The 2023 event features a mind-blowing programme promising to awaken all the senses. There are 166 films screening across more than 100 sessions in cinema, outdoors and on-demand at home. Plus, there’ll be panel discussions, workshops, industry networking events, international guests, and parties.
Opening the proceedings will be the Sydney premiere of the electrifying Australian drama ‘Of An Age’, from Goran Stolevski. It stars Thom Green (‘Dance Academy’) and Elias Anton (‘Barracuda’), in a coming-of-age romance about a Serbian-Australian teen developing intense feelings for his friend’s older brother.
Then, to close things out will be The Australian premiere of ‘The Venus Effect’ – a delightful Danish romance about two young women daring to love each other and themselves.
Meanwhile, world premieres at MGFF include ‘Trans Glamore’ (alongside locally-made short ‘The Accidental Archivist’) following transgender DJ Victoria Anthony as she perseveres through COVID’s challenges to organise a show for trans women, by trans women; and ‘The Winner Takes it All’ featuring Australia’s own drag queen Maxi Shield, where a wealthy socialite and her best friend take justice into their own hands when she discovers her ex-gigolo husband is cheating.
'Of An Age'
To honour the history of Mardi Gras Film Festival, seven retrospectives will be screened, including the previously-announced Stephen Cummins gala retrospective and Doris Fish’s ‘Vegas In Space’. Also featured is a camptastic episode of Australian soap ‘Number 96’, followed by an in-depth discussion between TV historian Andrew Mercado and actor Joe Hasham.
You won’t want to miss ‘TÁR’ starring Cate Blanchett, when it screens against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour at Westpac OpenAir. Plus, there’s a free screening of two brand-new queer stand-up specials: ‘Joel Creasey: Queen Of The Outback’ and ‘Rhys Nicholson’s Big Queer Comedy Concert’ starring Urzila Carlson, Geraldine Hickey, Cassie Workman and Chris Parker.
‘The Longest Weekend’ reunites Australian siblings Lou, Avery and Rio in their childhood home in Sydney’s inner west as they force each other to confront their shared past and present, as only siblings can. ‘Lonesome’ will also screen. Both films are Queer Screen Completion Fund recipients.
Throughout MGFF will also be focuses on Canada and Asia Pacific – films such as ‘Framing Agnes’, ‘Compulsus’, ‘Soft’, ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘#LookAtMe’, ‘Joyland’, ‘A Place Of Our Own’ and ‘About Us But Not About Us’.
'All The Beauty And The Bloodshed'
MGFF’s documentary centrepiece is one of the most acclaimed films of the year, ‘All The Beauty And The Bloodshed’ from Oscar-winning Laura Poitras. The narrative centrepiece is ‘My Emptiness And I’, the latest film from acclaimed filmmaker Adrián Silvestre.
There are 11 packages of shorts in this year’s MGFF programme, including, for the first time ever, a bi+ bundle. Guy On Guy and Women Loving Women packages are super sexy, Queer Scream will haunt your dreams, and QueerDoc will amaze and inspire.
“2023 marks the significant milestone of being Queer Screen’s 30th edition of the Mardi Gras Film Festival”, Festival Director Lisa Rose says.
“Formed in 1993 by a group of queer filmmakers and curators to affect positive change in film culture in Australia, we at Queer Screen are incredibly proud of our impact. This year we are so excited to honour those trailblazers who shaped queer storytelling on the screen as well as introducing the best of global contemporary filmmaking to our local and international audiences in our largest festival for over a decade.”
Queer Screen Mardi Gras Film Festival is on in Sydney from 15 February-2 March.
