Outfest, the Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival, has announced the winners of its 39th edition, which includes a handful of Latin American productions from Brazil, Chile, and Mexico.
The Chilean film The Strong Ones / Los Fuertes, directed by Omar Zúñiga Hidalgo was the winner of both the Grand Jury Prize for Best International Narrative Feature and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. The film tells the story of a young architect who is visiting a coastal Chilean town before an educational trip abroad and becomes involved with the handsome crewmate of a fishing boat.
The Grand Jury Prize for Best Performance in an International Narrative Feature was presented to Thiessa Woinbackk for her film debut in Valentina. Cássio Pereira dos Santos’ debut feature tells the story of 17-year-old Valentina, a girl of trans experience, finds trouble in her small new Brazilian town when she attempts to enroll in school under her new name. Two other Brazilian films received a Special Mention in the International Narrative Feature competition: Alice Junior by Gil Baroni and Dry Wind / Vento Seco by Daniel Nolasco.
The Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature was presented to the Brazilian film Your Mother’s Comfort, by Israeli-American director Adam Golub, that follows sex worker, trans activist and political hopeful, Indianara Siqueira as she launches a bid for the city council of Rio de Janeiro against the backdrop of the contentious 2018 Brazilian national elections.
And the Mexican short film Instructions to Let Go by Gustavo Gamero was the winner of a Special Mention in the International Narrative Short Film competition. The winners of this year’s Outfest will have an encore virtual screening between Monday, August 31 and Monday, September 7.
