Since 2007, Venice’s Queer Lion Award has reflected and elevated the best in LGBTQ cinema. Fifteen years later, founder Daniel N. Casagrande said this year’s Venice Film Festival will be “the most queer edition ever.”
Among the fest’s 30 LGBTQ-themed titles, 19 are competing for the Queer Lion, including a record six films from the main competition. They include Todd Field’s orchestra conductor drama “Tár,” starring Cate Blanchett; Darren Aronofsky’s estranged gay father study “The Whale,” featuring Brendan Fraser; Laura Poitras’ doc “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” chronicling bisexual artist Nan Goldin’s life and anti-opioid crusade; Andrea Pallaoro’s trans woman family drama “Monica”; Emanuele Crialese’s “L’immensità,” starring Penélope Cruz as the mother of a transgender child; and Gianni Amelio’s “Il signore delle formiche,” the true story of an Italian artist jailed under an infamous anti-gay law.
With an average of eight to 10 nominees each year,...
Among the fest’s 30 LGBTQ-themed titles, 19 are competing for the Queer Lion, including a record six films from the main competition. They include Todd Field’s orchestra conductor drama “Tár,” starring Cate Blanchett; Darren Aronofsky’s estranged gay father study “The Whale,” featuring Brendan Fraser; Laura Poitras’ doc “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” chronicling bisexual artist Nan Goldin’s life and anti-opioid crusade; Andrea Pallaoro’s trans woman family drama “Monica”; Emanuele Crialese’s “L’immensità,” starring Penélope Cruz as the mother of a transgender child; and Gianni Amelio’s “Il signore delle formiche,” the true story of an Italian artist jailed under an infamous anti-gay law.
With an average of eight to 10 nominees each year,...
- 9/2/2022
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety Film + TV
Alaskan Nets, a documentary executive produced by Chris Pratt that centers on confluence of high school boys basketball and the culture of fishing on a Native reserve in remote Southeast Alaska, has won the audience award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.
The 36th annual festival, which ran a hybrid in-person/virtual event that began March 31, wraps today with the unveiling of its juried awards. Alaskan Nets, directed by Jeff Harasimowicz, won the Audience Choice Award among a total of 11 categories that were represented.
“To say we are thrilled to win the audience choice award would be a vast understatement,” Harasimowicz said. “To see this film resonate with audiences is a deeply humbling experience. We are so honored to have had this special opportunity to share Alaskan Nets in Santa Barbara and I know it’s an experience my team, our families and the entire community of Metlakatla will never forget.
The 36th annual festival, which ran a hybrid in-person/virtual event that began March 31, wraps today with the unveiling of its juried awards. Alaskan Nets, directed by Jeff Harasimowicz, won the Audience Choice Award among a total of 11 categories that were represented.
“To say we are thrilled to win the audience choice award would be a vast understatement,” Harasimowicz said. “To see this film resonate with audiences is a deeply humbling experience. We are so honored to have had this special opportunity to share Alaskan Nets in Santa Barbara and I know it’s an experience my team, our families and the entire community of Metlakatla will never forget.
- 4/10/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The documentary “Alaskan Nets,” set on a remote island where the Tsimshian Indians are focused on fishing and basketball, has won the Audience Choice Award at the 2021 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Sbiff organizers announced on Saturday.
The festival ran from March 31 through April 10 with a combination of virtual presentations and drive-in screenings in the coastal town north of Los Angeles. Audience members who viewed films both online and in drive-ins were eligible to vote for the Audience Choice Award.
The festival also announced an array of jury awards that were chosen by jurors Tony Anselmo, Antwone Fisher, David Freid, Li Cheng, Geoffrey Cowper, Patricia Rosema, Siqi Song, Mark Stafford, Rita Taggart, Paul Walter Hauser, Anthony and Arnette Zerbe. The Sbiff Best Documentary Award went to Nina Stefanka’s “Mirage” (“Miraggio”), a chronicle of West African refugees in Rome, while the award for the best international feature was given to...
The festival ran from March 31 through April 10 with a combination of virtual presentations and drive-in screenings in the coastal town north of Los Angeles. Audience members who viewed films both online and in drive-ins were eligible to vote for the Audience Choice Award.
The festival also announced an array of jury awards that were chosen by jurors Tony Anselmo, Antwone Fisher, David Freid, Li Cheng, Geoffrey Cowper, Patricia Rosema, Siqi Song, Mark Stafford, Rita Taggart, Paul Walter Hauser, Anthony and Arnette Zerbe. The Sbiff Best Documentary Award went to Nina Stefanka’s “Mirage” (“Miraggio”), a chronicle of West African refugees in Rome, while the award for the best international feature was given to...
