LOS ANGELES – Kirsten Schaffer, executive director of Outfest – the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization promoting equality by creating, sharing, and protecting LGBT stories on the screen – has been included in this year’s Out100 – Out Magazine’s 19th annual top 100 list of the most compelling and influential LGBT personalities in the world.
“I am extremely proud and flattered to be included in this year’s Out100,” said Schaffer. “Out is an extraordinary magazine, which has been providing a significant voice for the LGBT community for over two decades; and to be featured with friends of Outfest like Ian McKellen, Jeffrey Schwarz, Dustin Lance Black, Kim Yutani and Travis Mathews, is an incredible honor.”
Outfest recently joined forces with NewFest in New York and is poised to become the first national LGBT media arts organization, building on its mission to promote equality by creating, sharing and protecting LGBT stories on screen.
Outfest will next present its 9th annual Legacy Awards, honoring Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Lee Daniels with the Visionary Award in recognition of his contribution to LGBT arts and media visibility. This year’s event will take place on Thursday, November 21st at the Orpheum Theatre.
The Legacy Awards serve as a fundraiser to support the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, the largest archive of LGBT moving images in the world with over 30,000 pieces of material. A partnership between Outfest and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, it is the only program in the world devoted to saving and preserving LGBT moving images. The gala will also include several celebrity actors and directors who will select one or two meaningful short pieces from the Legacy Project archive to screen for the audience.
For further information about tickets, tribute journal or sponsorship opportunities please visit www.outfest.org or call 213-480-7088. The Legacy Awards are presented by Showtime and Merrill Lynch.
