Weekend and We Were Here were big winners at yesterday's Dorian Awards, run by the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics' Association to celebrate films, chatacters and actors who increase lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender visibility. Michael Fassbender was named Rising Star of the Year, while Meryl Streep won Film Performance of the Year for her role in The Iron Lady. She overcame competition from Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs, Leonardo DiCaprio in J Edgar and Christopher Plummer, who won a Golden Globe for his work in Beginners.
Weekend, the story of a one night stand that turns into something unexpected and wonderful, was named Movie of the Year, while Best Documentary went to We Were Here, which charts the experiences of the people caught up in the first outbrek of AIDS in San Fransisco. The Muppets won a special award for Campy Film of the Year and 50/50 was named Unsung Film of the Year.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that campaigning organisation God Hates Fags staged a picket of the Golden Globes the previous evening, contending that Hollywood promotes homosexuality.
"Gay characters are human beings," Christopher Plummer argued. "It is part of the human condition. I know there's an awful lot of anti-gay feeling right now, particularly at this moment, and I abhor it."