PlanetOut.com is proud to announce the winners of the Second Annual PlanetOut.com Short Movie Awards! The votes have been tallied; now please join us in watching some of the best gay, lesbian, bi, trans and intersex (GLBTI) shorts of the year -- and share your comments in our member reviews area!
GRAND PRIZE WINNERS ($5000 each)
Summer Light
Aaron Walker 18 minutes
A young boy, imprisoned in a junkyard by his cruel master, is purchased by an aristocratic gentleman.
Family Values
Eva Saks 20 minutes
Meet Becky and Donna, a nice lesbian couple with a house in the suburbs, who run a family business cleaning up death scenes.
DRAMA
Juried First Prize Winner ($1000)
Audience Award Winner
Broken Warning
Tadeo Garcia 11 minutes
Two kids in a gang have a secret that could change their lives.
Lives of the Pharaohs
Jonathan Wald 15 minutes
Molly's comfortable family life is thrown into turmoil when an old college friend visits during the Jewish festival of Passover.
ANIMATION
Juried First Prize Winner ($1000)
Audience Award Winner
Numb
Dino Alberto and Dave Hughes 2 minutes
This eerily animated short will keep you thinking long after the credits roll.
Piki and Poko: The Adventure Begins!
David Cutler and
Mark Ewert 9 minutes
"Piki and Poko: The Adventure Begins!" is an episodic, animated serial starring two Japanese schoolgirls who have a very special bond.
DOCUMENTARY
Juried First Prize Winner ($1000)
Audience Award Winner
Destiny's Children
Kevin O'Keefe 18 minutes
This is the story of David McKinstry's quest to be a father. After 17 years of adoption-agency rejections, government screw-ups, a life-threatening illness and the loss of his first partner, David finally met his destiny when he adopted two children.
No Back Up
Efrat Tal 12 minutes
A short documentary that depicts the ongoing harassment suffered by a gay police officer in the LAPD.
COMEDY
Juried First Prize Winner ($1000)
Audience Award Winner
Hi I'm Steve
Robert Kennedy 6 minutes
Frustrated in his love life, Steve figures he'll give telephone dating a try, whereupon he discovers a strange new fetish at the core of his sexual being.
Color Me Gay
Eric Waddell and Jeffrey Wylie 15 minutes
This instructional training film provides all the answers to those men and women struggling to knock down the closet door and what to do once it's open.
EXPERIMENTAL
Juried First Prize Winner ($1000)
Audience Award Winner
Casualty
Andy Abrahams Wilson 5 minutes
This mythic and dreamlike piece highlights the unraveling of an intimate relationship.
Lullaby
Antonia Kao 5 minutes
A Jamaican grandmother shares a magical alternative creation myth with her granddaughter at bedtime.
Wilson Cruz
Openly gay actor Wilson Cruz got his start on the acclaimed TV show, "My So Called Life." He's been a gay icon ever since, appearing in such films as "Supernova," "All Over Me," "Johns," "Nixon," and "Joyride."
Jamie Babbit
Multitalented indie director Jamie Babbit is currently a
producer/director for the wildy successful WB show "Popular"
(Fridays at 9 p.m.) and is in development on several feature film projects. Babbit made
her feature film directorial debut with the popular stylized comedy "But I'm a Cheerleader"
(starring Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Cathy Moriarty and RuPaul Charles).