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Queer Screen Film Festival

  • Film, Film festivals
  • Recommended
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    Photograph: Supplied/Queer Screen Film FestivalA Sexplanation
  2. Two woman kiss in a graffitied street in Tel Aviv
    Photograph: Supplied/Queer ScreenKiss Me Before It Blows Up
  3. Two boys hug in Taiwan against a pink sunset in the film Dear Tenant
    Photograph: Supplied/Queer ScreenDear Tenant
  4. Two boys on the back of a motorbike against blue skies
    Photograph: Supplied/Queer ScreenSummer of 85
  5. Filipina American rock band Fanny in cool clothes playing instruments against a pink backdrop
    Photograph: Supplied/Queer ScreenFanny: The Right to Rock
  6. A woman in a yellow shirt with died pink hair leans out a car window in the film Lola
    Photograph: Supplied/Queer ScreenLola
  7. two men kiss in a forest in German film Free Fall
    Photograph: Supplied/Queer ScreenFree Fall
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Time Out says

For the second year running, the LGBTIQ+ movie showcase streams straight to homes all over Australia

If you’re still smarting from the news that the Sydney Film Festival has been pushed back until November, then panic not. Boredom has no hope of setting in as the brilliant team at the Queer Screen Film Festival (QSFF) is here to save the day. Streaming direct to homes across Australia from September 16-26, the LGBTIQA+ showcase of cinematic gold is and bold and beautiful as ever, even if the screens are a bit smaller than usual.  

The QSFF line-up brings a global perspective, with movies hailing from 17 countries worldwide, with more than half of the 40 films on offer being Australian premieres. Those national debuts include Beautiful Dreamer, a San Francisco-set dramedy starring The L Word’s Erin Daniels that’s billed as having a touch of Tales of the City creator Armistead Maupin’s style.

There’s also a powerful doco in the shape of AIDS DIVA: The Legend of Connie Norman. We are so used to hearing about this particular global crisis from the perspective of gay men, which makes Norman’s focus on the trans and non-binary communities so welcome. And don’t miss filmmaker Alex Liu’s wonderfully candid doco A Sexplanation, which takes a look at why so many of us are uncomfortable talking about sex.

And have the tissues at the ready for Taiwan-set Dear Tenant, which details the emotional journey of a grieving man caring for his late boyfriend’s son. In the weepy good familial groove, also check out Belgian-French co-production Lola, a road trip movie about a young trans woman and her estranged dad journeying to the coast to honour her late mum’s last wish.

The particular cross-cultural complexities at play in Tel Aviv get a light-hearted but nonetheless intriguing examination in effervescent lesbian rom-com Kiss Me Before It Blows Up. When a German botanist relocates to move in with her girlfriend of only three months, all sorts of familial and political ructions erupt, and yet it’s never anything but gloriously goofy. A real feel good winner for our times. Sticking with a German theme, we can’t wait to fall hard again for the encore screening of erotically charged police training camp drama Free Fall. Seriously, the electricity arcing between leads Hanno Koffler and Max Riemelt could probably sustainably run a small city.

If you need a little nostalgia-fix, then we can heartily recommend the pure joy of celebrated French director François Ozon’s sun-kissed Summer of 85. A little bit Love, Simon, and a touch Call Me By Your Name, it’s all the feels as young love explodes uncontrollably to the tune of The Cure, Bananarama and, errr, Rod Stewart. The Normandy coast has never looked this lush. While we’re talking music, don’t miss Fanny: The Right to Rock, which writes back into recording history the success story, too often obscured, of the ‘60s Filipina American group who were the first all-woman band to release an LP on a major label.

“Everyone in our community has been impacted by the pandemic in some way and we aredelighted to create an online festival to help us through these times,” says QSFF festival director Lisa Rose. “We are grateful we can bring some fantastic new films and also some much-loved encores to people all around the country.”

Love LGBTIQA+ stories? Check out these classic TV shows

Stephen A Russell
Written by
Stephen A Russell

Details

Event website:
queerscreen.org.au/
Address:
Price:
$12-$99
Opening hours:
On demand
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