Melbourne Queer Film Festival returns for its 36th outing from 13 to 22 November. It kicks off with Kick, American filmmaker Julia Schwalb’s documentary about trans and non-binary runner Nikki Hiltz, before wrapping with Kiwi director Paloma Schneideman’s noughties-set coming-of-ager Big Girls Don’t Cry. You can also check out a 10th anniversary screening of Moonlight and creatively bulging shorts packages of Australian and First Nations stories.
If you’re easily overwhelmed by stacked programs like this, here are 10 of our most promising picks.
MQFF picks – quick links
The Education of Jane Cumming
German filmmaker Sophie Heldman’s devastatingly beautiful, 1810-set biopic draws from the real story that informed William Wyler’s tragic queer classic, The Children’s Hour.
Killing Eve star Fiona Shaw plays a well-to-do Edinburgh woman who sends her titular granddaughter (Klara and the Sun actor Mia Tharia) to an all-girls school run by Marianne Woods (Clare Dunne) and Jane Pirie (Heldman’s co-writer Flora Nicholson). But when Jane gets into trouble, she accuses her teachers of lesbianism, with far-reaching results.
The Education of Jane Cumming screens 15 November at Cinema Nova, Melbourne.
Jim Queen
If you’re looking for something lighter-hearted, check out this year’s deliriously funny, animated answer to Lesbian Space Princess. French co-directors Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané pair narcissistic gym influencer Jim Parfait (voiced by Alex Ramirès) with weedy closet-case Lucien (Jérémy Gillet), the sweet-hearted son of a vile right-wing politician, when the dreaded heterosis virus turns Paris’ pumped-up heartthrobs straight.
Jim Queen screens 20 November at Cinema Nova, Melbourne.
The Dads
With the election of several mighty trans and non-binary lawmakers during the United States’ midterm elections, now’s the perfect time to check out this wholesome documentary by Mama Gloria director Luchina Fisher. Expanding on her Emmy-winning short of the same name, it follows American dads standing up for their kids against virulently anti-trans policies, this while some of them are still getting up to speed.
The Dads screens 18 November at Cinema Nova, Melbourne.
Garance
Adèle Exarchopoulos is a champion of queer cinema, having appeared in the likes of Blue is the Warmest Colour, The Five Devils and Passages. An arthousehold name, she depicts the actor of the title who’s very much at the other end of the scale. Struggling to make rent in actor-turned-director Jeanne Herry’s latest feature, Garance is also battling alcohol addiction in this Queer Palm and Palme d’Or-nominated, Parisian-set drama with depth.
Garance screens 21 November at Cinema Nova, Melbourne.
The Mirror
Argentinian director and MQFF favourite Marco Berger is renowned for his slow and steamy films that relish the tease, often all pent up without release. He also stars in his latest, The Mirror, which cracks open the fact vs fiction fault line, Berger is a director who has tempted his star (Ivan Corujo) back into the game after he gave it all up. But as they play out their characters’ forbidden desire, it’s harder and harder to tell what’s acting and what’s legit.
The Mirror screens 15 November at Cinema Nova, Melbourne.
Tender Boy
If you barracked for the drama of Hammer having to conceal his sexuality to secure his AFL dream of Invisible Boys, you’ll dig the latest love story from Melbourne filmmaker Lee Galea. Starring Dylan Pele-Brown as Cody, a footy hopeful, he falls head over studded heels for James Robinson’s barman Noah. Unlike Hammer, Cody wants to stand proud. But is there room for an out gay player in a code that is notoriously unsafe for queer men?
The world premiere screening of Tender Boy is on 14 November at Cinema Nova, Melbourne.
Time Warp
Rocky Horror Picture Show fans were devastated when superstar Tim Curry departed this mortal coil the same day as Dolly Parton. You can shiver with anticipation, celebrating Dr Frank-N-Furter’s majesty by watching Allison Berg’s centrepiece documentary, depicting a 50th anniversary shadowcast of the film performed by drag stars in Wyoming. Pair it with MQFF’s retrospective screening of that camp classic directed by Australian Jim Sharman.
Time Warp screens 19 November at Cinema Nova, Melbourne.
Barbara Forever
Archives have never felt so alive as in this documentarian Brydie O’Connor’s love letter to the late, great Barbara Hammer, the pioneering, experimental filmmaker whose work brought lesbian love to the centre at a time when the feminist movement wasn’t exactly embracing their sapphic sisters. Narrated by the artist herself, drawn from audio and visual clips and deeply informed by her game-changing work, it’s very far from a stuffy doco.
Barbara Forever screens 18 November at Cinema Nova, Melbourne.
Something You Should Know About Me
Writer and director Andy Fidoten’s trans-led rom-com stars EJ Marcus as Al, an aspiring comic book creator who’s stuck in a rut. Overjoyed to land a spot in a prestigious artist’s retreat, he seems to have turned a corner. The trouble is, his artistic nemesis Mason (Sydney Mae Diaz) is also invited and already making moves on Al’s bestie/secret crush, Jessie (Morgan Sullivan), in this form-upending film that blends live action and animation.
Something You Should Know About Me screens 17 and 22 November at Cinema Nova, Melbourne.
Tiger
Indian filmmaker Anshul Chauhan pursued his love of anime to Tokyo, working on animated series before delivering his debut live action feature, Bad Poetry Tokyo, in 2017. His latest is a quietly unmooring drama starring Takashi Kawaguchi as Taiga, a confident young man who wants to work in gay porn, rather than giving happy endings at a massage parlour. With his estranged dad dying, Taiga returns home, where he begins to question everything.
Tiger screens 15 November at Cinema Nova, Melbourne.
