When Film Independent announced its nominees for the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards last month, it may have just made history.

Harmony Santana, a transgender actor, was nominated in the category for Best Supporting Female for her performance in "Gun Hill Road", writer/director Rashaad Ernesto Green's tale of a father who comes home from jail to discover that his son, played by Santana before she transitioned, is about to become a woman.

"Gun Hill Road" made its San Francisco premiere as the opening night film of the 2011 Frameline Film Festival. Frameline also supported the project with one of its Completion Funds Grants.

Not only was Santana's performance strong enough to put her in the running with nominees Anjelica Huston and Jessica Chastain, it marks a turning point for transgender actors everywhere.

The New York Times used the opening of "Gun Hill Road" to examine the growing visibility of the transgender community in film and TV. And, as Asher Huey wrote on The Huffington Post, Santana "...seems to be the first trans actress nominated for a major Hollywood award."

K.C. Price, Frameline's Executive Director, said the organization found Santana's nomination "thrilling and important."

Price went on to explain the greater significance of the nomination:

"In the recent past, Frameline has seen many of our strongest and most compelling films either come from or be about the transgender community. I’m certain we’ll see this continue and grow just as it did with lesbians and gay men over the past couple of decades, and there will be more films featuring trans characters. Moreover, we’ll also undoubtedly see more transgender artists playing these roles, which is what has been so wonderful about Harmony’s breakthrough role this year."