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The Frameline Film Festival has announced the winners from its 2024 program.

The top honors went to Luke Gilford’s “National Anthem,” which took home the Outstanding First Feature Award, and Chloé Barreau’s “Fragments of a Life Loved,” which won Outstanding Documentary Feature.

Frameline, the world’s largest and longest-running LGBTQ film festival, ran from June 19–29, with 120 screenings, programs and events held in theaters across the Bay Area, including the Herbst Theatre and Palace of Fine Arts Theatre.

Highlights of the festival included the Castro Theatre’s first-ever celebration of Juneteenth — a block party that featured the official re-lighting of the venue’s iconic neon blade sign and marquee, performances from the all-Black drag collective and a special outdoor screening of “Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero.”

Other highlights included a special 30th anniversary screening of the 4K restoration of “Go Fish,” attended by Rose Troche and Guinevere Turner, the...

Exclusive: The 48th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival aka Frameline48 wrapped over the weekend and presented it awards after a slate of 120 in-person screenings and programs featuring international LGBTQ+ filmmakers and Bay Area artists.

Frameline48 highlights included a 30th anniversary screening of the 4K restoration of Go Fish; the “queer premiere” of Anthony Schatteman’s Young Hearts; the U.S. premiere of Juan Pablo Di Pace and Andrés P. Estrada’s Duino, world premieres of Deborah Craig’s Sally! (co-directed by Jörg Fockele and Ondine Rarey) and Osama Chami’s Una película barata; and screenings of Harrison Xu, Ivan Leung and Katherine Dudas’ Extremely Unique Dynamic, Marco Berger’s The Astronaut Lovers (Los amantes astronautas) and Luke Willis’ Lady Like, which saw the director and Lady Camden, the film’s subject, in attendance.

The Frameline kickoff celebration featured a live performance by singer, songwriter and producer Linda Perry, followed...

Critical Zone, an Iranian drama shot in secret by dissident director Ali Ahmadzadeh, has won the Golden Leopard honor for best film at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival.

Ahmadzadeh, who has been banned from leaving Iran, was unable to attend the awards ceremony, held at the Swiss city Saturday night. The Iranian government pressured the director to pull the film from competition. Through its story of a man and his dog, who navigate Tehran’s underworld, selling drugs and talking to troubled souls, Critical Zone depicts a nation rebelling against an oppressive regime in any way it can. Produced by Germany’s Counter Intuitive Film, Critical Zone is being sold worldwide by Luxbox.

Another proudly political filmmaker, British legend Ken Loach, won the audience award, the Ubs Prix du Public, at Locarno’s 76th annual festival for his latest (and perhaps last) feature film: The Old Oak. The drama, which premiered in Cannes,...

Critical Zone.International Competition(Jury: Lambert Wilson, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Lesli Klainberg, Charlotte Wells, Matthijs Wouter Knol)Golden Leopard: Critical Zone (Ali Ahmadzadeh)Special Jury Prize: Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World (Radu Jude)Best Direction: Stepne (Maryna Vroda)Best Performance: Dimitra Vlagopoulou (Animal)Best Performance: Renée Soutendijk (Sweet Dreams)Special Mention: Nuit Obscure - Au Revoir Ici, N'importe Où (Sylvain George)Filmmakers Of The PresentGolden Leopard: Dreaming & Dying (Nelson Yeo)Best Emerging Director: Katharina Huber (A Good Place)Special Jury Prize: Camping Du Lac (Éléonore Saintagnan)Best Performance: Clara Schwinning (A Good Place)Best Performance: Isold Halldórudóttir and Stavros Zafeiris (Touched)Special Mentions: Excursions (Una Gunjak), Negu Hurbilak (Colective Negu)First Feature(Jury: Omar El Zohairy, Devika Girish, Isabel Sandoval)First Feature Award: Dreaming & Dying (Nelson Yeo)Pardi Di Domani(Jury: Ewa Puszczyńska, Matthew Rankin, Amos Sussigan)Best...

Exclusive: Outfest has unveiled their lineup for the 17th annual Outfest Fusion — or the more official title: Outfest 2020: Culture. Film. Music. Story. The fest will run March 6-10 and include screenings, performances, panels, galas, workshops, and world premieres in Los Angeles.

Outfest Fusion brings together one of the largest, inclusive and diverse cross-sections of the Lgbtq+ community and its allies. The fest is a space the next generation of storytellers and cultural ambassadors are discovered. This year, Outfest Fusion 2020 will feature more than 60 films, including 11 World Premieres, 4 North American Premieres, 12 West Coast Premieres, 13 Los Angeles Premieres and 1 International Premiere.

Films featured this year include El Principe (The Prince) directed by Sebastián Muñoz’s El Principe (The Prince) which won the Queer Lion at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. The fest will also feature the L.A. premiere of Andrew Ahn’s Driveways which stars Hong Chau and Golden...