Academy Award nominee Gus Van Sant directs Academy Award winner Sean Penn as gay rights icon Harvey Milk. Mr. Milk (1930-1978) was an activist and politician, and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in America; in 1977, he was voted to the city supervisors’ board of San Francisco. The following year, both he and the city’s mayor George Moscone were shot to death by another city supervisor, Dan White. Mr. Milk was previously the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary feature “The Times of Harvey Milk,” but “Milk” – filmed on location in San Francisco – is the first non-documentary feature to explore the man’s life and career.

The 2009 Oscar Nominations: 'Slumdog,' 'Button,' 'Penelope,' 'Rourke' 

New York Film Critics choose 'Milk' as best picture