WINNERS FROM THE 2014 OUTFEST FILM FESTIVAL

The 2014 Outfest Film Festival  has just concluded and this was a particularly strong year in LGBT cinema. There were so many amazing films, documentaries, shorts and special events to see that it was frustrating to be unable to see everything.

First, here is the complete list of winners from 2014 Outfest Film Festival:

Grand Jury Awards

U.S. Dramatic Feature Film: "Drunktown’s Finest", Directed by Sydney Freeland



Best Actor: Mark Strano, "Tiger Orange"

Best Actress: Gaby Hoffmann, "Lyle"

Best Screenplay: Desiree Akhavan, "Appropriate Behavior"

International Dramatic Feature: "Something Must Break", Directed by Ester Martin Bergsmark

International Dramatic Feature (Special Recognition): "Lilting", Directed by Hong Khaou



Documentary Feature Film: "The Circle", Directed by Stefan Haupt



Documentary Feature Film (Special Recognition): "Dior and I", Directed by Frédéric Tcheng

Documentary Short Film: "Flying Solo: A Transgender Widow Fights Discrimination", Directed by Leslie Von Pless

Experimental Short Film: "Get Ripped", Directed by Leonardo Van Dijl

Dramatic Short Film: "Jellyfish", Directed by Rosie Haber

Audience Awards

Dramatic Feature Film: "The Way He Looks", Directed by Daniel Ribeiro

First US Dramatic Feature Film: "Drunktown’s Finest", Directed by Sydney Freeland

Documentary Feature Film: "Back on Board", Directed by Cheryl Furjanic

Documentary Short Film: "Families Are Forever", Directed by Vivian Kleiman

Dramatic Short Film: "Alone With People", Directed by Drew Van Steenbergen

Special Programming Awards:

Emerging Talent: Robert Hawk for "Home From the Gym"

Freedom: Mariana Rondón for "Bad Hair"

Artistic Achievement: Abdellah Taïa for "Salvation Army"

Now for the films I did manage to see. One of my favorites from the festival was "Futuro Beach (Praia do Futuro)". The acclaimed writer/director Karim Aïnouz (who dazzled Outfest back in 2002 with his first feature, "Madame Satã") is back with the story of a Brazilian lifeguard (Wagner Moura) who begins a passionate affair with a German tourist (Clemens Schick) under tragic circumstances. Recently selected to kick off the Newfest LGBT festival in New York, the film is beautifully shot and erotically-charged but may be a bit too experimental and fragmented for some viewers.

"Jamie Marks Is Dead" is an illogical ghost story involving a new friendship between Adam (Cameron Monaghan), a high school jock and Jamie Marks (Noah Silver), his recently deceased gay classmate. Another classmate, Gracie (Morgan Saylor) who found the body of the bullied teen, begins a relationship with Adam and is also able to communicate with Jamie's spirit. Liv Tyler and Judy Greer make welcome brief appearances but they cannot save this unconvincing drama.



There were some particularly fascinating documentaries screened which included the honored, "Dior & I". This fascinating doc focuses on Raf Simons, the Belgian designer who is the latest to head the couture house of Dior. With only eight weeks to create an entire collection, we watch as Simons agonizes over the concept, struggles through the tension-filled construction of the clothes and right on up to the elaborate final runway presentation. While there have been several good films involving fashion figures of late (Isaac Mizrahi in "Unzipped", Valentino Garavani in "The Last Emperor" and Diana Vreeland in "The Eye Has To Travel" to name a few of my favorites), but what makes this documentary stand out is that we really get an unflinching, honest look at all of the passion,sweat and tears involved in this creative process.

In "Club King", we meet Mario Diaz, the handsome and quite charming performer who almost single-handily transformed gay nightlife, first in New York and later in L.A., for over twenty years. His sexy parties with the names, "Hot Dog" and "Full Frontal Disco", deliver some wild, fun times which was much needed after the AIDS crisis hit the community hard.

Finally, "Lady Valor: The Kristin Back Story", tells the inspirational story of how Christopher Beck, a highly-decorated, former Navy SEAL and father of two decided to finally begin living his truth and became Kristin Beck. As to be expected, some of her family and friends are more accepting of the transition than others with her mother and particularly Kristin's children having a much more difficult time. Kristin still struggles with her decision but has no regrets and currently devotes much of her time bringing public awareness to transgender issues.