Had too skip last night's award shindig due to a bad back and am questionable for tonight's closing night festivities. I'm BUMMED OUT. But, between heating and icing and doing these little stretches the chiropractor has ordered me to do, I got ahold of the winners of the 12th Annual Film Competition Awards that were handed out at the Ford Ampitheater. In all, 15 competitive awards were announced in three categories: Grand Jury Awards, Audience Awards and Special Programming Awards. 

I am thrilled to see that the terrific movie "The Gymnast," which you may recall I touted two weeks ago in my early picks entry, won two top awards: the Grand Jury Prize for best American narrative feature and the Audience Award for director Ned Farr for Outstanding First Narrative Feature. The Grand Jury Prize also includes a $2,500 cash prize, courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Other winners of the Grand Jury Awards were:Outstanding International Narrative Feature "Whole New Thing,"
Outstanding Documentary Feature – “Small Town Gay Bar,� and Outstanding Screenwriting – Q. Allen Brocka and Phillip Pierce for “Boy Culture� which made its Los Angeles debut in a screening directly following the awards.
Michael Carbonaro won the Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film award  for “Another Gay Movie� while Diane Gaidry was voted Outstanding Actress for "Loving Annabelle."

The other winners of the Audience Awards were: "A Love to Hide" and "Loving Annabelle" which tied for Outstanding Narrative Feature. (I didn't see 'Annabelle' but I thought 'A Love to Hide' was the best movie of the festival.) The Outstanding Documentary Feature award went to anotjer one of my festival favorites, "Camp Out." In the Narrative Short Film category, "Available Men: took top honors while "My Craxy Life" won for Outstanding Documentary Short. The queer rap film "Pic Up the Mic" was voted Outstanding Soundtrack.

Special Programming Awards went to Dan Hunt, Janet Boss and Reed Williams, directors of “Cruel and Unusual� (Freedom Award), Ho Tam, Director For “Book of James (Outstanding Artistic Achievement) and to Ash Christian, the 21-year-old writer-director-star of the terrific "Fat Girls." Christian was honored for Outstanding Artistic Achievement.
 
The 24th edition of Outfest 2006 featured 209 films and videos from 28 countries, exhibited in nine venues over 12 days.  The awards ceremonywere hosted by the quick-witted Bruce Vilanch and preceded the Los Angeles debut of “Boy Culture.� Among the celebrity presenters celebrity presenters were Loretta Devine, Jane Lynch, Momma (who served as the Trophy Girl), Rex Lee (“Entourage�), Rodney Chester, Doug Spearman, Jensen Atwood, Christian Vincent ("Noah's Arc"), Wilson Cruz, Eduardo Xol, Jim Varraros, Steve Kmetko and Frank DeCaro (Sirius Radio Personality).

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners!