Mapplethorpe, an eye-opening look at the life of controversial gay photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, and Wild Nights with Emily, an irreverent exploration of the famous poet Emily Dickinson, were multiple award winners at last weekend’s 25th anniversary QFilm Festival in Long Beach.
The narrative features, documentaries and short films presented at Qfilms aim to embody the rich diversity and experiences of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, with many pictures making their Long Beach, California, or West Coast premieres. Proceeds benefit Long Beach’s LGBTQ Center.
Filmmakers actually learned they were winners of jury and/or audience awards at their respective screenings, according to Chris Carpenter, co-producer of 2018 Qfilms.
Mapplethorpe, whose titular character is portrayed by the supremely talented Matt Smith of Dr. Who and The Crown fame, led the pack with three awards, while Wild Nights with Emily, which had Saturday Night Live alumn Molly Shannon in the title role, grabbed two honors.
The envelopes, puh-leeze …
JURY AWARD WINNERS
Best Narrative Feature
Wild Nights with Emily
Best Documentary Feature
Man Made
Best Director, Feature
Ondi Timoner (Mapplethorpe)
Best Screenplay, Feature
Madeleine Olnek (Wild Nights with Emily)
Best Short Film
Marguerite
Best Director, Short Film
Abraham “AB” Troen (Finding Home)
Best Screenplay, Short Film
Ben Okrent (Edmund the Magnificent)
AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS
Best Feature Film
Mapplethorpe
Best Documentary
Transmilitary
Click here to read about other films and parties that were held during the Qfilms’ milestone year.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.