- 4/10/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
It has been a year and a half since director Li Cheng’s “José” won the Venice Film Festival’s Queer Lion. It would be a shame to let the lag time diminish expectations. After a Lgbtq fest run, the Spanish-language drama — about a young gay man in Guatemala — has opened theatrically and continues to expand. That it does so steadily, quietly, seems perfectly apt for a drama rife with quotidian grace.
Portrayed with unerring soulfulness by newcomer Enrique Salanic, 19-year-old José lives with his mother in a cramped Guatemala City apartment. Theirs is a hardscrabble life. She’s increasingly shooed away by police from a spot on the city sidewalks where she sells meat pies. He hustles a bustling street corner near the restaurant where he works, waving cars toward the curb so that he can carhop food to them. Some afternoons, he slips away for trysts with men...
Portrayed with unerring soulfulness by newcomer Enrique Salanic, 19-year-old José lives with his mother in a cramped Guatemala City apartment. Theirs is a hardscrabble life. She’s increasingly shooed away by police from a spot on the city sidewalks where she sells meat pies. He hustles a bustling street corner near the restaurant where he works, waving cars toward the curb so that he can carhop food to them. Some afternoons, he slips away for trysts with men...
- 2/18/2020
- by Lisa Kennedy
- Variety Film + TV
Fresh off a screening at the Sundance Film Festival, Kitty Green’s The Assistant premiered this weekend in four theaters, setting a solid debut. Overall, the Time’s Up-era drama thrilled audiences, generating an estimated $84,702 at the box office.
It’s a strong start for the Bleecker Street film — which is opening in the midst of the Weinstein trial. The timing of the debut couldn’t be any more relevant. But there was a bit of a problem when it came to ticket sales at The Angelika in New York, as there was internet outage at the theater in its opening weekend. There were technical difficulties with online ticket sales for reserved seating, but tickets were available on a walk-up, cash-only basis. That said, this may have affected potential performance. Even so, the Angelika and the Lincoln in New York delivered estimated two-day grosses of $18.8K and $19.9K respectively, outperforming...
It’s a strong start for the Bleecker Street film — which is opening in the midst of the Weinstein trial. The timing of the debut couldn’t be any more relevant. But there was a bit of a problem when it came to ticket sales at The Angelika in New York, as there was internet outage at the theater in its opening weekend. There were technical difficulties with online ticket sales for reserved seating, but tickets were available on a walk-up, cash-only basis. That said, this may have affected potential performance. Even so, the Angelika and the Lincoln in New York delivered estimated two-day grosses of $18.8K and $19.9K respectively, outperforming...
- 2/2/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Precisely written and deliberately shot, “José,” a Guatemala-set Lgbtq character examination from Chinese-born director Li Cheng, is a movie preoccupied with the private tragedy of unfulfilled impulses and aspirations as a result of widespread homophobia and emotional blackmail.
Between his job flagging down cars to get costumers to eat at a shuco (Guatemalan-style hot dog) restaurant and helping his devoutly religious mother, 19-year-old José (Enrique Salanic) finds time to live out his sexuality in secret through dating-app hookups. We never see what’s on his cell phone’s screen, but we do witness clandestine meetings with men in dark rooms. Even as the sun shines outside, light barely penetrates the furtive interiors shrouded by thick shadows.
As if the camera is spying on José’s rendezvous, Cheng and cinematographer Paolo Giron always film him from afar, usually on the opposite side of the sidewalk as he waits for his next...
Between his job flagging down cars to get costumers to eat at a shuco (Guatemalan-style hot dog) restaurant and helping his devoutly religious mother, 19-year-old José (Enrique Salanic) finds time to live out his sexuality in secret through dating-app hookups. We never see what’s on his cell phone’s screen, but we do witness clandestine meetings with men in dark rooms. Even as the sun shines outside, light barely penetrates the furtive interiors shrouded by thick shadows.
As if the camera is spying on José’s rendezvous, Cheng and cinematographer Paolo Giron always film him from afar, usually on the opposite side of the sidewalk as he waits for his next...
- 1/29/2020
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
Guatemalan actor Enrique Salanic has been blocked from entering the United States ahead of the U.S. premiere of his award-winning movie “José,” in which he stars.
The film premieres in New York City on Jan. 31, but according to distributor Outsider Pictures, Salanic is still campaigning to be granted entry to the U.S. “José” has received critical praise so far, having already won the Queer Lion at the Venice Film Festival and a handful of other awards.
