Uncompromising, gritty gay Brit flick SHANK has won the Roger Walker-Dack Award forEmerging Talents in Queer Cinema at the Miami Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

Directed by 21-year-old newcomer Simon Pearce and written and produced by gay creative team Christian Martin andDarren Flaxstone, the film follows the life of teenage gang member, Cal (Wayne Virgo) who hustles for sex and dealsdrugs to get by. Hiding his secret sex life from fellow hoodlums Cal rescues a university student mid queer-bashing andfalls in love as their lives and worlds collide.

“It was a risk working with a young, inexperienced cast and first-time director but this award, along with the internationalaudience support for the film validates the courage of our conviction to push the gay genre in a new direction,” said writerand producer Christian Martin. “May it be the first of many - we're delighted and now hungry to get it out to a Britishaudience.
"Unique in its treatment of gang culture, the unrelenting drama fuses sex and violence with fast paced action whichrefreshingly turns the coming-out genre on its head. The film takes no prisoners and the brutal and emotionally drainingdenouement to this sexy, violent and multi-layered story has electrified gay festival audiences worldwide.

SHANK will geta small theatrical release in September ‘09 before coming to DVD in the autumn courtesy of TLA Releasing