Each year, the Marché du Film offers renowned festivals the chance to showcase their selection of original work-in-progress feature titles to sales agents, distributors and festival programmers, during the prestigious Cannes season.
This year sees Queer Screen – producers of Sydney’s Mardi Gras Film Festival and Queer Screen Film Fest – join the invitation-only line-up. It’s the first ever LGBTQIA+ and Australian partner.
“We are thrilled about being chosen,” Queer Screen Festival Director Lisa Rose says. “To be the first ever Australian and the first ever LGBTQIA+ film festival involved is something we are very proud of and I can’t wait to champion these films.”
Five festivals across the globe were invited to curate five feature films still in post-production to showcase. Lisa hand-picked four Australian and one international production to showcase. . . Including ’Sunflower’, a gay coming-of-age drama from Melbourne filmmaker Gabriel Carrubba.
“Earlier this year we gave ‘Sunflower’ $15,000 from our completion fund,” Lisa explains. “It’s the most we have ever awarded for a single project. To give emerging talent like Gabriel this opportunity on the global stage is very exciting.”
Timothy Despina Marshall’s ‘Closing Night’ is a queer, psychological horror that received $8,000 from the Queer Screen Competion Fund in 2021. Dark comedy-drama ‘Triple-Oh!’ Is a mid-length film/episodic featuring Brooke Satchwell and directed by Poppy Stockell. Rounding out THE AUSTRALIAN selection is ‘One Person Protest’ from Director Christopher Amos – the only documentary of the five films selected.
The international project is ‘The Queen Of My Dreams’ from Writer/Director Fawzia Mirza, who is making her feature directing debut after having many off her shorts screened at Queer Screen’s festivals over the years.
Queer Screen selections will be shown on 20 May at Palais K for Marché du Film.
