The Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival in October seemed to tap into a fresh exuberance, and even taking risks on new films in the event's most ambitious ninth annual. The fest had added the newly minted Northwest Film Forum on Capitol Hill to its set of venues, including downtown Seattle's Cinerama. And festival organizers also planned a handful of well-attended parties, including the gala reception at Top Pot Doughnuts for Thai filmmaker Ekachai Uekrongtham for Beautiful Boxer, which won an audience award for Best Film.

Beautiful Boxer follows the real-life story of Nong Toom, a young effeminate boy from a poor rural family in Thailand who trains to become a professional kick boxer. His mercurial success — defying expectations in a machismo-oriented culture — ultimately grants him with enough money to secure a gender-reassignment operation. His life-long goal to become a woman is not without several bumps in the road, and his obsessive-like quest is seemingly at odds with prize-fighting on the kickboxing circuit. However, Uekrongtham’s sensitive and dramatic portrait, marking his feature-length debut, is a directorial triumph in narrative, and drawing fine performances from his cast, particularly Asanee Suwan – a former kick box fighter – in his first film role.

HBO, which conducted the fest’s closing night ceremony at the Cinerama prior to the dreadful film Dorian Blues, dispensed its awards to best films and shorts, both juried and audience-selected titles. While Beautiful Boxer evidenced merit and picked up the audience favorite for Best Film, the juried-award film for Best Gay Film went to Cachorro (Bear Cub), 2004, from Spanish filmmaker Luis Miguel Albaladejo.

Cachorro, inspired by Pedro Almodovar’s updated spin on the telenovela, follows Pedro, a dentist with a spirited penchant for cruising Madrid’s clubs and bars. His sister, about to embark on a trip to India with her boyfriend, leaves her young son Bernardo to stay with him while she’s on holiday. Pedro and Bernardo, while content in each other’s company, find themselves in a brewing custody case with the boy’s estranged grandmother when his mother is imprisoned in India for drug possession.

The film’s gentle bear dance between Pedro and his nephew are handled with a kind of familial tenderness in the middle of different characters — friends, co-workers, lovers, and others who intersect their lives. Shot in autumnal tones with intimate depictions of Pedro with his lover, clubbing in gay discos, and partying with his bear friends, savors his banal yet centered urban life.

Despite José Luis Garcia-Peréz’s lead performance — who plays the role of Pedro with charisma and confidence and achors the film — in Cachorro , the juried-award for Best Film seems to have missed the mark when paired against Beautiful Boxer. Arguably, both films were among the festival’s high points in an unevenly programmed but ambitiously expansive schedule. And the fact that both films did receive top acknowledgment reflects the strengths of the festival jury and audience alike.