WINNERS OF THE 2021 OUTFEST FILM FESTIVAL

"Firstness", the visionary feature film debut by writer/director, Brielle Brilliant, received the Grand Jury Prize for Best US Narrative at this year's Outfest Film Festival. This drama focuses on a wayward father and his non-binary child, each trying to find themselves and their place in the world while living in a small, New Mexico desert community.

For the first time, Outfest has collaborated with IMDb to help select the Audience Award winners, using their app to place your vote instead of traditional paper ballots. And this year's audience winner for Best Narrative Feature was given to "Death and Bowling", writer/director, Lyle Kash's whimsical look in to trans-representation involving a queer bowling league and two trans men who meet at a funeral.

Here is the list of winners from the 2021 Outfest Film Festival:

Grand Jury Awards:

U.S. Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize: "Firstness"



U.S. Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize for Best Performance: Pooya Mohseni, "See You Then"
U.S. Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize for Best Screenplay: Wes Hurley, "Potato Dreams of America"
U.S. Narrative Feature (Special Mention): The ensemble of  "The Sixth Reel"



U.S. Narrative Short Grand Jury Prize: "Girls & The Party"
U.S. Narrative Short (Special Mention): "The Recorder"
International Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize: "A Distant Place"
International Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize for Best Screenplay: Ümit Ünal, "Love, Spells and All That"
International Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize for Best Performance: Nell Barlow, "Sweetheart"
International Narrative Feature (Special Mention): Cloris Leachman, "Jump, Darling"



International Narrative Short Grand Jury Prize: "Squish"
International Narrative Short (Special Mention): "Private Photos"
Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize: "No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics"



Documentary Feature (Special Mentions): "Sediments" and "North By Current"
Documentary Short Grand Jury Prize: "Narcissister Breast Work"
Documentary Short (Special Mention): "F1-100"

Audience Awards:

Narrative Feature Audience Award: "Death and Bowling"
Narrative Short Audience Award: "And Then"
Experimental Short Audience Award: "Jupiter & Europa"
Documentary Feature Audience Award: "This is Jessica"



Documentary Short Audience Award: "Right To Try"

Special Programming Awards:

Emerging Talent: Joseph Sackett, "Homebody"
Freedom: Whitney Skauge and Terence Smith for their collaboration on the short documentary, "The Beauty President"
Artistic Achievement: Bo McGuire, "Socks on Fire"

And here are a couple of films I saw at the fest (and very happy to report seen in a theater with an audience); "Everybody's Talking About Jaime" is a delightfully charming coming-of-age musical about a gay, British teenager who know exactly what he wants to be when he graduates from high school; a fabulous drag queen.

Based on the acclaimed West End stage show, Max Harwood (making his feature film debut) plays Jaime New who is about to turn sixteen and his loving mother, Margaret (Sarah Lancashire) gives her son the birthday gift he has always wanted; sparkling, red high-heels. He shows his best friend, a Muslim teen named Pritti (Lauren Patel) his new shoes and reveals to her his dream of becoming a female illusionist. She encourages Jamie to go to their upcoming prom in a dress. Deciding to go for it, Jamie ventures in to a shop that is known to cater to drag queens, run by Hugo (a wonderful Richard E. Grant). Once the legendary queen, "Loco Chanelle", Hugo takes the young teen under his wing, not only with preparing him for the prom but also to take the stage for the first time in make-up and a wig. And while Margaret loves Jamie unconditionally and supports his dream, her estranged husband (Ralph Ineson) finds his son's homosexuality disgusting and wants nothing to do with him. Desperate to protect her son from his father's hostile attitude, Margaret pretends that he sends birthday cards and encourages him to follow his passion.

