Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQIA+ film festival 2022 hands out awards, honors Colman Domingo
Out on Film presented by GILEAD and WABE announced the filmmaker awards for the recently concluded 35th edition of the Atlanta-based LGBTQIA+ film festival. Gabriel Martin’s Mars One was a three-time winner, taking the jury awards for Best Narrative Feature, Best International Film and Best Ensemble. Magnus Gertten’s Nelly & Nadine won the jury prize for Best Documentary.
Out on Film ICON Award honoree and recent Emmy Award-winner Colman Domingo, also had a hand in two other award winners P.J. Palmer’s North Star, which he starred in, and produced, won both the jury prize and the audience award for Best Drama Short Film, and Jeff Le Bars and Jérémie Balais New Moon, which was written by Domingo and his husband Raul Domingo, won the Audience Award for Best Animated Short.
Out on Film Festival Director Jim Farmer said, “This year’s 35th Anniversary celebration was just that – a celebration of what our audiences and attending filmmakers have come to look forward to each year, here in Atlanta as they enjoy our film festival. Our award-winning films exemplified that and the wonderful time we had with ICON Award honoree Colman Domingo put the entire thing over the top. We’ll have our work cut out for us to match the experience at this year’s festival.”
The Audience Awards were led by Matt Carter’s In From the Side for Best Narrative Feature and Atlanta filmmaker Daresha Kyi’s Mama Bears for Best Documentary.
Additional jury awards included Todd Flaherty of Chrissy Judy and Juan Felipe Zulata of Unidentified Objects, who tied for Best Director and former Atlantan Travis Fine, whose film Two Eyes won Best Screenplay. Christopher Sandler’s So Damn Easy Going took home jury awards for Best First Film and Best Performance from that of Nikki Hanselblad.
Out On Film’s first screenplay competition yielded two prizes – Best Feature Screenplay for “Magpie”, written by Megan Mead, and Best Short Film Screenplay for “En Memoria”, penned by Roberto Fatal and Ali Meyers-Ohki.
This year’s OUT ON FILM jury included actor/writer Ava Davis (The Ava Davis Show, The Duchess of Grant Park), Emmy Award-winning director Frederick Taylor (Meet the Team Taking J-Setting from Underground Clubs to the Main Stage), Film Impact Georgia Executive Director Melissa Simpson, journalist Rich Eldredge (Atlanta Magazine, Eldredge ATL), journalist Patrick Saunders (WABE), Melbourne Queer Film Festival program director Spiro Economopoulos, Lesflicks founder Naomi Bennett and Nashville Film Festival Creators Conference Producer Paula Martinez.
Additional audience awards went to Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes’ Sissy (Best International Film), Ruby Fludzinski and Tiler Wilson’s My Abortion Saved My Life (Best Local Short Film), Erich Rettstadts Tank Fairy (Best Comedy Short), and Matt Nadel and Megan Plotka’ CANS Can’t Stand, which won both the Audience Award and Jury Award for Best Documentary Short.
After kicking things off with a completely sold-out screening of Nicholas Stoller’s Bros, co-written by and starring Billy Eichner, Out on Film seemed to string one highlight after the other this year, including its Spotlight screenings of Micheal Rice’s Black As U R, Connie Cocchia’s When Time Got Louder, Daresha Kyi’s Mama Bears, and the world premiere of Yuval David’sWonderfully Made — LGBTQ+R(eligion) from executive producer Mark McDermott, and advocate producers including Lance Bass. The Georgia premiere of Todd Flaherty’s dark comedy Chrissy Judy served as (what would prove to be) an award-winning Closing Night presentation.
Once again, Out on Film’s teamed up with GLAAD, as a promotional partner whose relationship with the film festival continues to grow. An Oscar® qualifying film festival, which was recently included on MovieMaker Magazine’s “50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” list, also continued to add to its reputation as a festival that balances film discovery with new works with the joy of presenting beloved and fun films with its 40th Anniversary screening of Allan Carr’s Grease 2. Out on Film also introduced a screenplay competition to the mix this year, which included a free-to-the public reading of the winning screenplay.
For information on Out on Film, please go to: outonfilm.org.
The 2022 Out on Film Award Winners:
ICON AWARD
Colman Domingo
Jury Awards
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
Mars One (Director: Filippo Gabriel Martins)
Best Narrative Feature Runner-up
El Houb (Director: Shariff Nasr)
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Nelly & Nadine (Director: Magnus Gertten)
Best Documentary Runner-up
Mama Bears (Director: Daresha Kyi)
Honorable Mention:
Black As U R (Director Micheal Rice)
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Mars One (Director: Gabriel Martins)
Best International Film Runner-up
El Houb (Director: Shariff Nasr)
BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM
So Damn Easy Going (Director: Christopher Sandler)
Best First Film Runner-up
Unidentified Objects (Director Juan Felipe Zuleta)
BEST DRAMA SHORT FILM
North Star (Director: P.J. Palmer)
Best Drama Short Film Runner-up
Iago and Tristan (Director: Miguel Ibáñez Monroy)
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
CANS Can’t Stand (Directors: Matt Nadel and Megan Plotka)
BEST DIRECTOR (TIE)
Unidentified Objects (Director: Juan Felipe Zuleta)
and
Chrissy Judy (Director: Todd Flaherty)
BEST SCREENPLAY
Two Eyes (Director: Travis Fine)
Best Screenplay Runner-up
Chrissy Judy (Director: Todd Flaherty)
BEST PERFORMANCE
So Damn Easy Going (Nikki Hanselblad)
Best Performance Runner-Up:
Unidentified Objects (Matthew Jeffers)
BEST ENSEMBLE
Mars One (Director: Gabriel Martins)
Best Ensemble Runner-Up:
Two Eyes (Director: Travis Fine)
Audience Awards
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
In From the Side (Director: Matt Carter)
Best Narrative Feature Runner-up
When Time Got Louder (Director: Connie Cocchia)
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Mama Bears (Director: Daresha Kyi)
Best Documentary Runner-up (TIE)
Art and Pep (Director: Mercedes Kane)
and
Black As U R (Director: Micheal Rice)
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Sissy (Directors: Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes)
Best Documentary Runner-up
Hijo (Director: Oscar Perez-Chairez)
BEST LOCAL SHORT FILM
My Abortion Saved My Life (Directors: Ruby Fludzinski and Tiler Wilson)
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
CANS Can’t Stand (Directors: Matt Nadel and Megan Plotka)
BEST COMEDY SHORT FILM
Tank Fairy (Director: Erich Rettstadt)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
New Moon (Directors: Jeff Le Bars, Jérémie Balais)
Screenplay Competition
BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY
“Magpie” (Written by: Megan Mead)
BEST SHORT FILM SCREENPLAY
“En Memoria” (Written by: Roberto Fatal, Ali Meyers-Ohki)