Attempts to bring the actor to the states have been fruitless. According to Outsider, the U.S. embassy in Guatemala has twice denied his non-immigrant visa applications, citing a concern that he is a “flight risk” because he lives with his parents in Guatemala and has no permanent address in the U.S.
“Denying Enrique Salanic his entry visa to promote his work in a film produced, financed and distributed by American...
The film premieres in New York City on Jan. 31, but according to distributor Outsider Pictures, Salanic is still campaigning to be granted entry to the U.S. “José” has received critical praise so far, having already won the Queer Lion at the Venice Film Festival and a handful of other awards.
Attempts to bring the actor to the states have been fruitless. According to Outsider, the U.S. embassy in Guatemala has twice denied his non-immigrant visa applications, citing a concern that he is a “flight risk” because he lives with his parents in Guatemala and has no permanent address in the U.S.
“Denying Enrique Salanic his entry visa to promote his work in a film produced, financed and distributed by American...
- 1/25/2020
- by Lindsey Ellefson
- The Wrap
Enrique Salanic has travelled widely in support of the film, but the Us has proved a country too far.
Us authorities have blocked the star of acclaimed Guatemalan Lgbtq drama José from entering the country in the run-up to the film’s release in New York and Los Angeles.
The latest example of president Trump’s aggressive policy on travel restrictions and in particular his stance towards people from south of the border comes as Los Angeles-based distributor Outsider Pictures says it is running out of options to bring Enrique Salanic into the county to promote the film.
The fast-rising,...
Us authorities have blocked the star of acclaimed Guatemalan Lgbtq drama José from entering the country in the run-up to the film’s release in New York and Los Angeles.
The latest example of president Trump’s aggressive policy on travel restrictions and in particular his stance towards people from south of the border comes as Los Angeles-based distributor Outsider Pictures says it is running out of options to bring Enrique Salanic into the county to promote the film.
The fast-rising,...
- 1/24/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Madrid — Venice 2018 Queer Lion winner “José,” a movie which went on to play 50 festivals in 35 countries, has been acquired for North American distribution and international sales by Paul Hudson’s Outsider Pictures.
Strand Releasing will handle digital distribution. “José” was acquired from its production house YQstudio.
World premiering in Venice Days, “Jose,” a Guatemala-set gay love story which is directed by the U.S.-based Li Cheng, turns on José, a 19-year-old working class Guatemalan who lives in the humblest of circumstances with his clinging mother, makes ends meet, falls head over heels in love with Luis, a construction worker.
Working a neorealist tradition – non-pro actors, detailed description of diurnal reality, a contained narrative of larger social resonance – “José” has won praise for what Hudson called “a gripping, layered and beautifully honest story” and a “nuanced and vivid look at being gay in Central America.”
“José” is proving broader based in its audience appeal,...
Strand Releasing will handle digital distribution. “José” was acquired from its production house YQstudio.
World premiering in Venice Days, “Jose,” a Guatemala-set gay love story which is directed by the U.S.-based Li Cheng, turns on José, a 19-year-old working class Guatemalan who lives in the humblest of circumstances with his clinging mother, makes ends meet, falls head over heels in love with Luis, a construction worker.
Working a neorealist tradition – non-pro actors, detailed description of diurnal reality, a contained narrative of larger social resonance – “José” has won praise for what Hudson called “a gripping, layered and beautifully honest story” and a “nuanced and vivid look at being gay in Central America.”
“José” is proving broader based in its audience appeal,...
- 8/14/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Costa Rica 3–5 September 2019The new meeting point of the Audiovisual Industry in Central America and the Caribbean is set for Costa Rica September 3–5, 2019http://www.maucc.netJose Castro of the Costa Rica Film CommissionWe have made an important alliance between the Film Commission of Costa Rica and the organizers of the Expo Andina Link Costa Rica (Latin American meeting of cable and television), to create this new space with the mission of facilitating business and exchange between suppliers in Central America and the Caribbean and buyers of international audiovisual content.This initiative seeks not only to create a market space, but also a space for co-production between the countries of our region.
Central America and the Caribbean are introducing film funds in their countries and awaiting government approval.
Producers of audiovisual content who want to offer their portfolio of contents and projects, must register at www.maucc.net before August 4th.
Central America and the Caribbean are introducing film funds in their countries and awaiting government approval.
Producers of audiovisual content who want to offer their portfolio of contents and projects, must register at www.maucc.net before August 4th.
