San Francisco, CA -- Frameline29, the 29th San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, the world's largest and oldest queer film festival, came to a close on Pride Sunday, June 27, 2005, after an 11-day run at the historic Castro Theatre, Roxie Cinema, and Victoria Theatre in San Francisco, and at the Parkway Theater in Oakland.

Frameline29 awards were announced at the Festival's Closing Night party held at the Old Federal Reserve Bank Building in San Francisco's financial district. Frameline issues the largest cash awards of any LGBT festival through its juried prizes--the Levi's® First Feature Award and the Michael J. Berg Documentary Award, both offering a $10,000 cash award--as well as the prestigious and industry-coveted Frameline Audience Awards for Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Best Short.

GYPO, directed by Jan Dunn, earned this year's Levi's® First Feature Award. This first feature dogma95 film from the United Kingdom applies its rigorous genre's gritty style to the emotionally charged story of a Czech refugee's effect on a working-class British family.

Elle Flanders' ZERO DEGREES OF SEPARATION received the Michael J. Berg Documentary Award for her poignant and captivating depiction of two gay couples struggling with the political quagmire that exists between Israel and Palestine. The documentary is based on the filmmaker's return trip to Israel, where she lived as a child.

TRANSAMERICA received the prestigious Frameline Audience Award for Best Feature. Director Duncan Tucker and actor Kevin Zegers were on hand to speak about the film, as well as mix and mingle with Festival members and guests at the Closing Night party.

Sasha Aickin's world-premiere documentary BLOOD, SWEAT, AND GLITTER picked up the Frameline Audience Award for Best Documentary. The work chronicles the over-the-top style and sass of contestants competing for the 2004 Miss Trannyshack title (much coveted within the drag queen scene). Aickin's documentary was the first sold-out Frameline29 screening.

Jen Gilomen's IN MY SHOES -- STORIES OF YOUTH WITH LGBT FAMILIES received the Frameline Audience Award for Best Short. Gilomen's short was presented within the Do It Yourself -- New Youth Films program, a collection of youth-made films addressing both the challenges and blessings of growing up in LGBT families.

Frameline29 opened with CÔTE D'AZUR, a delightful story of a lively French family discovering new things about themselves and each other while vacationing on the Mediterranean coast. The Film is written and directed by charming Frameline veterans Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau (MY LIFE ON ICE, THE ADVENTURES OF FELIX, JEANNE AND THE PERFECT GUY), both of whom attended the Opening Night screening at the Castro Theatre and the post-screening gala at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The animated Swedish short, BIKINI, a Frameline release, launched the evening. (ASL interpretation was offered at the Opening Night program's introduction as well as at the post-screening Q&A and throughout the Festival at select screenings.)

The Frameline29 Centerpiece film was Don Roos' HAPPY ENDINGS, featuring an ensemble cast that including Tom Arnold, Jesse Bradford, Bobby Cannavale, Sarah Clarke, Steve Coogan, Laura Dern, Lisa Kudrow, and Jason Ritter (who attended the screening). The Festival also offered two Special Presentation screenings: from Germany, director Marco Kreuzpaintner's SUMMER STORM, a coming-of-age/coming-out film about young athletes at a rowing camp; and TRANSGENERATION, by Director Jeremy Simmons. This world-premiere eight-part documentary about four transgender college students will air on the Sundance Channel in September 2005.

Frameline29 closed with Duncan Tucker's TRANSAMERICA. This laugh-out-loud yet extraordinarily touching film stars Felicity Huffman ("Desperate Housewives") in a role laced with humor and poignant moments. Huffman recently nabbed Best Actress honors at the fourth annual Tribecca Film Festival in New York City for her performance as a pre-op transsexual, a group she describes as "the bravest people I've ever known."

Frameline29 proved once again why the San Francisco International LGBT film festival is the oldest and largest LGBT film festival in the world; with its approximately 66,000 total attendance (up 10 percent from Frameline28) and 25 sold-out screenings, the Festival's outstanding popularity is undeniable. The Festival featured 266 films within114 programs that represented 33 foreign countries (including a first-time submission from Serbia, the lesbian feature TAKE A DEEP BREATH.) Ninety features and 177 short films, 93 documentaries and 105 non-English-speaking films, were featured.

