is substantial. Jack'd describes itself as one of the world's largest GBTQ+ social networking and dating platforms, serving millions of users across more than 180 countries, with more than 15 million people in 2,000 cities.

By hosting the competition entirely within its own app, Jack'd converts its user base into a festival audience and voting body — a model that bypasses traditional festival gatekeeping and could signal how niche streaming platforms distribute queer cinema next.