The Bubble: Honored in New York
'The Bubble' wins GLADD award
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation gives Eytan Fox’s movie its outstanding film award in festive New York ceremony
Israeli director Eytan Fox was honored by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLADD) Monday, as his film, “The Bubble”, first released in June 2007, won the organization’s award for outstanding film in limited release.
Fox could not attend the festive awards ceremony held in New York’s Marriott Marquis, but long-time partner, and fellow screenwriter, Gal Uchovsky received the prestigious award from stand-up comedian Caroline Rea on Fox’s behalf.
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Forget the red carpet, the $200 entrance fee or even the numerous stars of both the big and small screen that attended the glamorous event. For Uchovsky, the highlight of the evening was a back-stage meeting with Randy Jackson of “American Idol” fame.
“This award was extremely important to Eytan and me,” said Uchovsky, “especially since this is the flagship organization for gay and lesbian rights in the United States. We already won this ward for the film “Yossi and Jagger”, but it doesn’t make this any less exciting or special.”
Fox, who spent the evening of the awards event on business in the heart of the Tel-Avivian bubble, stated that “winning this award is a nice way to wrap up all the various incarnations that this film has gone through, especially as it is being released on DVD in the United States this week. It didn’t garner as much commercial success as ‘Yossi and Jagger’, but it certainly received critical acclaim, and, more importantly, it got people interested and talking about some very important issues.”
Director Fox, whose films often deal with the complex relationship between homosexuals and heterosexuals, also noted that he really appreciated being recognized by the gay and lesbian community in the US.
“I want to reach out to people and get a true dialogue going, and not only in the commercial sense,” said Fox. “I want to move people, to sway them, to turn their hearts and minds instead of driving them away. I am glad I could touch upon issues that are important to me and my life in this film, and in the process also build an extended family of sorts. This is why I started making movies in the first place.”
The New York ceremony marked the 19th annual GLADD awards, honoring individuals who promote fair and accurate representation of gays, lesbians and transgender individuals in various media outlets, and who bring important issues in the gay community to public attention. This year marked the first time that the GLADD awards were broadcast live on American television.
Veteran journalist Barbara Walters received an award for the story "My Secret Self: A Story of Transgender Children," which aired on ABC's "20/20" and examined the plight of young children who experienced conflicted gender identity, feeling their true sex was the opposite of their physical one.
MTV executive Brian Graden won the Vito Russo Award, named for the late gay activist and film historian
The awards were hosted by British talk show host Graham Norton, with guest presenters including Mariska Hargitay, Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson, and award-winning actor Alan Cumming.
