Finishing up Oxford Film Fest; 10th Annual Dorian Awards

This morning I finalized my LGBTQ program for the Oxford Film Festival. It has been an incredible 6 months watching all sorts of queer films. Without the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences grant that allowed more LGBTQ films to screen I don't think I could have done it. It was difficult enough as it was. I can't tell you what I have chosen, but I can tell you that I am very, very proud of these films and the filmmakers out there telling queer stories.

LGBTQ Cinema has obviously been at the forefront of my mind the past few weeks, but so has representation and what it means to be a queer person programming and writing about films. When I first started this site almost 10 years ago I rarely disclosed. Now, it is such a part of who I am and how I write, that I can't imagine it any other way.

When I was invited to be an Advisory Board member of Galeca: The LGBTQ Society of Entertainment Critics this year, I was incredibly honored. And at 9 years old, Awards Wiz is just behind Dorian.

Here is the press release about the 10th Annual Dorian Awards.

November 5, 2018 - Hollywood, CA - GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, previously known as the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, has officially announced its voting timeline and ceremony date for its milestone 10th Dorian Awards. The group’s approximately 220 members will begin voting their choices for the best in film and TV in both mainstream and LGBTQ categories on Thursday December 27, 2018, with final ballots due Thursday January 3, 2019. Winners will be announced Tuesday January 8, and will be celebrated at GALECA’s annual Dorian Awards Toast at a gala luncheon in Los Angeles the following Saturday, January 12, 2019.

“‘The Dorian Awards’ 10-year marker gives us a great time to remind everyone just how much power the ‘minority’ LGBTQ segment has in boosting Hollywood, not just when it comes to the box office, TV ratings and sales but also in championing quality shows and films,” said GALECA President Diane Anderson-Minshall, Editorial Director of the iconicThe Advocate magazine. “Diversity, inclusion, cultural perspective—these aren’t just words, they are America,” added Executive Director John Griffiths. "We see GALECA’s members and our Dorians as a pivotal component of a less vanilla world, giving unique movies, TV programs and performances the lift our community is known for, while pressing for better treatment and for the often under-appreciated and under-paid entertainment journalist.” 

For the Dorians’ upcoming diamond anniversary, GALECA will be celebrating its past nominees and winners via social media art pieces and more. Since the first honors were given in 2010, over 200 artists and productions have received a Dorian Award, while over 1000 have received nominations. Among the recipients for Film of the Year through the years: Argo, 12 Years a Slave and two movies directed by Luca Guadagnino, I Am Love and Call Me By Your Name. With five Dorians each across various categories,Moonlight and Carol are the most awarded films in GALECA history, while Transparent, with 6 wins in best-series categories alone, reigns as GALECA’s most honored TV title.

Past Dorian winners also include Nicole Kidman, Michael Fassbender and Laverne Cox to name a few. But the most lauded performers so far are Jessica Lange (3 Dorians), Kate McKinnon (3), Jeffrey Tambor (3), Cate Blanchett (2) and Meryl Streep (2). MSNBC news personality Rachel Maddow and filmmaker Jordan Peele each have three Dorians in non-performance categories titles. But it’s Pose producer Ryan Murphy and his TV productions (Glee, American Horror Story, The Normal Heart, American Crime Story) that have earned the most recognition from GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics in the past decade.

GALECA’s distinct trademark categories continue to include those for Campy Flick and Campy TV Show of the Year, Unsung Film of the Year, Visually Striking Film and the “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star Award. 

See GALECA.org and Facebook • Twitter • Instagram for further information on our criteria, current roster of members, media coverage and more.

DORIAN AWARDS TIMELINE

Screenings/Screeners Deadline: Thursday, December 27, 2018Nomination Ballots out to Members: Friday, December 28, 2018Nomination Ballots Due: Thursday (a.m.), January 3, 2019Nominations Announced and Final Ballots Out to Members: Thursday (p.m.), January 3, 2019Final Ballots Due: Tuesday (a.m.), January 8, 2019Winners Announced: Tuesday (p.m.), January 8, 201910th Dorian Awards Toast: Saturday January 12, 2019 (Champagne brunch)

ABOUT GALECAGALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics sponsors the Dorian Awards, honoring the best in film and TV. With our Dorians going to both mainstream and LGBTQ-centric content, we help remind at-risk youth, and bigots, that the world has a history of looking to “the gays” for tips on what’s great in entertainment. A nonprofit professional organization, GALECA consists of over 200 active critics and journalists who write for legitimate media outlets in the United States, Canada, Australia and the U.K. 

