Juan Sebastián Torales is having a moment…

The winners of the 2023 Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival Awards have been revealed, with the Argentine writer/director among the honorees.

Torales’ Almamula took home the award for Best First Feature.

Here’s the film’s synopsis:

Blamed for his own beatings at the hands of schoolmates for the crime of being gay, shy preteen Nino (Nicolás Díaz) and his family find themselves with no other option than to relocate to someplace far, far away for the safety of their son. Moving to a quiet farm in the town of Santiago del Estero in northern Argentina, family patriarch Ernesto (Cali Coronel) and mother Elsa (María Soldi) feel they’ve found the perfect place to raise their devoutly Catholic family, quickly enrolling Nino in Confirmation class and settling into life in a deeply religious community. Yet when rumors begin swirling about a local boy taken by the Almamula, a terrifying wood-dwelling creature who preys on the sexually impure, Nino begins to realize that his new home is a hotbed of sexual repression where everybody talks but no one knows a thing. With Confirmation nearing and a stigmata-scarred Nino openly challenging Church orthodoxy, the youth comes to realize that he will never be accepted for who he truly is and that his only true savior might be the one who dwells deep in the woods.

Honorees received $32,000 in prizes.

The 2023 festival took place in person and virtually from May 25 to June 4 in Toronto, Canada and showcased 107 films from 30 countries, including 33 feature films, and 7 world premieres.

Here’s the full winners and awards list:

CANADIAN JURIED AWARDS

The jurors for the 2023 Canadian jury were filmmakers Odu Adamu, Dylan Glynn, and Alice Wang

Best Canadian Feature – sponsored by Warner Access Media

Supporting Our Selves – Director, Lulu Wei

Best Canadian Short – sponsored by DGC National

Adore – Director, Beth Warrian

Emerging Canadian Artist – sponsored by RBC Royal Bank

Scaring Women At Night – Director, Karimah Zakia Issa

INTERNATIONAL JURIED AWARD

The jurors for the 2023 International jury Them Editor Michael Cuby, actor Izaiah Dockery, and filmmaker Kait Schuster.

Best First Feature – Sponsored by NBC Universal

Almamula – Director, Juan Sebastián Torales

Honourable Mention for Best First Feature

Something You Said Last Night – Director, Luis De Filippis

Leadership Circle Prize for Outstanding Performance – sponsored by Daydream

Payman Maadi in Opponent (Motståndaren)

AUDIENCE AWARDS – sponsored by eOne

Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature

I Used To Be Funny  – Director, Ally Pankiw

Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature

Leilani’s Fortune – Director, Loveleen Kaur

Audience Award for Best Short Film 

Apayauq – Director, Zeppelin Zerrip

“PITCH, PLEASE!” – sponsored by Netflix

There Is Light – Director Judith Schuyler