Elliot Page will be honored with the Outfest Annual Achievement Award at the 2021 Outfest L.A. LGBTQ Film Festival, the nonprofit organization announced Monday.
Outfest aims to promote queer empathy among the public and preserve LGBTQIA+ stories and voices. Page — who came out as transgender in December 2020 — will receive the prestigious award for his contributions to LGBTQIA+ stories, arts and media visibility.
The award will be presented by Kieran Medina, the lead programmer of Outfest L.A.’s Annual Trans & Nonbinary Summit, at Outfest L.A.’s Closing Night Gala on Aug. 22 at the Orpheum Theatre.
“It gives me great honor to be the recipient of this year’s Outfest Annual Achievement Award and represent the LGBTQ+ community,” Page said in a news release. “Now more than ever, it is so important for our voices to be amplified and represented in film and media, and for people to hear our stories.”
Page is most known for his acting roles in “Juno,” “The Umbrella Academy,” “Hard Candy” and “Inception,” to name just a few. His directorial debut, “There’s Something in the Water,” was released globally on Netflix last year. Additionally, Elliot created and produced the two-time Emmy-nominated documentary series “Gaycation,” executive produced by Spike Jonze and Shane Smith for Viceland. The series follows Elliot and Ian Daniel as they explore LGBTQ+ culture and shed light on the often harsh realities facing queer communities across the world.
“When determining the recipient of our highest honor we look for those that have been a powerful representative for our community, that have soared to the highest levels of recognition for their talent and who have stepped into the shoes themselves as an independent filmmaker and creator. There is no one more poised to receive this year’s Outfest Annual Achievement Award than Elliot,” Damien S. Navarro, Outfest executive director, said. “His courage, advocacy and personal journey have made him one of the most admired and respected public figures of his generation and his talent and voice are leading a new generation within the LGBTQIA+ and entertainment community.”
Past recipients of the Outfest Annual Achievement Award include Todd Haynes, Bill Condon, John Waters, Kimberly Pierce, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, Angela Robinson and Nisha Ganatra.
This year, Outfest Los Angeles will also collaborate with IMDb, as the platform’s ratings will be used to select the official Outfest Los Angeles Audience Award winners.
“IMDb is committed to celebrating content reflective of our diverse global audience, including helping entertainment fans discover a new generation of LGBTQ+ stories and storytellers,” Jacqueline Lyanga, head of diversity, equity and inclusion for IMDb and IMDbPro, said. “Collaborating with Outfest Los Angeles allows us to leverage our trusted and authoritative ratings data to highlight some of the breakout films at this year’s festival that most resonate with audiences.”
The 2021 Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival is presented by WarnerMedia. For tickets, the full festival lineup and more information, check out outfestla2021.com.
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