OUTING RILEY Wins Top Award at 19th NewFest
[img_assist|nid=5204|title=|desc=|link=node|align=undefined|width=542|height=365]
Thursday, June 14------The 19th Annual NewFest (New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Film Festival) came to a close this past Sunday, setting records for attendance and kicking off the gay and lesbian pride celebrations in June. “We had another strong turnout to this year’s festival,” said Basil Tsiokos, Artistic Director of NewFest. “We’re proud to have provided a great kickoff to Gay Pride Month.” Awards were announced before the Closing Night Film screening of SAVE ME, a Sundance sleeper hit, about gay "conversion" therapy.
[img_assist|nid=5206|title=Outing Riley|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=140|height=94][img_assist|nid=5207|title=Out At The Wedding|desc=|link=node|align=right|width=140|height=94]The Best US Narrative Feature award was won by OUTING RILEY, directed by Pete Jones, who was the first director in the Project Greenlight development series. The film is a comedy/drama set in an Irish American family, when the youngest son comes out to his brothers and his extended family. The French film TIMES HAVE BEEN BETTER by Regis Musset, won the Best Foreign Narrative Film. In this inventive comedy drama, the focus is on a set of parents who must suddenly deal with the fact that their son has come out and is living with a man. The Audience Award was won by OUT AT THE WEDDING, a sweet screwball comedy about two sisters and the lengths they’ll go to try to repair their relationship, including having one of them pose as a lesbian. The film, directed by Lee Friedlander, premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival and is now making the rounds at gay and lesbian film festivals on both coasts. The documentary SAVING MARRIAGE, by Mike Roth and John Henning, looks at the legal struggle to save the law that allows for gay marriage in Massachussets, the only state in the union that has voted to legalize unions between same sex partners. While the Festival closed on Sunday, NewFest offered its enthusiastic audiences one last show for the road. On Tuesday evening, the Festival sponsored a staged screenplay reading of writer/director Todd Stephen’s upcoming sequel ANOTHER GAY MOVIE 2: GAYS GONE WILD. Returning as their roles from the original film are Michael Carbonaro, Jonah Blechman, Mitch Morris, Ashlie Atkinson, and Lipsynka with special guests RuPaul and The Lady Bunny. NewFest offers on-going programs throughout the year at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the IFC Film Center, and is already planning for its 20th anniversary next year. Can't wait......Sandy Mandelberger, Awards Watch Editor
