Australia’s richest prize for LGBTIQ+ cinema, with over $16,000 worth of cash and support, was announced at a screening and awards ceremony in Sydney on Monday, 26th February. Established in 1994, My Queer Career continues to grow, attracting renowned and up-and-coming filmmakers alike, with past participants including Adam Elliot, Sophie Hyde, Craig Boreham, and Julie Kalceff.
This year’s jury included Timothy Despina Marshall, a past winner of My Queer Career and the Iris Prize, who has garnered acclaim for his shorts Gorilla and Followers, screened at prestigious festivals like Sundance and SXSW. His debut feature, In the Room Where He Waits, had its world premiere at this year’s festival. Sophia Shek, a Scottish Hong Konger producer, specialises in films exploring queer and diaspora identities, with credits including I Miss You When I See You and Go Back to China, showcased at festivals worldwide including SXSW, Seattle International Film Festival, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and Queer Screen’s Mardi Gras Film Festival. Michael Sun, a respected critic and essayist, delves into queerness, memory, and internet culture through his insightful contributions to publications such as The Guardian and The Monthly.
You can see the winners below:
BEST FILM: Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black) directed by Matthew Thorne, Derik Lynch
$3000 cash from The Stephen Cummins Film Trust
$2000 worth of legal advice from JP Media Law
Automatic Entry in the Iris Prize, the world richest prize for LGBTIQ+ short film
When accepting their award director Derik Lynch said, “Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you. Thank you for screening our films. Thank you to everyone in the queer community who has supported me and my film. To my community in Aputula. To Matthew and Jed. To all the mums involved making the film. To my dogs. And thank you to all the big rainbow people, unicorns, lovers everybody I love you all and this means so much.” Director Matthew Thorne added, “Thank you for sharing Derik’s story and honouring it and him. He deserves it. Derik took a leap of faith in trusting me to help in telling his story. If I could organise my life into chapters there would be two, one before that trust, and one after. Thank you again.”
BEST SCREENPLAY: Good Times And That’s Okay directed by Amanda Kaye
$750 cash from Event Cinemas George Street
AUDIENCE AWARD: Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black) directed by Matthew Thorne, Derik Lynch
$5,000 worth of Post Production support from Spectrum Films
EMERGING FILMMAKER: Hyperconnect directed by Jim Muntisov
Panavision camera hire, valued at $5000
EMERGING PERFORMER: Mish Keating from Hyperconnect
NIDA Open courses to the value of $500
If you missed out on My Queer Career this year, the full program of films will be screening on demand from March 1st to 11th across Australia. Festival Director Lisa Rose said, “The screening of the My Queer Career finalists, and the Awards Ceremony that follows, is one of our favourite nights every festival, and I’m delighted that by streaming the films, this festival allows budding filmmakers across the country to watch the finalists and be inspired to enter the 2025 prize.” She also mentioned that “streaming My Queer Career allows a wider audience the opportunity to experience the rich diversity and creativity of Australian LGBTIQ+ filmmaking.”
