Outfest Los Angeles unveils the winners of its Jury Awards

LOS ANGELES -- The 41st Outfest LA wrapped up on Sunday, but not before announcing the big winners to emerge from this year's festival. Outfest spanned 11 days, full of screenings, red carpets, panel discussions and workshops, all aimed at celebrating queer cinema. The LGBTQIA+ film festival hopes to empower storytellers, artists and filmmakers, who are often underrepresented in the entertainment industry.

And there is nothing more empowering than being rewarded for exceptional work, which is exactly what the film festival does when it hands out the prestigious Grand Jury Awards. This year's winners are a diverse cross-section of creatives who proved to be fearless, provocative and thoughtful in their filmmaking.

The Paul D. Lerner and Stephen Reis Grand Jury Award for Documentary Feature went to "Anhell69," directed by Theo Montoya. This award comes with a $5,000 cash prize.

Other Grand Jury Prize winners include: "Something You Said Last Night," directed by Luis De Filippis, "The Fabulous Ones," directed by Roberta Torre, "An Avocado Pit," directed by Ary Zara, "Love, Jamie," directed by Karla Murthy, and "Dilating for Maximum Results," directed by Nyala Moon.

Landing the coveted spot of the film chosen for the closing night screening was "Chasing Chasing Amy" directed by Sav Rodgers, who says, "It's the honor of a lifetime. I love these programmers and their perspective on queer cinema."

Select award winners will be available to view on Outfest Los Angeles' virtual platform through July 30.