With the Oscars just days away, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics weighed in with their picks for the Dorian Awards, presented Sunday, April 18 on the Revry streaming service.
(SFGN Arts & Entertainment Editor J.W. Arnold is a longtime member of the group.)
“Nomadland,” the spare drama of a group of struggling Americans living off the grid, earned the most trophies of the evening, including Best Film, Best Director for Chloé Zhao, and Most Visually Striking Film.
Three films snagged two: “Minari,” the family tale of Asian immigrants living in the South, earned Best Non-English Language Film plus a supporting actress nod for Youn Yuh-jung.
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” was deemed Best LGBTQ Film by GALECA, and the musical drama’s male lead, the late Chadwick Boseman, earned Best Film Performance — Actor. “Promising Young Woman” star Kerry Mulligan took Best Film Performance – Actress for “Promising Young Woman” and Emerald Fennell’s screenplay was named best of the year.
Jessie Tyler Ferguson and Laverne Cox, both performers who’ve taken to producing documentaries in recent years, saw their respective projects, “Welcome to Chechnya” and “Disclosure,” with critics deadlocked in two categories: Best Documentary and Best LGBTQ Documentary.
The Wilde Artist Award, meant for “a truly groundbreaking force in entertainment,” went to singer-songwriter-actress-humanitarian Dolly Parton, whose memorable role in the landmark feminist comedy “9 to 5” has received revived interest just as she made headlines for her deep-pocketed advocacy in helping get Americans vaccinated during the pandemic.
Parton’s friend, actor and social media superstar Leslie Jordan, currently on screens in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” was named the group’s latest Timeless Star, a career achievement previously awarded to Sir Ian McKellen, Jane Fonda, George Takei, John Waters, Lily Tomlin, Betty White and Angela Lansbury.
Trans filmmaker and actress Isabel Sandoval (“Lingua Franca”), accepted the Society’s inaugural, Board-selected Trailblazer Award “for creating art that inspires empathy, truth and equity.”
Charo presented the Campiest Flick honors with her usual gusto to “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” and celebrity impressionist Chad Michaels (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”) evinced his favorite stars from Joan Crawford to Cher in a special appearance.
Among the other celebrity presenters participating in the special were Cynthia Nixon (“Sex and the City”), Jharrel Jerome (“Moonlight,” “Concrete Cowboy”), comedian Margaret Cho, Rosanna Arquette (“Pulp Fiction,” “Crash”), Harry Hamlin (the groundbreaking gay romance “Making Love”), Brad Rowe (“Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss”), Rafael Silva (“9-1-1: Lone Star”) and writer-comic Bruce Vilanch.
The “Dorians Film Toast 2021” is currently available on-demand on Revry, including the Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Comcast Xfinity X1, Cox, TiVo, and LGBTQ+ virtual reality channel on RAD available on PlayStation devices. For a complete list of winners and nominees, go to DoriansToast.com.