- 7/31/2019
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
After 37 years as the nation’s premier Lgbtq film festival, Outfest shows no signs of slowing down. The 2019 festival, scheduled to take place in Los Angeles from July 18-28, has just announced its full schedule. The lineup features a combination of festival favorites and rarely-seen foreign films, placing Lgbtq cinema in a truly global context.
The festival opens on July 18 with “Circus of Books,” the Tribeca hit about a daughter’s learning about her parents’ groundbreaking gay porn shop. It closes out with Sundance breakout “Before You Know It,” and will feature 28 world premieres during its run.
From features and documentaries to shorts and episodic content, this is truly an all-inclusive launching pad for Lgbtq filmmakers. The festival continues to push the boundaries of progress, with a majority of this year’s films directed by filmmakers from groups underrepresented in queer film.
“As my tenure comes to an end I...
The festival opens on July 18 with “Circus of Books,” the Tribeca hit about a daughter’s learning about her parents’ groundbreaking gay porn shop. It closes out with Sundance breakout “Before You Know It,” and will feature 28 world premieres during its run.
From features and documentaries to shorts and episodic content, this is truly an all-inclusive launching pad for Lgbtq filmmakers. The festival continues to push the boundaries of progress, with a majority of this year’s films directed by filmmakers from groups underrepresented in queer film.
“As my tenure comes to an end I...
- 6/12/2019
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Now in its 37th year, Outfest serves up an inclusive and intersectional slate of programming, two-thirds of which includes content directed by women, people of color and trans filmmakers. The fest, which will be held July 18-28 in Los Angeles, will open with Rachel Mason’s documentary Circus of Books which spotlights L.A.’s iconic brick-and-mortar gay erotica emporium and bookstore. Sundance favorite Before You Know It directed, co-written and starring Hannah Pearl Utt, as well as Judith Light, Alec Baldwin and Mandy Patinkin, will serve as the festival’s closing night film.
The fest will have films from 33 countries and in 26 languages and will include appearances from Kathy Griffin, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Trixie Mattel, Pose actress Angelica Ross, horror icon Robert Englund, musician and actor Sam Harris and others.
“As my tenure comes to an end I am most proud of Outfest’s increased...
The fest will have films from 33 countries and in 26 languages and will include appearances from Kathy Griffin, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Trixie Mattel, Pose actress Angelica Ross, horror icon Robert Englund, musician and actor Sam Harris and others.
“As my tenure comes to an end I am most proud of Outfest’s increased...
- 6/12/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Inside Out Toronto, Canada’s leading Lgbtq film festival, announced its full lineup for its 29th edition today, including news that the Taron Egerton-starring Elton biopic “Rocketman” will open the festival following its Cannes premiere. Mindy Kaling’s “Late Night” will close the festival, with Netflix’s update to “Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City” featured as a centerpiece presentation.
The festival also announced Thursday a new four-year partnership with Netflix in support of Lgbtq filmmakers in Canada. The strategic partnership will begin with the 2019 edition of the festival, which runs May 23 – June 2. Through Inside Out’s Lgbtq Film Financing Forum, the first of its kind in the world, the Netflix funds will be used to expand Inside Out’s professional development and mentorship programming to develop the next generation of Canadian creators and talent.
“Inside Out is committed to establishing itself as the home of Lgbtq filmmakers,...
The festival also announced Thursday a new four-year partnership with Netflix in support of Lgbtq filmmakers in Canada. The strategic partnership will begin with the 2019 edition of the festival, which runs May 23 – June 2. Through Inside Out’s Lgbtq Film Financing Forum, the first of its kind in the world, the Netflix funds will be used to expand Inside Out’s professional development and mentorship programming to develop the next generation of Canadian creators and talent.
“Inside Out is committed to establishing itself as the home of Lgbtq filmmakers,...
- 5/3/2019
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
This year is the 33rd edition of the event.
The BFI Flare: London Lgbtq+ Film Festival (March 21 – 31) has unveiled the full programme for its 33rd edition, including over 50 features.
Titles will include the European premiere of Justin Kelly’s Jt Leroy starring Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart, which will close the event. The film, adapted from Savannah Knoop’s memoir Girl Boy Girl: How I Became Jt LeRoy, premiered at Toronto last year.
The Flare centrepiece screening will be the UK premiere of Tomer Heymann’s documentary Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life, a portrait of one of the world’s most successful gay porn stars.
The BFI Flare: London Lgbtq+ Film Festival (March 21 – 31) has unveiled the full programme for its 33rd edition, including over 50 features.
