"A LOVE TO HIDE" DIRECTED BY CHRISTIAN FAURE
WINS TOP KUDOS AT THE 8TH ANNUAL MIAMI GAY & LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL SCOOPING BOTH THE JURIED AND THE AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST FICTION FEATURE
"small town gay bar" DIRECTED BY MALCOLM INGRAM WINS THE JURIED AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY AND
ANDREA MEYERSON WON THE AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY WITH "LAUGHING MATTERS...MORE!" |
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MGLFF Special Jury Award for Originality of Vision was given to
Ramón Salazar for his astonishingly creative film "20 Centímeters"
Miami, Fla. (5/1/06)- The prestigious 8th Annual Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, presented by Avis Rent-a-Car and the Sundance Channel , has enjoyed a successful 10-day run with sold-out screenings and wild parties attended by a wide variety of special guests including Latin superstar Charytin, Peter Paige and Melvil Poupaud as well as noted international film directors, producers and distributors Strand Releasing, Regent Entertainment, here!TV, Wolfe Releasing and TLA Releasing. In the tradition of the Festival, its own competition sponsored by HBO, awarded films were based on program committee panel reviews and audience ratings.
Best Juried Fiction Feature ($5,000)
A Love to Hide, directed by Christian Faure. A wartime epic of gay love in Nazi occupied Europe. Two men who are madly in love take in a young Jewish refugee. They offer protection and help her establish a false Gentile identity.
Best Juried Documentary ($1,500)
small town gay bar, directed by Malcolm Ingram. Deep in the heart of the homophobic bible belt of North East Mississippi is home to two gay bars both battling to survive and create a safe getaway place for the local LGBT community.
MGLFF Audience Favorite Short ($500)
THE BLACK BOX: a personal essay, directed by Shay Sellers. Intercutting between home video footage and frank interviews with family, three distinct chapters define the director's passage from pre-teen to womanhood.
MGLFF Audience Favorite Feature ($1,000)
A Love to Hide, directed by Christian Faure MGLFF Audience Favorite Documentary ($1,000)
Laughing Matters...More!, directed by Andrea Meyerson. An all access pass to four of the hottest hilarious lesbian comedians working today; Elvira Kurt, Sabrina Matthews, Rene Hicks and Vickie Shaw in this documentary sequel.
Special Jury Award for Originality of Vision
Ramón Salazar for "20 Centimeters"
PlanetOut Short Movie Award Winners
Butler (Best Animated Short), Dani & Alice (Best Dramatic Short), Jaywalking (Best Documentary Short), Surf Gang (Best Experimental Short) and Sissy French Fry ($10,000 Grand Prize Winning Short)
"We could not be more thrilled with the way the 8th Annual Festival played out" said Festival co-directors Jaie Laplante and Carol Coombes. "We had such terrific artists and guests from the film community - our Closing Night Gala had more on-stage guests than we have ever had in the history of the MGLFF, and our audience response to the films and parties was through the roof. This Festival is just getting more and more fun to be a part of. We are already planning our 9th Annual event which runs April 27- May 6th 2007."
The festival began on a high note with a memorable Opening Night Gala presentation of Manuel Gómez Pereira's Reinas (Queens) starring Carmen Maura, Marisa Peredes and Veronica Forque at the Gusman Center for Performing Arts. Mistress of Ceremonies the latin superstar Charytin lent her comedic talents as hosts of this fun filled evening with performance onstage joined by Miami drag diva Adora. The lavish party, which followed at the Space Miami was a smash hit and set the tone for the next nine days of great films, parties and more.
The excitement continued with the Centerpiece Gala Screening of Amnon Buchbinder's Whole New Thing, with the gala after party at the Hotel Nash featuring an erotic, exotic Bed Art spectacle which transformed the rooms of the hotel into interactive displays of art.
It was continuous film presentations and great parties all the way through the Festival's Closing Night Gala presentation of Todd Stephen's Another Gay Movie at the Gusman Center for Performing Arts, followed by yet another festive event at the Alfred I. Dupont Building. HBO presented the audience awards to the winning filmmakers at the party.
This year's festival included a record number of 89 presentations comprised of shorts, documentaries and feature films all over the world. Several of the films made their World Premiers including Be Real, Laughing MattersÉMore! and Sun Kissed among others. Several of the films made their US premieres during the Festival including, Looking For Cheyenne and Time to Leave. Other films enjoyed their East Coast or Florida premieres.
The 8th Annual Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival was presented by Avis Rent-a-Car and the Sundance Channel. The Opening Night Gala was presented by Karu&Y, and the Festival's Awards sponsor was HBO.
Additionally, the Festival was sponsored by Absolut, Clear Image Creative Group, Here! TV, Regal Entertainment Group and Tylenol PM. The Official Host Hotels and Delegate Center were The Hotel of South Beach and the Park Central Hotel.
Other major sponsors included; The Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building, Logo TV, Majestic Properties, Miami Boutique Hotels, Passport Magazine, The National hotel, Hotel Nash, Jet Blue, Air Canada, Icandee Productions, Mellon United National Bank, Perrier, Ultra & Pandora Events, Words on the Beach, PlanetOut.com, Gay.com, New Times, City Link Magazine, She Magazine, TWN, The Wire, Window Media and the Miami Beach Cinematheque.
The festival was indebted to the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade Tourist Development Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners; the Miami Beach Tourist and Convention Authority (VCA) and the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Miami Downtown Development Authority, and the Women's Community Fund. As well, the Festival was supported by a grant from Dade Community Foundation, Greater Miami's permanent endowment made possible by generous donors since 1967.
