French filmmaker Marine Atlan's debut feature "La Gradiva" won the best feature film and Audience Awards at the 30th Queer Lisboa – International Queer Film Festival, cementing its status as a major work after previous success at Cannes Critics' Week. The film, which follows French students on a school trip to Pompeii and explores themes of identity and youth, is one of five finalists competing to be France's entry for the best international feature Oscar. Separately, Spanish filmmaker Lorena Ros' documentary "Up and Running" won best documentary and Audience Awards for its examination of homelessness and marginalisation amongst the trans ex-prisoner population in Barcelona.

The festival achieved record attendance with more than 11,500 admissions across 67 screenings over nine days—a 53% increase from 2025—marking its strongest edition since launching in 1997 as Lisbon's first dedicated film festival. The 30th anniversary programme was notably ambitious, featuring nine sold-out screenings and highlighting the strength of contemporary queer cinema, with works addressing themes of family, romantic and sexual relationships, and hopeful futures. Festival artistic director João Ferreira described the achievement as validation of the "artistic and political pertinence of queer cinema" three decades on.