Inside Out LGBT Film Festival Reveals Winners For 2019

Just in time for Pride Month, the winners for this year’s Inside Out LGBT Film Festival were announced today in Toronto at the annual awards ceremony. Winners included Garin Nugroho for Memories of My Body which received the Inside Out Special Award for Innovation as well as Xiang Zi for A Dog Barking at the Moon for Best First Feature.

Other winners from the fest included Megan Wennberg for her film Drag Kids which received Best Canadian Feature while Audience Award winners included Samantha Lee’s Billie and Emma for Best Narrative Feature, Linda Goldstein Knowlton’s We Are Radical Monarchs for Best Documentary Feature and Jamie Dispirito’s Thrive for Best Short Film.

This was the third year for the festival’s annual LGBTQ Finance Forum and it has become an international home and incubator for LGBT filmmakers, both emerging and established. They also awarded its annual “Pitch, Please” contest to director Rain Valdez for Re-Live: A Tale of a 30-Year-Old Cheerleader.

The 2019 Inside Out LGBT Film Festival ran from May 23 through June 2. The full list of winners can be read below.

CANADIAN JURIED AWARDS

The jurors for the 2019 Canadian jury were Luis De Filippis, Lisa Donato and Nick McCarthy.

Best Canadian Feature
DRAG KIDS – Director, Megan Wennberg

Emerging Canadian Artist
SKIES ARE NOT JUST BLUE – Director, Lysandre Cosse-Tremblay

Best Canadian Short
SOFT SPOT – Director, Justine Stevens

Honorable Mention
TERMINALLY IN LOVE – Directors, Emily Jenkins and Justin Black

INTERNATIONAL JURIED AWARDS

The jurors for the 2019 International jury were Tricia Hagoriles, Allison Tate and Curtis Wong.

Inside Out Special Award for Innovation
MEMORIES OF MY BODY – Director Garin Nugroho

Best First Feature
A DOG BARKING AT THE MOON – Director Xiang Zi

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
BILLIE AND EMMA – Director, Samantha Lee

Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
WE ARE THE RADICAL MONARCHS – Director, Linda Goldstein Knowlton

Audience Award for Best Short Film
THRIVE – Director, Jamie Dispirito