Australians are being encouraged to vote for their favourite short film as part of QuitFlicks 2020, a film competition launched by Quit, Melbourne Queer Film Festival and Thorne Harbour Health.
QuitFlicks aims to start a conversation about smoking with LGBTIQA+ communities, who experience smoking rates more than double the national average.
Australians have up until the 2nd February to choose their favourite from a selection of four films produced by budding filmmakers from LGBTIQA+ communities. Each filmmaker was awarded a $6,000 grant to create a film that shows how the community can ‘cope and connect without the smokes’ while promoting the social, health and financial benefits of living smoke-free.
The four films are:
1. One Breath at a Time by Teddy Darling (Victoria)
2. Quit Together by Millie Hayes (ACT)
3. Stressless Sam by Hugh Murray (Victoria)
4. Rolled by Rosie Pavlovic (Victoria).
The winning film and a runner-up will be announced at MQFF’s Program Launch on Tuesday 11 February and will be awarded a prize of $6,000 and $3,000 respectively. Both short films will air before every screening at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival 2020.
Quit Victoria Director, Sarah White, said she was delighted with the high calibre of films. “We are thrilled to provide a platform through which the LGBTIQA+ community can themselves create smokefree messaging. Each of these films speaks to the community in a way only the community itself can.”
Melbourne Queer Film Festival’s Chief Executive Officer, Maxwell Gratton, said “The final videos are incredibly diverse in style and focus, ranging from a drag-king directed mock-instructional video to a pack of characterful cigarettes betting on the protagonist’s smoking triggers. The competition finalists have taken their grants and created impactful works of art, which is a credit to their creative abilities.”
Thorne Harbour Health’s Chief Executive, Simon Ruth, said “These creative filmmakers have done a stellar job of portraying how the LGBTIQA+ community can cope and connect without the smokes. Shortlisting the finalists was a challenging task, so we look forward to seeing who the Australian public chooses as the winner and runner up.”
Eligible voters can also go into the draw to win one of three 10-ticket packs to the Melbourne Queer Film Festival 2020.
