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 cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

for excellence in the depiction of

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

(

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. 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 nouns with female homosexu ...

, gay,

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

, and

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

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

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is a US accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding portrayals of LGBTQ people and the issues that affect their lives. In addition to film and television, the Awards ...

s, which are presented by

GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...

—an American

non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

media monitoring Media monitoring is the activity of monitoring the output of the print, online and broadcast media. It is based on analyzing a diverse range of media platforms in order to identify trends that can be used for a variety of reasons such as political ...

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

. It would be retitled to its current name during the following year. Previously, '' The Wedding Banquet'' 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 this category category. Due to the

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on certain 2020s in film, films in the early 2020s, mirroring its Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts and cultural heritage, impacts across all arts sectors. Across the world, and to varying deg ...

, during the ceremonies in 2021 and 2022, the category also included films supposed to receive a theatrical release, but ended up airing on television or streaming services instead. Starting with the 2023 ceremony, due to the reorganization of the categories, this award now excludes streaming films. For a film to be eligible, it must be released by a recognized film distribution company and play for paid admission in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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 Plurality may refer to: Law and politics * Plurality decision, in a decision by a multi-member court, an opinion held by more judges than any other but not by an overall majority * Plurality (voting), when a candidate or proposition polls more ...

by GLAAD staff and its board, Shareholders Circle members, volunteers and affiliated individuals. , the award has been given to 31 films. At the 35th GLAAD Media Awards in 2024, the award was given to '' Monica'', distributed by

IFC Films Independent Film Company (formerly IFC Films) is an American film production and distribution company based in New York City, New York. It is an offshoot of IFC (U.S. TV channel), IFC, owned by AMC Networks. It mainly distributes independent fil ...

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 LGBTQ film awards