Jonathan Butterell, a British director and choreographer for the stage, makes his cinematic debut behind the camera. He knows this story quite intimately, having worked with Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae (who wrote the screenplay) to develop the stage musical back in 2017, based on the real-life story of a Sheffield teen who wanted to go to his prom in drag. This has lead Butterell to successfully bring a vibrant energy, colorful characters and heartfelt emotion to this thrilling film version. What will make-or-break any musical are the songs and "Everybody's Talking About Jamie" is filled with truly memorable ballads and dance tunes that perfectly highlights the joy, heartbreak and humor that is being expressed in this story. This film is a wonderful inspiration and encouragement for young LGBTQ+ teens to follow their dreams, no matter how challenging or difficult they may seem to be.

Gloria Swanson was one of the biggest stars of the early Silent Movie era. But once sound came on the scene, the glamourous actress had difficulty transitioning, causing her star power to dim. It was Billy Wilder who turned her career around by casting Swanson in "Sunset Blvd", the story of Norma Desmond, a faded silent movie star who meets a handsome, struggling screenwriter (William Holden), wanting him to write her a comeback project but falls in love with him, leading to tragic results. This role put Swanson back in the spotlight and has remained her best known movie role.

And while we all know that Andrew Lloyd Webber transformed this film classic into a Tony Award-winning musical, few are aware that decades earlier, Swanson had teamed-up with two unknown playwrights in a first attempt to turn "Sunset Blvd" into a musical. Jeffrey Schwarz, the filmmaker behind the fascinating documentaries on Divine and Tab Hunter, leads us on an investigative look with "Boulevard! A Hollywood Story" which reveals many of the juicy details behind this little-known story.

The British actor, Richard Stapley began his career as a contract player with M-G-M (with supporting roles in remakes of "The Three Musketeers" and "Little Women") throughout the late 1940's and '50's before leaving Hollywood and returning to Europe to resume his career as "Richard Wyler" in 1960. Dickson Hughes was a popular Los Angeles cabaret pianist working on trying to create the next great musical. These two men met one night, Hughes was performing in a nightclub; Stapley was there on a date with woman, and not long after began a romantic and professional relationship. These novice writers presented an idea for a stage show to Swanson but she was only interested in a musical version of "Sunset Blvd". Then this trio went to work to put a show together. Yet after nearly completing the musical, it all fell apart for various, complicated reasons.

We see Schwartz on camera digging around and researching for any traces about this project, eventually getting his hands on separate interviews with Stapley and Hughes and the original demo recordings of Swanson performing songs for the musical. "Boulevard!" not only covers what happened during the creation of this doomed production but reveals the interesting events that happened in the lives of each of these three central figures after the collapse of the musical. With archival footage, interviews with friends and family and animated illustrations by Maurice Vellekoop that whimsically recreates sequences in the story, "Boulevard! A Hollywood Story" is a delicious treat for devotees of the Billy Wilder-Charles Brackett movie and fans of riveting tales involving classic Hollywood.

MY VIEWING DIARY: PART FOURTEEN

"Bullitt" (1968)

I haven't seen that many movies featuring Steve McQueen. Known as "The King of Cool", I had previously only seen the actor (who died in 1980 at the age of fifty) in the gritty romance (for the 1960's), "Love With The Proper Stranger" with Natalie Wood; the original "The Thomas Crown Affair" (with the remake generating more heat due to the lack of sparks between McQueen and Faye Dunaway) and "The Towering Inferno" which doesn't really count as he was part of a big, all-star ensemble. But I just watched "Bullitt", a police action-thriller that is probably McQueen's most famous movie role and helped turn him in to a screen icon. This was the first American film by British director, Peter Yates, an unlikely choice after years as an assistant director before directing several little-seen features but he proved he was up for the task at hand.

A Chicago mobster is going to testify in court against his organization and placed under witness protection. Lt. Frank Bullitt (McQueen) and his team are assigned to guard him in shifts over the weekend in a cheap hotel in San Francisco. But the location is discovered with the mobster being mortally wounded by gunmen. A furious Senator, Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) blames Bullitt for this security breach and will hold him responsible if the witness dies. The mobster does die but Bullitt arranges with a doctor (Georg Stanford Brown) to keep it secret for a few days, allowing the Lieutenant some time to investigate and find the killers.

