Female filmmakers took home two out of three Audience Awards at this year’s Outfest, an LA-based LGBTQ film festival. Annalise Ophelian won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award for “Major!” and Carly Usdin’s “Suicide Kale” was named by audiences as the Best First U.S. Dramatic Feature.
“Major!’ is a portrait of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, an influential transgender civil rights activist. The former sex worker and prison inmate has spent more than 40 years fighting for the rights of trans women of color. “Major!” was also a hit with the fest’s Grand Jury. The feature received a Special Jury mention, and was lauded for “[shining] a light and [showing] compassion for so many who would otherwise remain unheard.” “Miss Major was and continues to be one of the most important and legendary heroes in the community,” wrote the Jury.
“Suicide Kale” is a dark comedy about a new couple who find an unsigned suicide note at the home of the happiest long-term couple they know. “Yes this is a queer film, yes the characters are all women, yes the cast is predominantly women of color,” Usdin told Women and Hollywood. “But the film isn’t really about any of that. It’s just about people and how they relate to one another, how they love one another, how they hurt one another.” Usdin collaborated on the film with longtime friend Brittani Nichols, who wrote the script and stars. The pair were inspired to make “Suicide Kale” after they watched “Tangerine.” “We were really inspired to make a movie ourselves, with our friends, and see what happens,” recalled Usdin.
The Documentary Grand Jury Prize went to Deborah S. Esquenazi’s “Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four.” The doc, which tells the story of four Latina lesbians wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two young girls, is set to receive worldwide distribution. The Jury praised “Southwest of Salem” for its “ability to captivate the audience and to give voice to those who have been oppressed, and to expose an egregious miscarriage of justice of marginalized, yet the most exceedingly brave women.”
The Jury awarded the honor of Best Screenwriting in a U.S. feature to Ingrid Jungermann for “Women Who Kill.” Jungermann also wrote and directed the feature. She told Women and Hollywood that she was drawn to tell this story because of her “unhealthy obsession with ‘Serial,’ … history of failed relationships, and [the] desire to deconstruct romantic comedy structure.” “ I wanted to make a movie that felt both familiar and foreign and tap into the universal problem of loneliness,” she explained. The film portrays a love triangle between two true crime podcasters and a potential murderer. “Vacillating from comedy to romance to drama to thriller, often within the same scene, the script is perfectly paced, featuring well defined characters and a clear narrative purpose for every word, be it a jokey aside or a cryptic utterance,” the Jury observed.
Celine Sciamma, the co-writer of “Being 17,” was recognized with the International Grand Jury Prize alongside the film’s director and co-writer André Téchiné. Tzurit Hartzion’s “Fake It” took home the Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short.
Special Programming Award winners included Sara Jordenö for “Kiki” in the Emerging Talent category, and Tiffany Rhynard for “Forbidden: Undocumented and Queer in Rural America” in the Freedom category.
