Outfest to Honor Hilary Swank, Armistead Maupin at Legacy Awards

Outfest's 2014 Legacy Awards promises to be a Swank-y affair.

The Los Angeles-based nonprofit, which preserves and promotes LGBT stories in the cinema, has announced actress Hilary Swank as the recipient of its coveted Trailblazer Award.

The distinction marks the 15th anniversary of Boys Don't Cry, the groundbreaking drama based on the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transgender man murdered in 1993 because of his gender identity.

Swank's portrayal of Teena garnered her an Oscar for Best Actress, launching her career as well as her role as a prominent ally of the LGBT community. In 2013 Outfest presented the film's director, Kimberly Peirce, with its Achievement Award.

This year, Outfest will also honor gay author Armistead Maupin with its Visionary Award, in recognition of the cultural impact of Tales of the City, a series of nine novels chronicling LGBT life in San Francisco from the 1970s to present.

Tales of the City was adapted into a popular television miniseries, which aired in 1994 on PBS, and was followed by sequels on Showtime. The latest book in the series, The Days of Anna Madrigal, was released this year by the Harper publishing house.

The clothing manufacturer Levi Strauss & Co. will also be recognized at the event for its pro-LGBT corporate policies.

"Armistead Maupin's diverse, interconnected community of San Francisco bohemians -- which shaped our collective fantasy of what LGBT life is and could be -- may stand in stark contrast to Hilary Swank's all-too-real portrayal of a trans man who is murdered in Boys Don't Cry," said Kirsten Schaffer, Outfest's executive director.

"But the two have one important thing in common: They are stories that inspire change," she continued. "For decades now, that change has been underway at Levi Strauss & Co., which has consistently taken a stand for equality by, for instance, granting employees domestic partner benefits long before other major corporations did the same. This is our legacy."

Past honorees at the Legacy Awards including Lee Daniels, Paris Barclay, Roland Emmerich, and Bruce Cohen.

Proceeds of the event, set to take place November 12 at Vibriana in downtown Los Angeles, will benefit the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, which preserves and archives moving pictures essential to LGBT heritage. Tickets go on sale Tuesday at Outfest.org.