FILM FESTIVAL NEWS: Austin’s All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival (aGLIFF) Announces Award Winners and Wraps Honoree-rific Fest
On Saturday, August 24, the All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival (aGLIFF) announced the competition award winners for the 32nd edition of the film festival at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – South Lamar, with Audience Award winners determined the following day. Lisa Zi Xiang’s A DOG BARKING AT THE MOON took home the award for Best Narrative Feature, and Michael Barnett’s CHANGING THE GAME doubled up by receiving both the jury prize for Best Documentary Feature, as well as the Audience Award. Leon Le’s SONG LANG took the Audience Award for Narrative Film.
aGLIFF Artistic Director Jim Brunzell, said, “This was a year of celebration for aGLIFF, as we honored a trio of filmmakers that embody the very spirit of aGLIFF in Rose Troche, Jim Fall, and Lisa Donato. We introduced our audiences to Prism and they also had an opportunity to enjoy some of the best LGBTQ+ cinema in the world this year.”
aGLIFF Board President Ashley Marshall, added, “This year’s festival was such a wonderful representation of our “prism” theme, as we got to celebrate with and get to know our visiting filmmakers, film jury members, and our aGLIFF film fans. Our vision for aGLIFF is to be a place where any queer person can walk into the theater and feel seen and surrounded by family, and this year felt like a gratifying culmination of sorts of our efforts to increase the diversity of our programming, our board, and our audience, to reflect the full prism of the rainbow. I know that I came away from this year’s fest feeling full of love and appreciation for our community and I hope everyone else had the same experience.”
This year’s aGLIFF jury included:
Narrative Features: Beth Barrett (SIFF, Artistic Director), Harris Doran (BEAUTY MARK, Director), David Ninh (Kino Lorber, Director of Press and Publicity)
Documentary Features: Sarah Marloff (Journalist, Austin Chronicle, Journalist),
Nathaniel Rogers (The Film Experience, Creator and Owner), Paul Struthers (Frameline, Director of Exhibition and Programming)
Short Films: Jon Gann (SDC Shorts, Founder and Director), Fawzia Mirza (SIGNATURE MOVE, Writer/Producer/Actor), Justina Walford (Women Texas Film Festival, Founder and Artistic Director)
Winners in the Short Film categories included; Alyssa Lerner’s BUBBLE (Best Narrative Short Film); Robert James’ VERASPHERE: A LOVE STORY IN COSTUME (Best Documentary Short Film); Sarah Holland’s EGGHEAD & TWINKIE (Best Student Short Film), and Hugo Kenzo’s DELIVERY BOY (Audience Award – Short Film).
The 32nd Annual All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival was buoyed by the attendance of LGBTQ+ film and television veterans Rose Troche and Jim Fall, who both received aGLIFF’s Tribute Award, along with Lisa Donato, who was honored as this year’s aGLIFF Breakthrough Award recipient. Fall was presented with his Tribute Award prior to a 20th Anniversary screening of TRICK on Saturday, August 24, and Troche received her Tribute Award prior to a 25th Anniversary screening of GO FISH, on Sunday, August 25. Donato’s aGLIFF Breakthrough Award presentation took place on Friday, August 23, and featured screenings of her short films FOXY TROT, THE NEWS TODAY, SPUNKLE, and THERE YOU ARE.
Other highlights included an appearance – and performance – by the Austin Gay Men’s Chorus prior to the Opening Night Gala screening of David Charles Rodrigues’ GAY CHORUS DEEP SOUTH. The always popular aGLIFF Secret Screening featured Rachel Mason’s festival favorite, CIRCUS OF BOOKS, and the packed audience gave a standing ovation for Mason’s parents – and subjects of the documentary, Karen and Barry Mason. Both the aGLIFF Encore screening of Tracy Frazier’s BECOMING LESLIE, and the Closing Night Gala screening of Nick Zeig-Owens’ TRIXIE MATTEL: MOVING PARTS inspired cosplay from Austin film fans as aGLIFF once again delivered a crowd-pleasing film festival.
The 33rd edition of aGLIFF will be August 20-23, 2020.
All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival (aGLIFF) 2019 Award Winners
Best Narrative Feature Film
A DOG BARKING AT THE MOON
DIR: Lisa Zi Xiang
Best Documentary Feature Film
CHANGING THE GAME
DIR: Michael Barnett
Best Narrative Short Film
BUBBLE
DIR: Alyssa Lerner
Best Documentary Short Film
VERASPHERE: A LOVE STORY IN COSTUME
DIR: Robert James
Best Student Film
EGGHEAD & TWINKIE
DIR: Sarah Holland
Audience Award – Narrative
SONG LANG
DIR: Leon Le
Audience Award – Documentary
CHANGING THE GAME
DIR: Michael Barnett
Audience Award – Short Film
DELIVERY BOY
DIR: Hugo Kenzo
