QUEER GENIUS,
BLUE IS NOT MY FAVORITE COLOR
NAMED QFEST AUDIENCE FAVORITES
September 29, 2020 (HOUSTON, TX) – QUEER GENIUS and BLUE IS NOT MY FAVORITE COLOR have been selected as the QFest 2020 Audience Award winners for Favorite Feature and Favorite Short, respectively. QUEER GENIUS is the powerful portrait of five contemporary lesbian artists, including an inspiring segment featuring the late Barbara Hammer. In BLUE IS NOT MY FAVORITE COLOR, a family photo album becomes an animated journey for an only-child reflecting on his parent’s belief that a single color might influence his gender preference. The 24th Annual Houston International LGBTQ Film Festival, hosted by Cinenso, was held virtually September 24 – 28 in Houston and across North America, EU countries and Australia. Six features and seven shorts comprised this year’s competition. Please see below for the complete list of 2020 QFest Jury Prizes.
Audience Favorite (Feature)
QUEER GENIUS (United States)
A powerful portrait of five contemporary lesbian artists, including an inspiring segment featuring the late Barbara Hammer.
Audience Favorite (Short)
BLUE IS NOT MY FAVORITE COLOR (Philippines)
A family photo album becomes an animated journey for an only-child reflecting on his parent’s belief that a single color might influence his gender preference.
The John Steven Kellett Freedom of Vision Award (Top Prize)
GRACEFULLY (Iran)
An 80-year-old dairy farmer recounts his time as a female impersonator performing traditional female ballads and dances on stage for decades before the 1979 Iranian Revolution banned public dancing.
Grand Jury Prize Best Feature
KHARTOUM OFFSIDE (Sudan)
A group of women in Khartoum are determined to play football professionally. Their quixotic efforts to become officially recognized as Sudan’s National Woman’s team is at times tragicomic, but always fearless and inspiring.
Best Short Film
EACH AND EVERY NIGHT (France)
Since childhood, Léa has had recurring visions of a pack of terrifying deer with blazing red eyes. Now an adult and in a relationship with Maud, Léa’s visions return and with greater force, threatening her relationship, and her grip on sanity.
Best Director (Feature)
Marwa Zein, KHARTOUM OFFSIDE
Best Performance/Ensemble or Subject (Feature)
WOMEN WITHOUT MEN (Italy)
A young woman’s funeral brings together a disparate group of mourners, most of whom await the return of her father. But as his return is delayed and the days drag on, one mourner exposes the disturbing relationship between father and daughter.
Special Jury Prize for Cinematography
KHARTOUM OFFSIDE (Sudan)
The Houston Film Critics’ Society’s Award for Best Picture
5 MINUTES TOO LATE (Romania)
A stubborn, arrogant police captain and an equally stubborn, idealistic investigative reporter each attempt to gain control over the public narrative surrounding the vicious beating of a young man by far-right anti-gay extremists, engaging in questionable tactics in an effort to thwart each other. Meanwhile, the young man clinging to life becomes increasingly forgotten amid their power struggle.
QFest
Dedicated to promoting the arts as a powerful tool for communication and cooperation among diverse communities by presenting programs by, about, and of interest to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer community.
QFest is a sponsored project of Aurora Picture Show, a 501c3 presenting artist-made, non-commercial film and video, and dedicated to expanding the cinematic experience and promoting the understanding and appreciation of the moving image.
QFest is generously supported by The John Steven Kellett Foundation and funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.
www.facebook.com/QFestHouston/ | www.q-fest.com | www.aurorapictureshow.org
https://cinenso.com/qfest_20 / #haatx | #houstonMOCA
