Melbourne Queer Film Festival launch jam-packed program
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Melbourne Queer Film Festival launch jam-packed program
The Melbourne Queer Film Festival 2024 program has launched, celebrating how sound and vision have inspired and transformed our communities.
Running from 14 â 24th November, the Melbourne Queer Film Festival is the biggest and longest-running queer film festival in Australia.
The full program launched last night, featuring 42 feature films, 18 Australian premieres, 18 Melbourne premieres, 19 documentaries, 11 short film packages and so much more.
âThis season, weâre electrifying Melbourne with an unforgettable celebration of queer music culture.â MQFF Chief Executive Officer David Martin Harris said.
âThe 2024 MQFF isnât just a film festival; itâs an international queer-revisionist journey through the untold history of music.â
âWeâve gathered the most extraordinary new and historical LGBTQIA+ stories from around the globe that shape, form, pay homage to, and celebrate queer music culture.â
âAudiences are in for a genre-spanning festival that honours the LGBTQIA+ artists and creatives whoâve shapedâand continue to transformâhow we live, sing, and dance.â
âFrom rock to pop, country and everything in between, weâre diving deep into the intersection of music and film.â
The gift of sound and vision
With this yearâs theme of âFormative Sound and Visionâ, MQFF have gathered new and historical stories from around the globe that shape, form, pay homage and celebrate queer music culture.
âQueers have long been hooked to the silver screen,â Program Director, Cerise Howard said.
âcoveting representations and reflections of ourselves, sometimes only coming out through encountering kindred spirits on-screen.â
âThis yearâs theme was inspired by festival guest Darryl W. Bullockâs David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music.â
What would LGBTQIA+ culture be without certain, specific, celebrated conjunctions of sound and vision?
MQFF will include a special keynote by international guest Bullock, the author of David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music.
âThe gift of sound and visionâ, as David Bowie once put it â has inspired and shaped queers and fellow travellers of all walks of life,â Howard said.
âInformative, performative, formative â this yearâs festival will be the making of us all.â
Seats snapping up for MQFF Highlights
Less than 24 hours since the Melbourne Queer Film Festival program was launched and session highlights are already filling up.
The opening night feature is the Melbourne premier of musicâs first black trans star, Jackie Shane.
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story is a documentary that shares the extraordinary story of a pioneering black trans performer.
Jackie Shane, who had exceptional talent and stage presence was a rising star in 1950s Nashville and became a sensation in â60s Toronto.
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story screens on 14th November at ACMI.
MQFFâs Closing Night screening features the Australian premiere of Duino.
Argentinian actor Juan Pablo Di Pace stars in this semiautobiographical film, as well as his directorial feature debut.
Di Pace plays MatĂas, a filmmaker yearning for the unrequited love of Alexander.
He fell head over heels for the blazingly beautiful teen years ago while studying in Italy.
Duino screens on 24th November at ACMI.
Another Melbourne premier, German film Gondola is the Centrepiece screening of MQFF.
This tells the story of cable car attendants Iva and Nino, assigned to a cabin suspended high above the Caucasus Mountains.
Their mid-air flirtations with one another are explored through the winsome music from Malcolm Arison and Icelandic singer-songwriter SĂłley.
Just one look at the trailer below and you can see why this is worth seeing.
Gondola screens on 21st November at Palace Cinema.
More than whatâs on screen
But itâs not all about whatâs on-screen as the MQFF Festival Lounge returns to ACMI.
A gathering space before and after screenings, it will also feature curated events for all.
âThis will be a vibrant space for LGBTQIA+ community connection,â David Martin Harris said,
âfeaturing fascinating public programs, DJs, karaoke and delicious food in a mirror ball-lit setting.â
Highlights from free events and public programs include:
Camp as Karaoke on Saturday nights.
MQFF Program Director Cerise Howard in conversation with prolific author Darryl W. Bullock.
My Formative Queers turns its gaze to short films that capture the soundtracks of our youths â music videos.
Queer Film Trivia hosted by Frock Hudson.
A chance to meet face to face with Joe Ball, the Commissioner for LGBTQIA+ Communities.
MQFF Speed Dating and more.
Running from 14thâ24th November, MQFFâs program screens across Melbourne at ACMI, The Capitol, Cinema Nova Carlton, and Palace Cinema Como South Yarra.
Single film tickets will be on sale Friday, October 18th, from 7 p.m., with MQFF Members and Film Pass holders getting first access now.
See the full program here.
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