By Travis Johnson
Under the theme of “we’re all the same in the dark” the Brisbane Queer Film Festival will return for 2018
from March 8 – 18 at New Farm Cinemas.
Curated by co directors Shanon King and Justin Marshman, this year’s program promises to embrace the full gamut of queer cinema, spanning lesbian, gay, bi, trans, gender diverse and multi-generational films, with special picks for niches and allies of Brisbane’s queer community.
“We are always proud of the calibre, diversity and inclusiveness in the line-up of films. We’re not the
largest queer festival, but our program features the best films chosen especially for Brisbane’s queers,
allies and cinephiles.” King said.
Highlights this year include:
Susanne Bartsch on Top: A documentary profile of the nightlife and fashion icon RuPaul cites as “picking up where Andy Warhol left off. Through an impressionistic blend of archival and present-day footage, the film explores how Susanne has influenced NYC culture and trail blazed her own trajectory through motherhood and aging, while ultimately coming to terms with her legacy.
A Moment In The Reeds: This Finnish film tells a tale of two men thrown together by chance, forging an instant, deep connection with each other across the space of a few days. Having moved to Paris for university, Leevi returns to his native Finland for the summer to help his estranged father renovate the family lake house so it can be sold. Tareq, a recent asylum seeker from Syria, has been hired to help with the work, and when Leevi’s father has to return to town on business, the two young men establish a connection and spend a few days discovering one another during
the Finnish midsummer.
My Days of Mercy: The daughter (Ellen Page) of a man on death row falls in love with a woman (Kate Mara) on the opposing side of her family’s political cause. The hollywood reporter’s Todd McCarthy said it “…exerts a certain pull due to its unblinking evocation of bare-bones working class American life and the slow-burn relationship sensitively etched by Ellen Page and Kate Mara”.
Love, Simon: Everyone deserves a great love story. But for seventeen-year old Simon Spier it’s a little more complicated: he’s yet to tell his family or friends he’s gay and he doesn’t actually know the identity of the anonymous classmate he’s fallen for online. Based on the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli and directed by TV mogul Greg Berlanti (Riverdale, The Flash).
Freak Show: Opening Night Gala. Starring Alex Lawther (Netflix’s The End of The Fxxxing World, Black Mirror, Departure), as Billy Bloom, our ‘freak reclaiming’ hero, who is faced with his fabulous mother (the divine Bette Midler) having to leave Billy with his straight-laced father. He quickly discovers that he’s like a diva-out-of-water at his new ultra-conservative high school, and undaunted by the bullies who don’t understand him, the fearless Billy sets out to make a big statement in his own inimitable way. Oh and with a cameo from the inimitable Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black).
Desert Hearts: A restoration of the 1986 lesbian classic ‘personal is political’ film from
Donna Deitch, that offers up the possibility of honesty and love between two woman. In the 1959-set film, an adaptation of a beloved novel by Jane Rule, strait laced East Coast professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) arrives in Reno to file for divorce, but winds up catching the eye of someone new, the younger free spirit Cay (Patricia Charbonneau), touching off a slow seduction that unfolds against the breathtaking desert landscape. With smouldering chemistry between its two leads, an evocative jukebox soundtrack, and vivid cinematography by Robert Elswit, Desert Hearts beautifully exudes a sense of tender yearning and emotional candour.
This year’s program includes 15 features, 4 shorts sessions, 5 documentaries and a special first full outing of Brisbane filmmaker Mary Duong’s three part web-series Two Weeks, co-presented with LiveLab and Griffith Film School, showcasing local queer filmmaker talent.
For more info, hit the official site.
