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At an Independent Spirit Awards dominated by The Artist on Saturday the lesbian-themed film Pariah landed the John Cassavetes Award, awarded to features budgeted at less than $500,000, according to Indiewire.
The out lesbians who helmed the picture, director Dee Rees and producer Nekisa Cooper, accepted the award.
Pariah landed the award in a tough field over another lesbian-themed film Circumstance, along with Bellflower, Hello Lonesome and The Dynamiter.
Pariah tells the story of Alike, a 17-year-old African-American woman living with her parents and younger sister in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. Alike, along with her best friend (who is living out loud), navigates through the struggles of every day high school and home life, while trying to quietly embrace her identity as a lesbian.
The film’s star Adepero Oduye was nominated for Best Female Lead but lost to Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn. Still, Oduye was a winner of sorts at this year’s Golden Globe Awards when winner Meryl Streep, in her acceptance speech, gave a shout out to Oduye’s star turn in Pariah.
Here are Cooper and Rees accepting the John Cassavetes Award:
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Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
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