Communication has added another string to its bow, picking up an award at the Q Cinema Fort Worth Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival.
The Auckland-filmed short, which has just shown at the Out Takes festival in Auckland and Wellington, was judged Best Dramatic Short (Men's) at the Texan event.
The festival described Communication as "a poignant, moving New Zealand entry about a young Jewish boy's struggles to come to grips with an unexpected gift from a deceased older friend".
It's the second American accolade for the film, which last month won Outstanding Short Film in the 2010 QBliss GLBTIA Creating Change Community Awards.
Director Christopher Banks is thanking the festival for its support, saying picking up another award is very heartening.
"It was a difficult story to tell, because it was very complex. Obviously we wanted people to be moved by it."
Banks says the award shows the story travels beyond New Zealand, which is good to know.
"I think what we always try to do with our stories, is even though they're very obviously set in New Zealand … we also like to tell stories about people that you wouldn't normally see on screen."
Banks points out that Fort Worth, Texas isn't one of the most progressive places in the United States. He puts that into context by describing how his previous short film Teddy played at the festival last year, just a few weeks before an incident at a local gay bar where during a police raid a gay man ended up in hospital with a brain injury. The officers claimed they were defending themselves because the patrons tried to hit on them.
The director of the Fort Worth film festival was in the bar at the time and witnessed the attack – and became a spokesman in the national media.
Banks says it exemplifies how gay film festivals seem to be events glbt people can rally around in smaller American cities.
"It seems to be quite an important, strong thing to have every year because it's a place they get together and see stories that reflect the lives of the community."
Ticked-off Trannies With Knives, which delves into the issue of violence against transgender people, was named Best Overall Film in Fort Worth.
