Already dripping with awards, Tina Mabry’s harsh tale of three kids from the Deep South trying to escape their abusive family, Mississippi Damned, has added another to its clutch and won the jury award for a feature-length movie at last week’s Outfest.

The audience award went to Spanish comedy, Chef’s Special – or Fuera de carta in Spanish – presumably because they wanted something light after sitting through the other film.

Chef’s Special doesn’t really need the help of a mere gay film festival, what with being a huge box office hit in Spain last year. It’s all about a highly strung gay chef, Maxi, who’s main concern in life is getting his first Michelin star, until his two estranged, disapproving children show up after their mother’s – and his former wife’s – sudden death. It all descends into chaotic farce when a hot, ex-footballer moves in next door and causes quite a stir among the staff of the restaurant, both male and female, and lots of misunderstandings and mishaps ensue…

If this mix of anarchic comedy and melodrama sounds suspiciously like Pedro Almodovar to you, you’re not the only one to notice. The movie hits the streets 20 Oct in the US, or you could just wait for the Hollywood remake.

Good to see Outfest awards getting space in the trades. If you want a full run-down of those lucky Outfest winners, well you’ve just gone past the link <-