"Bullitt" maintains a timeless feel by the use of actual locations and following more closely true police procedures to help create a more realistic atmosphere than what was usually found in police dramas at this time, including some graphic bloodshed and death, not long before "Bonnie and Clyde" would push screen violence to the edge the following year. McQueen displays a natural, easy-going style that makes it quite clear why the handsome actor became a movie star. But what "Bullitt" is best known for is the elaborate car chase sequence through San Francisco that has remained impressive and highly influential. Shot in three weeks and only slightly over ten minutes long, this thrilling scene is remarkable to watch as cars zoom dangerously at high speeds throughout the city, enhanced by the meticulous work of editor, Frank P. Keller which helped him win an Oscar. Jacqueline Bisset plays Bullitt's girlfriend in a small,  thankless role and look for Robert Duvall appearing briefly as a cab driver.

"Bell, Book and Candle" (1958)

James Stewart and Kim Novak made two films together and both were released in 1958. One was Hitchcock's psycho-thriller, "Vertigo". The other was the dark-themed, romantic-comedy, "Bell, Book and Candle" about a lovely witch who casts a spell on her upstairs neighbor in order to have him fall madly in love with her. And yes, this was an inspiration for the classic sitcom, "Bewitched".

Set in Greenwich Village on Christmas Eve, Gil (Novak) is the owner of a rare African art store. "Shep" Henderson (Stewart), a book publisher, lives in the building and has caught Gil's eye. But Shep is engaged to Merle Kittridge (Janice Rule). Discovering that his fiancée was her adversary back in college and that the couple plans to elope the next day, Gil decides to use magic on Shep, causing him to immediately fall madly for her, effectively ending his engagement. Ernie Kovacs plays Sidney Reditch, a best-selling author that Shep wishes he was able to publish. After being magically summoned by Gil, the writer's arrival creates havoc as he plans to write a book about real-life witches (which Shep will publish) with the help of Gil's bongo-playing, warlock brother, Nicky (Jack Lemmon) who will share secrets for a share of the book's profits.

Richard Quine, an actor turned director, has crafted a fantastical comedy with moments of style and enchantment. Yet the central love story feels hollow and cynical, never inspiring much faith in this potential romance. While Stewart is fine, having done the rom-com leading man role many times throughout his career, able to do this part in his sleep (and seems to be actually sleep-walking through this film), Novak struggles with finding an inner life for Gil, relying on sensuous poses and her dramatic costumes to help fill in her character. "Vertigo" proves that Novak can be an impressive performer on screen but requires the steady hand of a formidable director to help guide her. The rest of the cast is top-notch and includes Elsa Lanchester as Gil's eccentric aunt, Queenie, who is also a witch and Hermione Gingold as a powerful witch named Bianca De Pass.

"La Piscine (The Pool)" (1969)

"La Piscine", a sensual French thriller by Jacques Deray, opens with the barely covered, wet glistening bodies of Marianne (Romy Schneider) and Jean Paul (Alain Delon), two bronzed lovers locked in a passionate embrace by a swimming pool. As the couple enjoy their time on holiday in St. Tropez, their tranquility is interrupted by the unannounced arrival of an old friend, Harry (Maurice Ronet), a record producer and his teenage daughter, Pénélope (Jane Birkin). While Marianne and Jean Paul wanted to relax, Harry wants to party and the couple are unable to refuse their gregarious buddy. But the arrival of these guests begins to create some tension between Jean Paul and Marianne. Harry was once Marianne's lover and their display of rekindled intimacy makes Jean Paul uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Jean Paul finds himself getting close to Pénélope, who confesses she barely saw her father when she was growing up, and spending more time alone with her. The mood quickly shifts from festive and tranquil to hostile and combative. 

