Running shorts.

The PlanetOut awards bring new viewers to gay and lesbian short films, via the Internet and the first co-gender gay video compilation

Ever enjoy a gay and lesbian film festival's short-films program and wonder what happens to those shorts not sexy enough (or male enough) to make it into a Boys' Undies compilation? Then check out what's now showing at a computer screen near you: all the nominees for the second annual PlanetOut.com Short Movie Awards. And for computer-phobic film fans who still don't know bandwidth from Making the Band, a DVD of last year's winners is due out later in the summer--no computer required.

Billed as the biggest event in queer online cinema, with an estimated 150,000 viewers, the contest's primary goal is to get gay short films out of their queer festival closet and into homes across the country. "If you live in Akron, Ohio, it may be hard to go to your local video store and find very many films with gay and lesbian representation except The Birdcage and In & Out," says Jenni Olson, senior entertainment producer for PlanetOut.com and Gay.com. "We're providing a way for everyone to see these films. And we're also trying to offer opportunities to short-film makers to really get their foot in the door in terms of the industry."

More than 150 submissions were narrowed down to the current 25 Internet-posted finalists in five categories: animation, comedy, documentary, drama, and experimental. A panel of three high-profile judges--actor Wilson Cruz, But I'm a Cheerleader director Jamie Babbit, and Sundance Film Festival shorts programmer Shannon Kelley--will pick the five winners, each of whom receives $5,000 and a shot at the $10,000 grand prize. There's also an audience-favorite award, voted on by visitors to the PlanetOut Web site (voting was scheduled to end June 30). The winners will be announced and prizes presented at a special ceremony July 14 at Outfest, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

One of this year's highest-profile nominees is Baby Steps, Geoffrey Nauffts's moving gay adoption drama that features Oscar winner Kathy Bates. Putting short films online is a great calling card for burgeoning talent, Nauffts argues. "I think shorts are a great way as an artist to explore the craft and learn," says the filmmaker, who's currently working on a script for Ben Stiller's production company. "It's also a special and unique format because it tests your ability to tell a complete story in less than a half hour."

And the Internet has made it a lot easier for people to view shorts--both industry talent scouts and fans of gay and lesbian films. "Gay and lesbian film festivals play only certain cities," says animator Dustin Woehrmann. His short The Rape of Ganymede (codirected with writer Tom Whitman) "has done festivals for a year," he notes. "Having it online will definitely broaden the audience in all aspects--older, younger, smaller towns, whatever--as long as they have some Internet savvy."

Angela Robinson, a nominee this year for her macabre comic short 50 Ways, agrees. "It's so wonderful to do work and then have it screened for the community for which it was intended," she says. "When I show 50 Ways to gay audiences, they totally get my twisted humor." The advantage of the virtual community over live audiences is the level of honest feedback. "To your face, criticism is always muted, but people online are great," Robinson notes. "It's like having this huge screening for strangers and people actually take their time to write out their thoughts and critique your work. It's an incredibly invaluable tool just to see how you're communicating as a filmmaker."

It can also be a stepping stone into that Akron video store. In August, Picture This! Entertainment will release the first PlanetOut DVD compilation, featuring last year's award winners. It marks the first time a video release of queer shorts has targeted both men and women.

Among the 14 films to be included on the 82-minute DVD is Family, a confessional coming-out documentary that tied for last year's PlanetOut grand prize (with Tina Gharavi's Closer). "I made this movie because I had to tell my father I was gay, and it was easier for me to do that from behind a camera," says filmmaker Stephen Patrick Foery, who taped his father's immediate reactions to his coming-out. "What I didn't know was that my camera would represent tens of thousands of people who've seen this film across the country. It's great to be able to bring support to other people and to see them handle their own [coming-out] in a practical way."

Foery says he isn't the only one who has noted his film's impact: "When I first showed the film to my mom, she was like, `You're exploiting your father; you're an embarrassment to the family.' She doesn't say that anymore."

* Link directly to the PlanetOut film awards and to Picture This! Entertainment via www.advocate.com

Maynard also writes for the Mr. Showbiz Web site, Movieline, and Variety.