In the category of "will any part of life ever be left untouched by the wonder that is the gay lifestyle" -- the Cannes Film Festival, which starts later this month, will have a "best gay film" award -- the Queer Palm."Cannes is getting its first (unofficial) GLBT award. Following on awards such as the Teddy at Berlin and the Queer Lion at Venice, an independent group is establishing the Queer Palm. The first Queer Palm, recognising a film for its contribution to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender themes, will be handed out May 22. The films will be drawn from all Cannes sections: Official Selection, Un Certain Regard, Critics’ Week, and Director’s Fortnight. French directors Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau are patrons of the award."
As the excerpt notes, it's an unofficial award. However, it's being done quite up front with an official jury and website, and so has to have some cooperation from the world's most famous and glamorous film festival. If the Powers That Be on the Cote d'Azur wanted to squelch this, they well could. Something also tells me the award will not go to any film that might suggest, or be construed as suggesting, anything less than the complete fabulosity of All Things Gay.
But most importantly -- Queer Palm is really uninventive and humorlessly straight ... ahem ... as a title. Couldn't they have called the award the Palme de Lavande or Golden Judy or Condom d'Or or Palme de [whatever is French for "gold lamé"]. Personally, my preference for gay films and criticism is ... Blaine and Antoine.