"La Piscine" (which Luca Guadagnino loosely based his 2016 film," A Bigger Splash") is a classic erotic thriller, set in a seductive upscale world of class and refinement, with these privileged individuals allowing their uncontrollable desires overwhelm them to the point of jealous rage and murder. Deray creates intrigue and suspense through suggestion, never allowing us to know definitively if the members of this quartet are actually being indiscreet. And while their real-life romance ended years before this film, there is still a startling erotic charge between Delon and Schneider that ignites the screen with their potent chemistry.

COMING SOON

"House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour & Greed" is the title of Sara Gay Forden's 2001 book based on the real-life scandal that rocked the fashion world in the 1990's and this title sums up the upcoming feature film directed by Ridley Scott. Following her dazzling turn in the fourth remake of "A Star is Born", Lady Gaga returns to the big screen to play Patrizia Reggiani who was at one time happily married to Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), head of the Italian fashion house and grandson of the fashion designer, Guccio Gucci, the founder of the company. But the marriage comes to end, leading Reggiani later to be accused and convicted of arranging her former husband's murder. This intriguing film explores the complex family history, filled with infighting over the battle for power and money. An impressive cast includes Jack Huston, Salma Hayek and Oscar-winners, Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino and an unrecognizable Jared Leto.

"House of Gucci" is due to be released in US theaters on November 24, 2021

2021 OUTFEST FILM FESTIVAL

After last year's fest was forced to be completely a streaming event, the 2021 Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival will be returning with in-person screenings to be held at the DGA, Harmony Gold theater, the Orpheum and Redcat. But for the first time, there will be an outdoor screening held at the Hollywood Forever cemetery with the Opening Night Film of Jonathan Butterell’s "Everybody’s Talking About Jamie" on August 13th. This is the movie adaptation of the popular theatrical musical (based on the 2011 British television documentary, "Jamie: Drag Queen at 16"), telling the story of a queer teenager who pushes back against high school bullies and fulfills his dream to become a drag queen.



The ten day event (running through August 22nd) will feature 200 films from across the globe and nearly every film presented at the festival will also be available for streaming for those at-risk or who live outside of LA area. The US Centerpiece selected will be "The Novice" which looks at a college freshman who becomes obsessed with becoming the very best on her school's varsity rowing team, leading her to some unhinged behavior. The Documentary Centerpiece is "Being BeBe" from filmmaker, Emily Branham which examines the very first winner of "RuPaul’s Drag Race", BeBe Zahara Benet, using footage that was shot over a fifteen year period. A special live performance by the legendary Benet will follow the screening. And a Special Centerpiece Tribute will feature, "The Sixth Reel" that will pay tribute to producer and Outfest alum, Ash Christian, who passed away during the development of this film in 2020. This world premiere, from directors, Charles Busch & Carl Andress, is about the discovery of a long lost final reel of a classic film. A small group of film-obsessed friends plot to beat each other at getting their hands on this precious reel of celluloid.

The Trans & Nonbinary Summit, in it's fifth year, will be taking place on August 21st and features a panel of established and emerging trans & nonbinary creators and a shorts program to highlight the work of these filmmakers. The Legacy section of classic LGBTQ films will feature the world premiere of the new restoration of director, Maria Maggenti's 1993 feature, "The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love" and the fifteen year anniversary screening of "Quinceañera" by filmmakers, the late Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland.





The Closing Night Film will be "Fanny: The Right to Rock", a documentary about the little-known, '70's all-female rock band, Fanny who were the very first to release an album on a major record label. The screening will be held at The Orpheum Theatre and will be followed by a live reunion performance by Fanny.



For the complete list of films, additional information and to purchase tickets, please click below:

2021 Outfest Film Festival

ZOLA (2021)

Written by Janicza Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris



Directed by Janicza Bravo



Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA. July 6, 2021 5:35PM



It all started with a tantalizing Tweet: "Y'all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out?????? It's kind of long but full of suspense" and the world became transfixed on Aziah "Zola" King's story. The filmmaker, Janicza Bravo has taken King's collection of short ruminations and expanded them in to a thrilling feature film that takes us on a wildly irreverent, hilariously dark journey. And even though we are told that the events in this story are "mostly true" during the opening credits, there is never a doubt for a moment that what we see happening in this film has been wildly embellished.

