Outfest Awards Winners: A Complete List

Outfest – the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization promoting equality by creating, sharing, and protecting LGBTQ stories on the screen – has announced the award winners of its 2019 Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival, presented by HBO.

The nation’s leading LGBTQ festival ran from July 18th to July 28th, closing tonight with “Before You Know It,” – a quirky Sundance favorite from director Hannah Pearl Utt, that infuses tenderness and complex emotion into the absurd misadventures of Rachel and Jackie, sisters living a dysfunctional life in New York City.

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Experimental Short: FRAMING AGNES, dirs. Chase Joynt & Kristen Schilt

Documentary Short: HOW TO MAKE A RAINBOW, dir. Ryan Maxey

Narrative Short: TIME & AGAIN, dir. Rachel Dax

Documentary Feature: CHANGING THE GAME, dir. Michael Barnett

Narrative Feature: TOP 3, dir. Sofie Edvardsson

Narrative First Feature (presented by HBO): SAINT FRANCES, dir. Alex Thompson

GRAND JURY AWARDS

Documentary Jury:

Sarah Harris, senior programmer for AFI Fest and AFI Docs; Outfest award-winning filmmaker Gregorio Davila; and co-founder and Chief Product Officer of queer streaming service, Revry, LaShawn McGhee.

Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Short: SWEETHEART DANCERS, dir. Ben-Alex Dupris

Documentary Feature Special Mention: WHY CAN’T I BE ME? AROUND YOU, dirs. Harrod Blank, Sjoerd Djik

Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature: UNSETTLED, dir. Tom Shepard

International Narrative Shorts Jury:

Screenwriter and best-selling novelist Steven Rowley, actor/director of Outfest 2019 selection RAZOR TONGUE, Rain Valdez, and senior manager of Artist Development at Film Independent, Angela Lee.

International Narrative Short Film Special Mention: I (dirs. Hallfridur Thora Tryggvadottir, Vala Omarsdottir) – Iceland

Grand Jury Prize for Best International Narrative Short: THRIVE (dir. Jamie Di Spirito) – United Kingdom

U.S. Narrative Shorts Jury:

Actor/Comedian Drew Droege, filmmaker Mary Evangelista, and author/filmmaker/comedian Gaby Dunn.

U.S. Narrative Short Special Mention: SKIN, dir. Audrey Rosenberg

Grand Jury Prize, U.S. Narrative Short: BABY, dir. Jessie Levandov

International Feature Film Jury:

Screenwriter Phyllis Nagy, Sundance Senior Programmer Dilcia Barrera, and film critic Carlos Aguilar

Special Mention for Performance: Juan Barberini, Ramon Pujol, and Mia Maestro in END OF THE CENTURY (dir. Lucio Castro) – Argentina

Special Mention for Directing: Lisa Zi Xiang for A DOG BARKING AT THE MOON – China

Grand Jury Prize for Best Performance in an International Narrative: Juan Pablo Olyslager in TEMBLORES (TREMORS) – Guatemala

Grand Jury Prize for Screenwriting, International Narrative: Santiago Loza for BRIEF STORY FROM THE GREEN PLANET — Argentina

Grand Jury Prize for Best International Narrative Film: THE GROUND BENEATH MY FEET, dir. Marie Kreutzer

U.S. Narrative Feature Jury:

Vidiots Foundation executive director Maggie Mackay, talent and literary manager Ran Aubrey Frazier, and Executive Director of Inside Out Toronto, Andria Wilson.

Special Mention for Ensemble Performance: MOTHER’S LITTLE HELPERS, dir. Kestrin Pantera

Special Mention for Directing: Rhys Ernst, ADAM

Grand Jury Prize for Best Screenwriting: TU ME MANQUES, dir. Rodrigo Bellott

Grand Jury Prize for Best Performance: Nicole Maines in BIT

Grand Jury Prize for Best U.S. Narrative Feature: JULES OF LIGHT AND DARK, dir. Daniel Laabs

Special Programming Awards

Emerging Talent: PIER KIDS, dir. Elegance Bratton

Freedom: QUEERING THE SCRIPT, dir. Gabrielle Zilkha

Artistic Achievement: VISION PORTRAITS, dir. Rodney Evans
Corporate Awards

Vimeo Staff Picks Award: CATHERINE OPIE, B. 1961, dir. Sini Anderson

Hyundai’s Vision for Better Award: WONDER, dir. Javier Molina

HBO Award (Best Narrative First Feature Audience Award): SAINT FRANCES