Out Film CT Announces Winners of 36th Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival

Hartford, CT - Out Film CT recently brought down the curtain on the Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival, which included 100 features, documentaries and short films across in-person and virtual screenings. Out Film CT, the organizers of state's oldest and most diverse film event, has announced the winners of the prestigious Jury Award and Audience Awards for the thirty-sixth installment of this festival dedicated to LGBTQ filmmakers and storytellers from around the globe.

Festival Co-Director Shane Engstrom states, "In a year that brought many changes to the festival, the one thing that remained constant was the quality of the films we presented. We’re grateful for the literally hundreds of filmmakers who submitted a record number of titles for us to consider. Based on the extremely high Audience Award scores, it’s clear that we selected world-class films that our audiences really enjoyed and admired. In that regard, the artists and the attendees are all winners."

The Audience Awards recognizes the films that received the highest vote counts from audience balloting. The Audience Award winners for 2023 are as follows:

Audience Award - Best Feature

• Winner: Egghead & Twinkie (USA)
• Runner Up: Glitter & Doom (USA)
• Special Mention: Solo (Canada)

Egghead & Twinkie, which was selected as the festival opener, tells the story of a young lesbian in-training who cons her friend to accompany her to a massive blow-out lesbian party where she hopes to hook up with the object of her desire. Glitter & Doom, the festival closing film, features high-energy dance numbers, celebrity cameos, and the iconic songs of the Indigo Girls.

Audience Award - Best Documentary Feature

• Winner: 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture (USA)
• Runner Up: Esther Newton Made Me Gay (USA)
• Special Mention: Holding Space for Each Other: New London's LGBTQ+ Community (USA)

In 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture, the documentarians examine whether a mistranslation of the word "homosexual" in the Bible has led to decades of Christian homophobia. Esther Newton Made Me Gay focuses on trailblazing cultural anthropologist, dog agility enthusiast, and iconic butch lesbian.

Audience Award - Best Short

• Winner: Expecting (L'Attente) (France)
• Runner Up: Aikāne (USA)
• Special Mention: Rooted Out (USA)

In Expecting (L'Attente), Jeanne and Céline are in the hospital for the birth of their first child. While Céline pushes and pants through labor, Jeanne takes a break in the entrance hall, where she meets men who are waiting and fretting, just like her. In Aikāne, an island warrior is wounded in battle against a foreign invader and falls into a mysterious underwater world. When the octopus who rescues him transforms into a handsome young man, they fall in love and begin an epic adventure.

Out Film CT's panel of jurors, having seen all of the films presented, selected the following films for the 2023 Jury Awards:

Jury Award - Best Feature

• Winner: Mutt (USA)
• Honorable Mention: (tie) Fireworks and All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White

Over the course of a single hectic day in New York City, Feña experiences an emotional roller coaster as three people from his past are thrust back into his life. While transitioning from female to male, Feña lost touch with these three people and now must navigate the new dynamics of old relationships while tackling the day-to-day challenges of living his new life.The Festival Jury selected Mutt "for its original concept, exceptional storytelling, and superb acting, all of which coalesce to create a powerful cinematic experience."

Jury Award - Best Documentary

• Winner: 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture (USA)

1946, also selected by as the audience favorite documentary, was praised by the Festival Jury "for shedding a bright light on a crucial yet largely overlooked twist of history, that for decades has been used to wreak havoc on the lives of untold millions of queer people."

Jury Award - Best Short

• Winner: Marasu (USA)
• Honorable Mention: Boyfriend (New Zealand)

In Masaru, a Major League Baseball player discovers his passion for Japanese traditional dance and faces a choice between embracing his true identity or succumbing to the pressures of family, loyalty and honor. The Festival Jury praised the short "for delicately portraying what can happen when a parent’s expectations collide with their child’s need to be seen for who they are."

The Rising Star Award recognizes a filmmaker who the jury believes has demonstrated outstanding potential based on the quality of their first or second feature film. The award is funded through a bequest from the late Pamela Connelly, a longtime member of Out Film CT and film festival volunteer.

The 2023 Rising Star Award was given to Belgian screenwriter and director Zeno Graton for his film The Lost Boys. Out Film CT President and Festival Co-director Marina Yurieva states, "Zeno Graton made his debut with a truly remarkable feature film. The Lost Boys tells an original love story of two teenage boys torn between freedom, love, and the difficulty of controlling their emotions. This film, which sheds light on marginalized communities incarcerated in detention centers, evidences superb acting, beautiful cinematography, and sharp direction."

The Directors' Award, selected by festival co-directors Yurieva and Shane Engstrom, is being given to Sarah Kambe Holland, director of Egghead & Twinkie. Yurieva states, "Egghead & Twinkie is an outstanding coming-of-age road trip film that explores a spectrum of emotions: it's fun and quirky, dramatic and cute, all at the same time. Sarah raised money for her debut film via crowdfunding, which is phenomenal. Egghead & Twinkie and Sarah made a significant contribution as the movie kicked off the festival. The filmmakers participated in a post-film audience Q&A and interacted with the audience at the Opening Night festivities. Our audience embraced the filmmakers and their charming film. It was a real highlight of our festival."

Out Film CT would like to acknowledge the generosity of the 36th Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival sponsors: Diamond Sponsors CT Humanities, Edward C & Ann T. Roberts Foundation, and J.Walton Bissell Foundation; Platinum Sponsors: The Travelers Companies, Inc., Webster Bank, and Hartford HealthCare.

For more information about monthly screenings and announcements regarding next year's festival, visit OutFilmCT.org.

About Out Film CT

Out Film CT’s mission is to entertain, educate and promote community through the exhibition of LGBTQ film. A volunteer, nonprofit cultural organization, Out Film CT is dedicated to presenting outstanding LGBTQ cinema and other theatrical events throughout the year, culminating in the nine-day Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival. Connecticut’s largest LGBTQ cultural event holds a special place in our state’s cultural landscape, bringing the community together to introduce, celebrate and rediscover the ideas and values that make the LGBTQ community unique. Out Film CT also presents the monthly Queer Thursdays film series in partnership with Cinestudio, usually shown on the second Thursday of each month.