2016 Dorian Awards Basking in Moonlight's Glow

Moonlight

 

Nominations for the 8th Annual Dorian Awards by the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA)* were announced yesterday, with recent Golden Globe winners and Oscar hopefuls Moonlight and La La Land leading the way.

As expected, the powerful coming of age drama Moonlight dominated the nominations with seven, including Film of the Year and LGBTQ Film of the Year, while the modern musical La La Land landed six. Joining these two in the Film of the Year category are the contemporary drama Manchester by the Sea, which picked up four nominations total, the Jacqueline Kennedy biopic Jackie and the 70s-set dramedy 20th Century Women, both coming in with three nominations each.

La La Land

Other multiple nominees in the film categories are the South Korean period romance The Handmaiden, also with four nominations, and the stage adaptation Fences, the French psychological thriller Elle and the gay-themed indie Other People, all with two nominations apiece.

Both Mahershala Ali and Trevante Rhodes were nominated for Film Performance of the Year - Actor for their performances in Moonlight, along with Globe winners Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea and Ryan Gosling for La La Land. Denzel Washington in Fences rounds out the category.

Manchester by the Sea

The nominees for Film Performance of the Year - Actress are Washington's Fences co-star Viola Davis, Elle star Isabelle Hupert and La La Land's leading lady Emma Stone, Globe winners all, along with Natalie Portman from Jackie and Annette Bening from 20th Century Women.

La La Land, Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea have been the front runners this award season, and the helmers for each of them — Damien Chazelle, Barry Jenkins and Kenneth Lonergan, respectively — picked up Directors Guild of America nominations yesterday as well as Dorian Award nominations for Director of the Year. All three films were also nominated for the Screenplay of the Year Dorian. Jackie's Pablo Larraín and The Handmaiden's Park Chan-wook fill out the director category, while 20th Century Women and the black comedy The Lobster complete the screenplay nominations.

20th Century Women

The Handmaiden and Elle are joined by Things to Come (also starring Isabelle Hupert), Neruda (also directed by Pablo Larraín) and the German comedy Toni Erdmann in the Foreign Language Film of the Year race. The racial issues documentaries I Am Not Your Negro, O.J.: Made in America and 13th, along with Tickled and political doc Weiner, will compete for Documentary of the Year.

The Dorians also have some unique categories, beginning with, naturally, LGBTQ Film of the Year. In addition to The Handmaiden, Moonlight and Other People, those nominees include Being 17 and Closet Monster. Films deserving greater attention — such as American Honey, Captain Fantastic, Christine, Other People and Sing Street — are spotlighted in the Unsung Film of the Year category, while the memorable visuals of Arrival, The Handmaiden, Jackie, La La Land and Moonlight are singled out for the Visually Striking Film of the Year award.

Jackie

And last but not least for the film awards, whether they were over the top by design or by accident, the following films are nominees for Campy Film of the Year: Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (the big screen version of the Britcom classic/gay fave), King Cobra (a based-on-fact look at the seedy side of gay porn), Nocturnal Animals (Tom Ford's divisive neo-noir), The Dressmaker (Kate Winslet's revenge-by-couture melodrama) and The Neon Demon (a Valley of the Dolls for the 21st century).

In the television categories, the FX miniseries The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story continued its award dominance with four nominations, followed by Amazon's Transparent with three nods. Other notable nominees include Black Mirror, The Crown, Hairspray Live!, Orange is the New Black, The Real O'Neals, Stranger Things and Westworld. See the comments section below for the full list of TV nominations.

John Waters

In addition to honoring the best in film and television for the year, GALECA also recognizes individuals with four additional categories. The up-and-comers up for the "We’re Wilde About You!" Rising Star of the Year include Millie Bobby Brown (of Stranger Things), Lucas Hedges (of Manchester by the Sea), Connor Jessup (of American Crime), Ruth Negga (of Loving) and Trevante Rhodes (of Moonlight). Samantha Bee, Bill Maher, Kate McKinnon, John Oliver and the late Carrie Fisher are nominated for the "Wilde Wit" of the Year award. McKinnon is also a finalist for the "Wilde Artist" of the Year award, joined by Beyoncé, Viola Davis, Barry Jenkins and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

And the winner of this year's GALECA "Timeless" Award, presented to an artist "whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit", is John Waters, the iconic writer/director of such cult classics as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Desperate Living, Polyester, Hairspray, Cry-Baby and Serial Mom. Previous "Timeless" Award winners include Jane Fonda, Angela Lansbury, Cloris Leachman, Ian McKellen, George Takei, Lily Tomlin and Betty White.

The Dorian Awards are named after the classic character Dorian Gray, created by GALECA's "patron saint" Oscar Wilde. The winners will be announced on January 26.

* Movie Dearest critics Chris Carpenter and Kirby Holt are members of the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA).