Press Release from Limelight PR
MELBOURNE, January 2011 – Xavier Dolan’s Heartbeats and Gregg Araki’s Kaboom will be just two highly
anticipated films in this year’s line-up for the Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) which comes of age
in 2011, turning 21! One of the largest queer film festivals in the world, the MQFF screens challenging and
entertaining queer-themed films from around the globe.
Screening at several venues across Melbourne including Australia’s premiere screen culture venue, the
Australian Centre for the Moving Image from 17 – 27 March, the MQFF will showcase a stand-out
program from the international festival circuit, as well as some gems from our home-grown filmmakers.
With more than 90 sessions here are a few highlights to whet your appetite.
Centrepiece screenings include; the second feature from 21-year-old French Canadian Xavier Dolan
Heartbeats which wowed audiences at the 2010 Sydney Film Festival winning the top prize; The Last
Summer of La Boyita (Julia Solomonoff), a compassionate Argentinian drama about childhood
friendship and discovery; and Undertow by Javier Fuentes-León. In this beautifully filmed and unique
ghost story set on the Peruvian seaside, a married man struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male
lover.
There are also a wealth of films direct from the international festival circuit including; Gregg Araki’s
Kaboom (USA), which screened at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. A hyper-stylised Twin Peaks for the
Coachella Generation, Kaboom tells the story of Smith, an ambisexual 18-year-old college freshman
who stumbles upon a monstrous conspiracy in a seemingly idyllic Southern California seaside town;
having screened in Official Selection at Sundance and Opening Night at San Francisco Film Festival, La
Mission (Peter Bratt) reconstructs the ‘tough boy’ attitude from the mean streets of LA to San Francisco’s
working-class Mission District. Featuring Benjamin Bratt as a reformed inmate and recovering alcoholic
whos path to redemption is tested when he discovers that his only son Jes is gay; and The String (Medhi
Ben Attia) in which handsome Malik, who has been living the high life in France, returns to Tunisia to live
with his mother after his father’s death, he can’t bring himself to tell his mother about his sexuality, and
leaps quickly back into the closet; meanwhile The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (James Kent) has
been opening and closing queer film festivals the world over. Based on a true-story, this is a tale of an
early 19th century English gentlewoman who ‘preferred the fairer sex’ and recorded her conquests in a
coded diary, later discovered by a local historian.
Other highlights include; Prima Donna: The Story of Rufus Wainwright’s Debut Opera (George Scott),
following the re-creation in 2007 of Judy Garland’s most famous concert, Rufus decided to write ‘Prima
Donna‘, an opera based on the struggles of an ageing opera queen. The resulting doco elegantly
reveals that artistic process, whilst also tracing Rufus’s childhood and personal life; Spork (JB Ghuman Jr)
– in this Glee come Mean Girls homage, an intersex trailer-park living hero, Spork, her foul-mouthed
neighbour, Tootsie Roll, who can bust a move at the drop of a hat, and a group of whitebread skanks
led by the very nasty Betsy Byotch, compete in their school’s junior talent show; winner of Best Picture
and Best Actress award at the Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival, Paulista (Roberto Moreira) is the story of
an aspiring actress in São Paulo with dreams of independence and success; filmed in Spanish, Italian,
Russian, Basque languages Room In Rome (Julio Medem) is about a one-night stand between two
women in a hotel room in Rome; while Elena Undone (Nicole Conn) looks at two women who, on the
surface, are diametrically opposed – one, a well-known lesbian writer, the other a wife of a pastor – but
when their paths cross they feel compelled to connect; and US indie Bear City (Doug Langway), set in
New York City, the film follows Tyler, a timid 20 year old who fantasises about snagging a daddy bear.
While dealing with some serious issues Bear City is stacks of fun.
MQFF is proud to support emerging Australian filmmakers with a jury award for the City of Melbourne
Best Australian Short Queer Film, presented annually with a $2,000 cash prize, Audience Choice awards
for Best Feature ($3,000), Best Documentary ($2,500), Best Australian Short Film ($1,000), Best Short Film,
($500) and a Selectors Choice Jury Award for Best Australian Short Queer Film with a $500 cash prize.
The full program will be announced on Thursday 23 February.
Program and ticketing information will be available at www.mqff.com.au