The GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Limited Release is an annual award that honors films that received a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unit ...

for excellence in the depiction of

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

(

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, gay,

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...

, and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

) characters and themes. It is one of several categories of the annual

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their liv ...

s, which are presented by

GLAAD GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayal ...

—an American

non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

media monitoring organization—at ceremonies held primarily in New York City and Los Angeles between March and May. The award was first given as Outstanding Independent Film at the 7th GLAAD Media Awards in 1996 to '' The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love'', where a clear distinction was made between films that received a limited release versus a

wide release In the American motion picture industry, a wide release (short for nationwide release) is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across the country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical r ...

. Previously, ''

The Wedding Banquet ''The Wedding Banquet'' is a 1993 romantic comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Ang Lee. The story concerns a gay Taiwanese immigrant man (played by Winston Chao, in his film debut) who marries a mainland Chinese woman ( May Chin) t ...

'' was given a Vito Russo Film Award at the 5th GLAAD Media Awards in 1994, in a separate category from Outstanding Studio Film. GLAAD considers both ''The Wedding Banquet'' and ''The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love'' as part of the Outstanding Film – Limited Release category. For a film to be eligible, it must be released by a recognized

film distribution company A film distributor is responsible for the marketing of a film. The distribution company may be the same with, or different from, the production company. Distribution deals are an important part of financing a film. The distributor may set the r ...

and play for paid admission in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

for seven consecutive days. Limited release is defined by a combination of criteria such as the numbers of screens, budget, and visibility. The award is given to the film and may be accepted by any of the producers, directors, writers, or actors. Limited-release films selected by GLAAD are evaluated based on four criteria: "Fair, Accurate, and Inclusive Representations" of the LGBT community, "Boldness and Originality" of the project, significant "Impact" on mainstream culture, and "Overall Quality" of the project. GLAAD monitors mainstream media to identify which films will be nominated, while also issuing a call for entries that encourages media outlets to submit films for consideration. By contrast, in order for films created by and for LGBT audiences to be considered for nomination, they must be submitted after the call for entries. Winners are determined by a plurality vote by GLAAD staff and its board, Shareholders Circle members, volunteers and affiliated individuals. , the award has been given to 29 films. At the 33rd GLAAD Media Awards in 2022, the award was given to ''

Parallel Mothers ''Parallel Mothers'' ( es, Madres paralelas, links=no) is a 2021 Spanish drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The film stars Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit and features Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Israel Elejalde, Julieta Serrano ...

'', distributed by

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produce ...

Winners and nominees

Initially, GLAAD only revealed the winners at press releases, with the awards being given during the ceremonies. Starting with the 8th GLAAD Media Awards in 1997, the nominees in all categories were made public, with the winners being revealed during the ceremonies.

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film - Limited Release Awards for best film Film Limited LGBT film awards