In total, Frameline29 offered eight world-premiere screenings (six by local filmmakers); 11 U.S.-premiere screenings; and 39 West Coast premieres. Sixty local filmmakers enriched the Festival with a recognizable Bay Area flavor; of these, 26 are female-identified. Other demographics: transgender and/or intersex (33); parenting (25); adoption (4); AIDS/health-related (15); animation (13); Asian identified (23); black identified (26); experimental (26); gay marriage (10); Jewish (11); Latino/Latina (23); lesbian (68); Middle Eastern (3); music/performance (29); polyamory (5); punk-themed (12); science fiction (20); sports (15); youth and/or made by youth (45).

Augmenting the films were fabulous galas and special events: pre-Festival Reception (Herbst Theatre Green Room); Opening Night Gala (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts); the Absolut Party ("Tom & Jerry's"); the Centerpiece/Sundance Channel Party (Foreign Cinema); Industry Salon (Lost Art Salon); Ho'down

Exposed (Castro Theatre parking lot); and the Closing Night Party (Old Federal Reserve Bank Building). Additional filmmakers events included the Directors Dinner, Sponsor Lunch, Women's Brunch, Curve Cute Girl Party, and the AAA Reception.

The Festival attracted a wide array of recognizable faces--most notable of which was Tammy Faye Messner in person for the documentary TAMMY FAYE: DEATH DEFYING with producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato of World of Wonder in tow. The elusive gay-sex icon Peter Berlin attended the screening of THAT MAN: PETER BERLIN. Armistad Maupin was seen at several screenings, as was Jason Ritter (HAPPY ENDINGS), and Amber Benson ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") attended screenings of RACE YOU TO THE BOTTOM. Keven Zegers of TRANSAMERICA delighted audiences at both the Q&A and the Closing Night party, joined by director Duncan Tucker. Separate surprise appearances by directors Joel Schumacher and Chi Chi LaRue pleased audiences, as did the expected arrival of Colt Studio models Dean Phoenix, Marcus Iron, and Zak Spears--all on hand to promote EXPOSED and join in the fun at the post-screening Ho'down on Pink Saturday. Other local personalities who attended Festival29 included Assemblyman Mark Leno, former Ambassador to Luxembourg Jim Hormell, Marga Gomez, Peaches Christ, Trannyshack co-founder Heklina, the San Francisco Fog rugby team, Diamond Daggers, and the East Bay's Fejacs, a local cheerleading team.

Frameline29 also served as a launch for the public phase of Frameline's Changing the World, One Movie at a Time campaign, a fundraising effort to ensure the future of queer film by expanding Frameline's film distribution, providing filmmakers with additional support, and developing year-round exhibitions. Many generous members and donors made their pledges during the Festival. By the end of the Festival, campaign co-chairs Pam David, Adam Berman, and John Schlesinger announced the successful completion of more than half of its $1,250,000 goal. The Campaign will continue with its public phase throughout 2005 to raise funds through community outreach. Frameline and its Board of Directors look forward to continuing these efforts.

Frameline30--the 30th San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival--is scheduled for June 15-25, 2006.

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Frameline29 -- the 29th San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival -- is the oldest and largest event of its kind in the world, and will screen June 16-26, 2005. Frameline29 screens in San Francisco at the Castro Theatre (429 Castro St.), the Roxie Cinema (3117 16th St.), the Victoria Theatre (2961 16th St.) and in Oakland at the Parkway Theater (1834 Park Blvd). Festival passes are currently on sale to Frameline members. Tickets go on sale to Frameline members on Friday, May 27, 2005. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 3, 2005. For more information, please call 925.866.9559 or visit www.Frameline.org.

Frameline29 is presented by Frameline, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community and furthering its visibility by supporting and promoting a broad array of cultural representations and artistic expression in film, video, and other media art.