The zing of LGBTQIA+ love is in the air, and this year’s Queer Screen Film Fest is decidedly flirty.
“We’re bookending the festival with two fabulously fun and romantic films, on opening and closing nights,” Festival Director Lisa Rose reveals. “And we’re continuing that theme with the one incredible documentary feature.
“Queer love, in its many forms, flows through every film in the programme.”
Setting the sizzling tone on opening night is Marco Berger’s ‘The Astronaut Lovers’, following two men – one gay the other swaggering and seemingly straight – who connect in Buenos Aires one steamy summer.
Plus, bringing chemistry even without any dialogue, there’s closing night film ‘Gondola’, about two young female cable-car conductors, who find ingenious ways to communicate their burgeoning feelings, every time they pass by in the sky.
“Queer films and filmmakers are taking up their rightful space on what is a very competitive and commercial global stage,” Lisa Rose says. “The fact Queer Screen has been invited to the Marché du Film for two years running is also a reflection of the significance of LGBTIQ+ storytelling.”
Some festival highlights include ‘All Shall Be Well’, where a lesbian relationship is left devastated when a woman’s partner of 30 years dies, and the acceptance she thought they had earned fades, as legal and financial matters enter the frame. Plus, exploring long-term love as well, ‘Turtles’ follow an older gay couple: one who is withdrawing, and the other who is going all-out to bring him back.
Similarly there’s ‘Baby’, as an 18-year-old man, just released from youth detention and forced to get by on the streets of Sao Paolo, is taking under the wing of a sex worker. Romance and business clash in this ode to queer found family.
‘Backspot’ follows Riley, who is given the opportunity to join an elite cheerleading squad. . . And new pressures from a demanding head coach and Riley’s own pursuit of perfection, cause her world to spiral. It’s a compelling drama with plenty of queers and cheers.
No festival is complete without the shorts programmes. This year there are hybrid screenings (in cinema and on demand) of Gay Shorts, Sapphic Shorts and Trans & Gender Diverse Shorts.
Tickets are on sale now.
Queer Screen Film Fest takes place at Event Cinemas George Street (Sydney) from 28 August-1 September, and online nationally from 2-8 September.
