L.A.'s Outfest
announces winners

The Los Angeles Outfest, one of the world's largest gay and lesbian film festivals, announced its 12th Annual Film Competition Awards on Sunday, comprising 15 competitive film awards in three categories: Grand Jury Awards, Audience Awards, and Special Programming Awards.

Outfest 2006 featured 209 films and videos from 28 countries, including 70 feature-film programs and 15 short-film programs as well as panels, galas, and other special events. The awards ceremony, hosted by Bruce Vilanch and held prior to the Los Angeles debut of Boy Culture at the John Anson Amphitheatre, included such celebrity presenters as Jeff Stryker, Loretta Devine, Jane Lynch, Momma (who served as the Trophy Girl), Rex Lee (Entourage), Rodney Chester, Doug Spearman, Jensen Atwood, Christian Vincent (Noah's Arc), Wilson Cruz, Eduardo Xol, Jim Varraros, Steve Kmetko, and Frank DeCaro.

Grand Jury Award winners:

Outstanding American Narrative Feature: The Gymnast, directed by Ned Farr

Outstanding International Narrative Feature: Whole New Thing, directed by Amnon Buchbinder

Outstanding Documentary Feature: Small Town Gay Bar, directed by Malcolm Ingram

Outstanding Screenwriting: Q. Allen Brocka and Phillip Pierce for Boy Culture

Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film: Michael Carbonaro for Another Gay Movie

Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film: Diane Gaidry for Loving Annabelle

Audience Award winners:

HBO Outstanding First Narrative Feature: The Gymnast, directed by Ned Farr

Outstanding Narrative Feature (a tie): Loving Annabelle, directed by Katherine Brooks; and Love to Hide, directed by Christian Faure

Outstanding Documentary Feature: Camp Out, directed by Kirk Marcolina and Larry Grimaldi

Outstanding Narrative Short Film: Available Men, directed by David Dean Bottrell

Outstanding Documentary Short Film: My Crazy Life, directed by Carlos Arguello, Enzo Ybarra, and APLA's MPowerment & Studio

Outstanding Soundtrack: Pick Up the Mic, directed by Alex Hinton

Special Programming Award winners:

Freedom Award: Dan Hunt, Janet Boss, and Reed Williams, directors, Cruel and Unusual

Outstanding Emerging Talent: Ash Christian, director, Fat Girls

Outstanding Artistic Achievement: Ho Tam, director, Book of James

The American Features Competition jurors were Craig Chester, Mia Riverton, and Ernest Hardy. The International Features Competition jurors were Matthew Fox, Robert Hawk, and Doris Yeung. The Documentary Competition jurors were Shannon Kelley, Jennifer Morris, and J. Karen Thomas.