OUR ESTEEMED MEMBERSOur membership is comprised of TV and film experts from across the LGBTQ spectrum and includes allies as well. • GALECA is primarily made up of professional (as in paid) journalists, reporters and editors working in print, online and broadcast • Bloggers with sites which are exceptional in presentation and popularity may also be welcome. Our members’ work or freelance for mainstream titles (such as the Associated Press, The Boston Globe, Buzzfeed, The Daily Beast, E!, GQ, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, TV Guide, Vanity Fair); trade staples (The Hollywood Reporter, Variety); radio and TV entities (BBC radio,CNN, Gaydio, KGO FM San Francisco, NBC affiliates); and LGBTQ outlets (The Advocate, Autostraddle, Out, Lesbian News, South Florida Gay News . . . ).

THE DORIAN AWARDSGALECA’s Dorian awards honor titles and performances of each calendar year • Nominees and winners are announced in January • There is no official entry process • Category requirements may be found at GALECA.org. Rather than an awards ceremony, in mid-January GALECA hosts its festive Dorians Toast, which is open to members, supporters, nominees and winners. Enjoy recaps of our past events here: Winners Toast 2017 • Winners Toast 2016 • Winners Toast 2015 • Winners Toast 2014

CATEGORIES• Film of the Year
• Film Performance of the Year — Actress
• Film Performance of the Year — Actor
• Director of the Year (Film or Television)
• Screenplay of the Year
• LGBTQ Film of the Year (theatrical or DVD release)
• Foreign Language Film of the Year
• Visually Striking Film of the Year (honoring a production of exceptional visual appeal)
• Documentary of the Year (theatrical, TV or DVD)
• LGBTQ Documentary of the Year (theatrical, TV or DVD)
• Supporting Film Performance of the Year — Actress
• Supporting Film Performance of the Year — Actor
• Campy Flick of the Year
• Unsung Film of the Year
• TV Drama of the Year
• TV Comedy of the Year
• TV Performance of the Year — Actress
• TV Performance of the Year — Actor
• TV Musical Performance of the Year
• LGBTQ TV Show of the Year
• TV Current Events Show of the Year
• Unsung TV Show of the Year
• Campy TV Show of the Year
• "We’re Wilde About You!" Rising Star Award
• Wilde Wit of the Year (honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
• Wilde Artist of the Year (honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the field of film, theater and/or television)
• Timeless Award (to a living actor or performer whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit)

JOIN US!GALECA generally accepts new members March 1 through July 31 • Members must provide five film or TV-related articles published and/or posted within three months of the date they apply (editors may simply provide a link to their media outlet’s staff box) • Members' dues are minimal (currently $35 a year) • Activities and duties primarily involve voting on your favorites in TV and film categories per above. • Members are privy to select film and special TV awards season screeners, from major studio releases to niche independent titles. • GALECA membership provides a meaningful sense of pride, as participants unite to remind the world that LGBTQ journalists have a cherished history of shaping pop culture at large. • Our private, lively Facebook members page affords members job leads, the opportunity to promote their recent stories, swap job leads and share fun and helpful showbiz history and news. • And, of course, members get to champion their favorites in movies and TV via our Dorian Awards.

OUR NOBLE PURPOSEGALECA, a 501 C-6 nonprofit, aims to generate camaraderie and solidarity in an unsettling media environment, champion constructive film and television criticism and elevate the craft of entertainment journalism. Via panels, screenings and our annual Dorian Awards, GALECA also strives to remind at-risk youth, bullies and bigots that our Q-munity has a rich history of leading the world to great movies and TV. And how would the world fare without knowing what's campy?