The following press release was issued by the Melbourne Queer Film Festival today, 1 October 2024:
Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) returns from 14-24 November 2024 with a program that celebrates the way sound and vision have been a source of inspiration and transformation for LGBTQIA+ communities, and everyone across the world. As a sneak preview into Australia’s oldest and largest queer film festival, MQFF today announced eight major titles in the festival lineup ahead of the full program launch on 16 October – with film passes and memberships now on sale for those who want to book early to secure a discount and the best seats in the house.
‘The gift of sound and vision’, as David Bowie once put it – has inspired and shaped queers and fellow travellers of all walks of life. Informative, performative, formative – this year’s festival will be the making of us all. What would LGBTQIA+ culture be without certain, specific, celebrated conjunctions of sound and vision? From genesis to the contemporary, this year’s program will take a deep dive into hidden-in-plain-sight queer histories formed by the intersections of sound and vision.
MQFF Chief Executive Officer, David Martin Harris, said: ‘This season, we’re electrifying Melbourne with an unforgettable celebration of queer music culture. Audiences are in for a genre-spanning festival that honours the LGBTQIA+ artists and creatives who’ve shaped—and continue to transform—how we live, sing, and dance. From rock to pop, country and everything in between, we’re diving deep into the intersection of music and film. The 2024 MQFF isn’t just a film festival; it’s an international queer-revisionist journey through the untold history of music. Expect an exhilarating fest that’ll have everyone on their feet—it’s going to be an absolute riot!’
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MQFF audiences will be treated to 42 features and 19 documentaries throughout the Festival. Three keystone events will be presented in partnership with Major Partner Prime Video: The highly-anticipated Opening Night at ACMI on 14 November will screen Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story (2024, Canada) – Melbourne premiere. From the producers of the Emmy Award-winning Hip-Hop Evolution (2016) comes this stirring, Frameline Out in the Silence Award winning documentary which shares the extraordinary story of a pioneering Black trans performer of exceptional talent and stage presence. Jackie Shane, a rising star in 1950s Nashville became a sensation in ‘60s Toronto before disappearing mysteriously from public view.
MQFF’s Centrepiece screening will be Gondola (2023, Germany, Georgia) – Melbourne premiere, which tells the story of Iva and Nino, cable car attendants each assigned to an orange cabin suspended high above the Caucasus Mountains, both devising ever more ingenious ways to advance their mid-air flirtations with one another. Gondola melds an Amélie-like sensibility and stunning cinematography to winsome music from Malcolm Arison and Icelandic singer-songwriter Sóley.
The Festival’s Closing Night screening takes place on 24 November with Duino (2024, USA, Argentina, Italy) – Australian premiere, where Argentinian actor Juan Pablo Di Pace (The Mattachine Family and Mamma Mia) stars in this semi-autobiographical film that also marks his directorial feature debut, alongside co-writer/director Andrés Pepe Estrada. Di Pace plays Matías, a filmmaker yearning for the unrequited love of Alexander (Oscar Morgan), the blazingly beautiful teen he fell head over heels for many years ago while studying on Italy’s luscious Adriatic Coast.
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MQFF Program Director, Cerise Howard said: ‘Queers have long been hooked to the silver screen, coveting representations and reflections of ourselves, sometimes only coming out through encountering kindred spirits on-screen. Inspired by festival guest Darryl W. Bullock’s David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music, this year’s theme is “Formative Sound and Vision” – the 2024 MQFF will resound with queer excellence, on-screen and off!’
Other screening highlights include, Reas (2024, Argentina, Germany, Switzerland) – Australian premiere, a docu-musical featuring former prisoners depicting not only versions of themselves, but also their jailers. A delightfully diverse array of cis women and trans people come together in a fabulous fever dream set to a disco beat replete with smooth Ballroom moves. Reas was nominated for the Teddy Documentary award at this year’s Berlinale.
The documentary Lady Like (2024, USA, UK) – Australian premiere, follows British-born, US-based Lady Camden – AKA Rex Wheeler – a veteran of season 14 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. This intimate documentary follows his journey from the Royal Ballet in London to embracing drag, getting drafted then dealing with the uproar that followed his time on the show, tackling head-on the emotional aftermath of the notorious ‘villain edit’ and a profoundly personal tragedy. (pictured left)
Renowned Canadian director Bruce LaBruce’s The Visitor (2024, UK) – Melbourne premiere, will screen at the Festival. This new crotch twist shifts the engorged drama from Italy to contemporary London, where Bishop Black’s eponymous visitor emerges naked from a suitcase as a refugee who soon invites themselves into a filthy rich family’s mansion, seducing them to the cause one-by-horny-one.
Close to You (2023, Canada) – Melbourne premiere, written and directed by Dominic Savage and starring Elliot Page in his first leading role as a trans man, this film draws from Page’s lived experience. As Sam reconnects with his family and an old flame, the film tenderly examines the complexities of coming home and embracing one’s true self.
Following its premiere at SXSW 2023, National Anthem (2023, USA) – Melbourne premiere comes to MQFF, telling the story of 21-year-old Dylan who lives an isolated life of routine in rural New Mexico, working odd construction jobs. He accepts a gig working at House of Splendor, a queer ranch a little further out than normal. There he meets the luminous Sky (Eve Lindley) and a diverse group of queer folk who provide him with the space and freedom to explore parts of himself he hasn’t yet found.
MQFF venue partners include ACMI, The Capitol, Palace Cinemas Como, and Cinema Nova.
Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF)
Program launch: 16 October
Festival dates: 14–24 November 2024
For more information, head to the MQFF website.
