SFGate.com
Frameline30, the 30th San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, ended Sunday night with announcements of the event’s three major awards. Ned Farr’s “The Gymnast,” a drama about a female ex-gymnast who discovers a new life in the world of aerial dancing, received the Audience Award for Best Feature.
The Dockers First Feature Award, with a prize of $10,000, went to Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil’s “Stray Cats,” a Philippine film about the love lives of a middle-aged advertising executive and her gay friend and landlord. The Michael J. Berg Documentary Award, which also has a $10,000 prize, was given to “Cruel and Unusual.” Janet Baus, Dan Hunt and Reid Williams directed this film about the difficulties faced by pre-op transgender women who are held in men’s prisons.
Organizers said total attendance at the 11-day festival was close to 62,000 and that 20 of the 144 programs were sold out. Screenings were held at the Castro Theatre and four other venues in San Francisco and Oakland.