Queer Screen has put $15,000 towards three projects – feature films Closing Night and Lonesome, and TikTok series Scattered – via its completion fund.
Established in 2016, the fund supports Australian LGBTIQ+ filmmakers and storytellers whose work is consistent with the vision and mission of Queer Screen. Since its inception, it has supported 20 projects with $102,000.
This round of is an additional one due to the impact of COVID-19 on independent filmmaking.
“Being able to support filmmakers complete their projects is a fundamental part of what Queer Screen is about. To be able to offer this extra round of funding after already awarding $5,000 in March to web-series Thirty means we are able to directly assist filmmakers who have had to battle the challenges of a global pandemic alongside the challenges of queer filmmaking in itself,” said Queer Screen festival director Lisa Rose. “I can’t wait to see these films on the big screen.”
The three projects were chosen from seven applications, and assessed by an independent panel of experts.
Full details:
$8,000 awarded to Closing Night
Director: Tim Marshall
Producer: Bec Dakin
Synopsis: After his life falls apart, an up-and-coming queer theatre actor must reckon with his worst fears while stuck in a hotel room haunted by a malicious force.
Format: Narrative Feature
Genre: Queer Horror-Drama
$5,000 awarded to Lonesome
Director: Craig Boreham
Producers: Ben Ferris, Dean Francis
Synopsis: When closeted country boy Casey hits the big smoke after a small-town scandal, he meets Tib, a city boy lost in a sea of meaningless encounters with random men. Together they find something they have both been missing but neither of them knows quite how to negotiate it.
Format: Narrative Feature
Genre: Drama
$2,000 awarded to Scattered
Director: Logan Mucha
Producers: Hayley Adams, Michelle Melky
Synopsis: Scattered follows three best friends Jules, Sami and Bo the day after their friend Wil’s funeral, when they wake up with brutal hangovers and one less person – Wil – well, his ashes that is. Over the series, the friends retrace their steps to find their friend’s ashes and give him the send-off he deserves.
Format: Narrative Vertical Web Series
Genre: Dramedy