The award was founded in 2010 by journalist Franck Finance-Madureira.

It is sponsored by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, filmmakers of Jeanne and the Perfect Guy, The Adventures of Felix, Crustacés et Coquillages, and L'Arbre et la forêt.

The award recognizes a film for its treatment of LGBT themes and gleans from among those films nominated or entered under Official Selection, Un Certain Regard, Critics' Week, Directors' Fortnight and the ACID section.

Along with Berlin's Teddy Award and Venice's Queer Lion, the Queer Palm is a major international film award dedicated specifically for LGBT cinema.

[1] Beginning in 2022, the Queer Palm also partnered with the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival to launch the Best Queer Short Award (Prix du Queer métrage) for the best LGBTQ-themed short film in that festival's program.