Outfest – the Los Angeles–based nonprofit organization promoting equality by creating, sharing, and protecting LGBT stories on the screen – has announced writer-director Tina Mabry (Mississippi Damned, “Queen Sugar”) as the recipient of their Fusion Achievement Award. Mabry will receive the award at the Fusion Gala during the 2017 Outfest Fusion LGBT People of Color Film Festival on Saturday, March 4. D.B. Woodside (“Lucifer,” Mississippi Damned) and Michael Hyatt (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” Mississippi Damned) will present the award to Mabry.
Tina Mabry made her feature film directing debut with the critically acclaimed “Mississippi Damned.” Mabry was also a producer, writer, and director on OWN’s award winning “Queen Sugar,” created by Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey. She also produced and directed the award-winning “Melody 1963: Love Has To Win,” an American Girl special for Amazon Kids, for which she won a DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programming as well as a NAACP Award. Mabry’s upcoming projects include directing two episodes of Netflix’s new comedy series, “Dear White People.”
“Tina’s first short film ‘The Slowdown’ debuted at the inaugural Outfest Fusion festival in 2004, and shortly thereafter, her first feature, ‘Mississippi Damned,’ took home our Audience Award at Outfest Los Angeles. Since then she has time and time again shown she can channel deeply personal stories into masterful award-winning art,” said Christopher Racster, Executive Director of Outfest. “Tina continues to produce, write and direct fresh, relatable, inclusive work in a time when we still struggle to see diverse representations in film and television. It is incredibly meaningful to watch as her talent gains wider and wider recognition and to come full circle at Outfest Fusion and honor her for her achievements.”
During Outfest Fusion on Saturday, March 4, festival-goers will be able to see an unaired episode of the new Fox series, “Star,” followed by a discussion with creator Lee Daniels and stars Ryan Destiny, Brittany O’Grady, Amiyah Scott, and Miss Lawrence.
In addition, following a screening of episodes of Netflix’s “One Day at a Time,” executive producer Norman Lear, co-creators Gloria Calderon Kellett and Mike Royce, stars Justina Machado and Isabella Gomez, and writers Becky Mann and Michelle Badillo will be present to discuss the queer experience within the Cuban-American culture. The evening will end with the yearly Fusion Gala Shorts screening at the Egyptian, which boasts the world premiere of April A. Wilson’s Care, Ozzy Villazon’s Get The Life and Ken Sawyer’s Private Dick: Buying Dick.
The festival also features the first LGBT post-Oscars screening of the 2017 Best Picture Winner, “Moonlight.”
Outfest Fusion includes eight filmmaking workshops, including one taught by Andrew Ahn, writer-director of Spa Night and winner of the 2017 John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards.
Celebrating its 35th anniversary, Outfest was founded by UCLA students in 1982. Outfest is the world’s leading organization that promotes equality by creating, sharing and protecting LGBT stories on the screen. Outfest builds community by connecting diverse populations to discover, discuss and celebrate stories of LGBT lives. Over the past three decades, Outfest has showcased thousands of films from around the world, educated and mentored hundreds of emerging filmmakers, and protected more than 35,000 LGBT films and videos. Outfest Fusion also spotlights diversity by hosting screenings and offering workshops on filmmaking to ensure that all voices are heard.
For complete listings and to purchase tickets of this year’s event, visit www.Outfest.org/fusion2017.
