Outfest 2009 Award Winners
Outfest, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing, showcasing and protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media, has announced the award winners of its 27th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
Tina Mabry's "Mississippi Damned," a portrait of a poor Mississippi family, won the jury award for best dramatic feature at Outfest, the 27th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, which concluded Sunday.
Nicole Opper's "Off and Running" was named best documentary feature, and Stian Kristiansen's "The Man Who Loved Yngve" earned the jury prize for international dramatic feature.
Jury awards also were presented to actress Laura Herring, for "Drool"; actor Derrick L. Middleton, for "Rivers Wash Over Me"; screenwriter E.E. Cassidy, "We Are the Mods"; "First and Loveliss," directed by Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullman, documentary short; and "The Bath," directed by Lee Mi-rang, dramatic short.
Cassidy's "Mods," about a high school girl infatuated with mod culture, also earned two audience awards: for first U.S. dramatic feature film and soundtrack.
JURY AWARDS
Outstanding U.S. Dramatic Feature Film
MISSISSIPPI DAMNED, Directed by Tina Mabry
Outstanding International Dramatic Feature Film
THE MAN WHO LOVED YNGVE, Directed by Stian Kristiansen
Outstanding Documentary Feature Film
OFF AND RUNNING, Directed by Nicole Opper
Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film
Derrick L. Middleton (above, left) in RIVERS WASH OVER ME
Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film
Laura Harring in DROOL
Outstanding Screenwriting
E.E. Cassidy, WE ARE THE MODS
Outstanding Documentary Short Film
FIRST AND LOVELISS, Directed by Shaun Kadlec & Deb Tullman
Outstanding Dramatic Short Film
THE BATH, Directed by Lee Mi-rang
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Outstanding Dramatic Feature Film
CHEF’S SPECIAL, Directed by Nacho G. Velilla
Outstanding Documentary Feature Film
EDIE & THEA: A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT, Directed by Greta Olafsdottir & Susan Muska
- No Image Available -
Outstanding First U.S. Dramatic Feature Film
WE ARE THE MODS, Directed by E.E. Cassidy
Outstanding Documentary Short Film
GET HAPPY, Directed by Mark Payne
Outstanding Dramatic Short Film
AWAKENING, Directed by Christian Tafdrup
-No Image Available-
Outstanding Soundtrack
WE ARE THE MODS, Directed by E.E. Cassidy
SPECIAL PROGRAMMING AWARDS
Special Programming Award for Freedom
ON THESE SHOULDERS WE STAND, Directed by Glenne McElhinney
Special Programming Award for Artistic Achievement
GREEK PETE, Directed by Andrew Haigh
Special Programming Award for Emerging Talent
George O’Donnell, COLLEGE BOYS LIVE
The nation's leading LGBT festival and the oldest continuously running film festival in the city ran from July 9 to 19. In addition to the 181 films (65 features and 116 shorts) from 25 countries, Outfest hosted over a dozen panels and special events at seven venues across Los Angeles including West Hollywood, Hollywood, Santa Monica and Downtown. Outfest 2009 closes tonight with Adam Salky's stunning debut feature "Dare" starring Emmy Rossum, Alan Cumming and Zach Gilford.
More information about the festival and the organization can be found on www.Outfest.org.
Malaysia's first gay-themed movie could hit cinemas within months, its producer said, after government censors eased restrictions that have stifled the film industry here for decades.
Although the Malay-language movie won't have explicit sex or even kissing, its screening would be a huge step forward for freedom of popular media in this Muslim-majority country that many fear is coming under the influence of Islamic conservatism.
"Dalam Botol," or "In A Bottle," centers on a man whose relationship with his male partner crumbles after he undergoes sex change surgery, said Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman, who produced the film and wrote the screenplay based on the experiences of her friend.
"We are taking a risk," Raja Azmi, a longtime movie producer, said in an interview this week. "I'm very nervous. We still don't know if the censors will allow our movie to be shown in the end."
Raja Azmi submitted a preliminary script last year to the Home Ministry's Film Censorship Board, which verbally approved it after advising her not to shoot scenes of men kissing or being in bed together.
Censors also told her to change the original title: "Anu Dalam Botol," or "Penis in a Bottle."
The film's two leads had trouble "getting loose and comfortable in the first few days," but they adjusted to their roles before filming ended earlier this year, Raja Azmi said.
"We still shot scenes of skin-to-skin intimacy, with them hugging passionately," she said. "Without that, we wouldn't be able to show how much the characters really love each other."
Censors are unlikely to permit such scenes for Malaysian audiences, who are accustomed to bland, generic comedies and romances. Censorship board officials declined to comment until Raja Azmi submits the film to them.
But Raja Azmi — who spent about 700,000 ringgit ($200,000) to make the film — said she hopes to show an uncut version at film festivals abroad.
Malaysian censors have faced criticism for trimming or banning racy movies. Banned Hollywood films include Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno," which the board said promoted homosexuality because it focused on a flamboyant gay fashion journalist.
The board recently revamped its rules, saying themes such as homosexuality would no longer be forbidden. However, the guidelines suggest filmmakers should rebuke behavior that is considered immoral, including gambling, consuming alcohol and being sexually promiscuous.
Raja Azmi — who counts the Oscar-winning gay-themed "Brokeback Mountain" as a favorite movie — declined to speculate on whether censors approved her script only because it depicts bad consequences for its characters.
She stressed the movie was "a nonfiction tragedy about my friend."
It is possible that even a sanitized version of "Dalam Botol" may not placate some of Malaysia's conservative Islamic religious figures, who have pushed in recent years for yoga to be banned and people to be caned for drinking alcohol.
Sodomy — even consensual — is punishable by 20 years in prison; prosecutions are rare, though the country's top opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, is currently on trial for allegedly sodomizing a male former aide in what he calls a fabricated, politically motivated charge.
Associated Press Report
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