Zola (Taylour Paige) was working at her dead-end job at a Detroit diner when everything changed once Stefani (Riley Keough) entered the restaurant and her life. Their connection was immediate and intense with these two women becoming fast friends. Aware that she dances occasionally to supplement her income, Stefani invites Zola to join her on a road trip to a Florida strip club where they will earn a huge payday.

But once the car door closes, Zola feels this might be a big mistake. Along for the trip is the driver, Stefani's roommate who will only be known as "X" (Colman Domingo), an imposing figure that will make one uncomfortable even when he's smiling and Derrek (Nicholas Braun), Stefani's boyfriend, a gullible dimwit who worships the ground she walks on.

Once the group reaches Tampa, Zola's instincts prove correct. After dumping Derrek off at filthy motel, the girls head to the club. At the end of the shift, Zola didn't make anywhere near the amount of money she was promised. But the evening is far from over. It turns out that Stefani lured Zola on this trip under a false pretense; "X" is Stefani's pimp and the girls are expected to turn tricks all night in a luxury suite. And "X", whose actual Caribbean accent comes out when he's angry, will not take "no" for an answer.

Trying to build a movie around a Twitter thread was always going to be a bit of a challenge so Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris (the award-winning playwright of "Slave Play" who was a promising student dramatist at Yale when he came on board) also used the 2016 Rolling Stone article, "Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted" by David Kushner to help them flesh out their screenplay. The tone remains largely light and comedic despite the dark undercurrent of the harrowing lives that sex workers have to endure. Race and privilege is also touched upon with Zola being made clear, implicitly and explicitly, that Stefani holds more value as a commodity due to her being pretty, blonde and white.

As we know, there are two sides to every story and "Zola" is King's version of events, which paints her out to be a streetwise and far too classy for these people. As Zola, Paige lets her expressive face reveal the annoyance and frustration of the situation she finds herself trapped in. We will have to take King's word about what really went down but the woman who Stefani is based upon plans on suing for defamation, unhappy with how she has been portrayed. 

Keough delivers a brave and compelling performance as Stefani, a chatterbox speaking in her idea of an African-American dialect. The film doesn't make it clear if she's just a ruthless manipulator or a victim of her circumstances yet she was fully involved with seducing Zola. There is a brief mini-movie that's supposed to give Stefani a chance to tell her side, with her trying to be viewed as a virtuous woman who fell victim to the dirty dealings of a devious Zola, with hay in her hair and wearing trash bags. That's not exactly believable either but like many hustlers, they are far more interested in a great, juicy story than the boring, exact truth.

Ms Bravo began her career writing and directing several short films before making her feature debut, "Lemon" in 2017. I saw this film, a quirky comedy that starred Bravo's then-husband, Brett Gelman as a theater director who becomes unhinged after his blind girlfriend dumps him while he's trying to put on an unusual production of Chekhov's "The Seagull". And while I found "Lemon" to be largely tedious, I did think that the novice filmmaker actually showed promise. With "Zola", Bravo was able to tap in to her offbeat instincts with a narrative that would benefit from her distinctive storytelling, expanding a dark and twisted story with surreal visual flourish and pitch black humor. 

I enjoyed this movie, greatly admiring the remarkably inventive approach Ms Bravo has taken to tell Zola's outrageous story and laughed out loud several times throughout (the biggest laugh for me was when a white patron tells Zola while she is dancing that she looks like Whoopi Goldberg . I'm still chuckling days later at that one). But I can also understand how "Zola" might be too bleak and disturbing for some viewers. At it's core, "Zola" is tragic and sad; two abused and exploited sex workers exploiting each other for the service of men and the almighty dollar. It is really hard to completely escape this fact no matter how humorously or stylishly this entertaining story is told.

