Outfest 2011 Sees Enthusiastic Audiences Turn Out on Opening Weekend

Outfest 2011 is well under way as dozens of films have screened since the festival opened Thursday. Crowds seem happy and excited about catching the latest selection of gay-related films and getting the chance to chat about what they've seen with fellow movie lovers. 

“This is my favorite time of year,” said one attendee who has been coming to Outfest for the past 15 years. “I like Outfest even more than . It’s just a great time.”

Producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato received the Outfest Achievement Award during opening ceremonies on Thursday night, then sat down on Saturday to chat about their careers. Actress Tori Spelling moderated the Q&A, singing praises for the duo who produced her reality series Tori & Dean: Inn Love.

Sunday saw a group of directors and producers giving tips on how to raise money to make independent films and sharing some of the mistakes they made along the way. Their No. 1 tip? Have a strong business plan to present to potential investors.

The documentary We Were Here, chronicling the rise of the AIDS crisis in San Francisco, received a huge standing ovation at the end of the screening. Many older audience members were crying openly as they relived those plague years, while younger audience members seemed genuinely grateful to learn more about the crisis that had passed by the time they came out.

Comedies Longhorns and Going Down in La-La Land played to sold out houses, giving plenty of laughs. Meanwhile, the drama The Green, another sold out show, left people somber. Another packed house filled the melodrama August, leaving people contemplating steamy love triangles and heat waves.

Sunday night closed out with a screening of Becoming Chaz, the documentary about Chaz Bono’s transitioning from female to male. Bono and girlfriend Jenny Elia received a huge round of applause for their openness and courage in letting camera crews capture that highly emotional period in their lives.

Outfest continues through Sunday with screenings every night at the Directors Guild of America at 7920 Sunset Blvd. (at Fairfax). Additional screenings are at the Sunset 5 theaters (8000 Sunset Blvd.), the John Anson Ford Amphitheater (2580 Cahuenga Blvd.) and the REDCAT theater (631 W. 2nd Street, downtown LA).

Tickets can be purchased at the Outfest website or in person at the box office inside the DGA lobby. Tickets are still available for most screenings.