Titles will include the European premiere of Justin Kelly’s Jt Leroy starring Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart, which will close the event. The film, adapted from Savannah Knoop’s memoir Girl Boy Girl: How I Became Jt LeRoy, premiered at Toronto last year.
The Flare centrepiece screening will be the UK premiere of Tomer Heymann’s documentary Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life, a portrait of one of the world’s most successful gay porn stars.
- 2/20/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
“From Tomorrow, I Will,” which plays in the Berlinale Forum, heads the festival slate of indie Chinese sales company Rediance. The suburban drama is co-directed by China’s Wu Linfeng and Ivan Markovic, who hails from the former Yugoslavia.
Sales agents from mainland China are still relatively few and far between, reflecting a paucity of film financiers and studios interested in making the commitment needed to earn significant revenues from overseas territories. China’s underground film movement is increasingly under threat, further limiting the availability of independent movies with international potential.
Titles from more established arthouse directors, such as this year’s Berlin crop of Zhang Yimou, Wang Quan’an, Lou Ye and Wang Xiaoshuai, are usually represented by European or Hong Kong sales outfits. In contrast, Rediance’s lineup is made up of films sourced from far outside the mainstream and by filmmakers who have not yet established major international reputations.
Sales agents from mainland China are still relatively few and far between, reflecting a paucity of film financiers and studios interested in making the commitment needed to earn significant revenues from overseas territories. China’s underground film movement is increasingly under threat, further limiting the availability of independent movies with international potential.
Titles from more established arthouse directors, such as this year’s Berlin crop of Zhang Yimou, Wang Quan’an, Lou Ye and Wang Xiaoshuai, are usually represented by European or Hong Kong sales outfits. In contrast, Rediance’s lineup is made up of films sourced from far outside the mainstream and by filmmakers who have not yet established major international reputations.
- 2/9/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Golden Lion winner Roma
Alfonso Cuaron's Roma has won the Golden Lion at this year's Venice Film Festival.
The film is partially based on Cuaron's own childhood. The director, who received his prize from jury president and last year's Golden Lion winner Guillermo Del Toro, described both award and festival as "Incredibly meaningful to me."
Li Cheng, centre, with his stars Enrique Salanic and Manolo Errera Photo: Yq Studio LLC Yorgos Lanthimos took home the Grand Jury Prize for his historic romp The Favourite, which also saw British star Olivia Colman named best actress. The Silver Lion for best director went to Jacques Audiard for his western The Sisters Brothers. Willem Dafoe picked up the Best Actor gong.
In the Horizons sidebar, the top prize was taken by Manta Ray - which is one of several films available to watch this year on Festival Scope's Sala Web, including The Announcement and,...
Alfonso Cuaron's Roma has won the Golden Lion at this year's Venice Film Festival.
The film is partially based on Cuaron's own childhood. The director, who received his prize from jury president and last year's Golden Lion winner Guillermo Del Toro, described both award and festival as "Incredibly meaningful to me."
Li Cheng, centre, with his stars Enrique Salanic and Manolo Errera Photo: Yq Studio LLC Yorgos Lanthimos took home the Grand Jury Prize for his historic romp The Favourite, which also saw British star Olivia Colman named best actress. The Silver Lion for best director went to Jacques Audiard for his western The Sisters Brothers. Willem Dafoe picked up the Best Actor gong.
In the Horizons sidebar, the top prize was taken by Manta Ray - which is one of several films available to watch this year on Festival Scope's Sala Web, including The Announcement and,...
- 9/8/2018
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Director Li Cheng, a U.S. transplant from China, conducted extensive interviews with gay and marginalized youths across Latin America as the foundation for Jose, a reflective drama set in Guatemala about love, loss and queer desire lived in the shadows of a culture defined by crime, violence, macho attitudes, strict religious beliefs and binding family ties. Made with nonprofessional actors in a style beholden to the neorealist tradition, the film compensates for its underfed narrative with a tender observational quality backed by confident visual sense. Its unabashed treatment of gay sex and nudity, which is less about homoeroticism than emotional ...
- 8/31/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Director Li Cheng, a U.S. transplant from China, conducted extensive interviews with gay and marginalized youths across Latin America as the foundation for Jose, a reflective drama set in Guatemala about love, loss and queer desire lived in the shadows of a culture defined by crime, violence, macho attitudes, strict religious beliefs and binding family ties. Made with nonprofessional actors in a style beholden to the neorealist tradition, the film compensates for its underfed narrative with a tender observational quality backed by confident visual sense. Its unabashed treatment of gay sex and nudity, which is less about homoeroticism than emotional ...
- 8/31/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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