by Nadine Whitney
Sydney institution, the Mardi Gras Film Festival (MGFF) turns thirty this year and is bringing audiences some extra treats, promising to awaken your senses.
Screening for 16 days from 15 February to 2 March, right at the heart of Sydney WorldPride 2023, this festival is one of the biggest ever, with 166 films screening across more than 100 sessions in cinema, outdoors and on-demand at home as well as hosting panel discussions, workshops, industry networking events, international guests and parties.
Some of the films on offer include the award-winning documentary by Laura Poitras, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed about queer artist and activist Nan Goldin and her incredible fight against the Sackler family. Also showing is the remarkable Pakistani film Joyland, which garnered an Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes.
Opening the festival is Macedonian-Australian director Goran Stolevski’s Of An Age. Already garnering awards around Australia (including taking out first prize at CinefestOz), the film is a gay coming-of-age story set in Melbourne.
There will also be a retrospective of gay artist and Sydney filmmaker Stephen Cummins’ work, and screenings of stand-up comedy specials by Joel Creasy and Rhys Nicholson. Queer Screen will also host a roster of international guests.
World premieres include documentary Trans Glamore and cult film in the making The Winner Takes it All, starring Maxi Shield (RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under) – both Australian productions. Australian premieres include the Danish film The Venus Effect, which will close the festival. Other Australian film screening include Lonesome, The Longest Weekend and The Giants, a documentary about Bob Brown.
Festival director Lisa Rose states: “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.”
Tickets are on sale now at queerscreen.org.au.