WINNERS OF THE 2021 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

Even though Jury president, Spike Lee accidently revealed the winner prematurely, that did not take away from the excitement that the French filmmaker, Julia Ducournau would receive the top prize of the Palme d'Or for her feature, "Titane" at the close of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. This remarkably outlandish drama is about a young woman who gets a metal plate in her head after a terrible car accident that leads her to some pretty wild and crazy situations. Ducournau became only the second female director to receive this honor following Jane Campion for "The Piano" in 1993. 

The Grand Prix or runner-up for best film was a tie between "A Hero", the latest from Iranian director, Asghar Farhadi, about a man imprisoned for failing to repay his debt and trying to work out a deal with his creditors and "Compartment No. 6", a drama from Juho Kuosmanen, is an offbeat love story set on a train between a Finnish student and a Russian miner. And the highly anticipated musical fantasia, "Annette" which had opened the fest, helped Leos Carax win the Best Director prize. 

Here is the list of winners from the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival:

Palme d’Or: "Titane"



Grand Prix (Tie): "A Hero" and "Compartment No. 6"



Best Director: Leos Carax, "Annette"
Best Screenplay: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, "Drive My Car"



Best Actress: Renate Reinsve, "The Worst Person In The World"
Best Actor: Caleb Landry Jones, "Nitram"

Jury Du Prix (Tie): "Ha'berech (Ahed’s Knee)" and "Memoria"

Camera d’Or: "Murina"
Short Film Palme d’Or: "All The Crows In The World"
Special Mention: "August Sky"

RICHARD DONNER (1930 - 2021)

Richard Donner, the director behind such classics as "Superman", "The Goonies" and the "Lethal Weapon" film series, passed away on July 5th at the age of ninety-one. The filmmaker, along with his wife of thirty-seven years, Lauren Shuler Donner, formed the production company, The Donners' Company (formerly Donner/Shuler Donner Productions) and brought to the screen, "Free Willy" and the "X-Men" franchises.

Donner, born Richard Schwartzberg in the Bronx, NY, began his career wanting to be an actor. But after appearing in a bit part on a television show, the director, Martin Ritt thought he might be better working behind the camera, later hiring him as an assistant. Donner began shooting commercials before moving on to TV, directing episodes of everything from the western, "The Rifleman" to "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." to the comedy series, "Gilligan's Island" to "The Twilight Zone".

In 1961, he got his first opportunity to direct a feature film, "X-15", a story about the X-15 rocket aircraft progrm that starred Charles Bronson and Mary Tyler Moore in her first feature film role. It was not a big success and it took seven years before his next film, a modest comedy with Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford called "Salt and Pepper".

But Donner's real breakthrough happened in 1976 with "The Omen". This supernatural-horror film with Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as the adopted parents of a child who is the spawn of the devil became a box-office hit that helped launch his career as a go-to-director. His next film was "Superman: The Movie" which brought the Man of Steel to the big-screen in 1978. With a budget of $55 miliion dollars, this all-star, super-hero adventure was one of the most expensive films made at the time due to the cast (Marlon Brando was paid $3.7 million for two-weeks work) and state-of-the-art visual effects. But the film became an international sensation, earning $300 million dollars at the worldwide box-office (which would be an incredible 1.2 billion dollars today).

Some of the other popular films Donner went on to direct include the Bill Murray Christmas classic, "Scrooged"; the film adaption of the television western, "Maverick" with Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner (who starred in the series); Gibson and Julia Roberts in the 1997 political action-thriller, "Conspiracy Theory" and the 1985 medieval romantic-fantasy-adventure, "Ladyhawke" (featuring Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfeiffer in early film roles) that was a box-office disapointment yet has gone on to become a cult-fan favorite. The last feature Donner directed was "16 Blocks" in 2006, a real-time, action-thriller that starred Bruce Willis and Mos Def.