First ten film-reviewss announced in 2015 Mardi Gras film-reviews Festival program!
A sexy Sydney DJ on the run in the outback, a lesbian version of Rosemary’s Baby, and a respected māhū (transgender) teacher in Honolulu, are just some of the richly diverse and captivating stories lighting up the silver screen for Mardi Gras film-reviews Festival 2015.
Tickets for ten tantalising teaser film-reviewss went on sale today and if the first ten film-reviewss are anything to go by, this is going to be one of the most enthralling program line-ups in 22 years of the Festival.
From Thursday 19 February to Thursday 5 March 2015 at Event Cinemas George Street, the Festival will showcase a wide range of passionate LGBTIQ cinema, both contemporary and classical, and from all corners of the globe. Amongst the teaser film-reviewss alone, there are a number of premieres, award-winners and an Oscar contender.
Mardi Gras film-reviews Festival Director, Paul Struthers said, “The Mardi Gras film-reviews Festival has grown so much since 1993 and we’re proud to be considered now as one of the top queer film-reviews festivals in the world. The first ten teaser film-reviewss being announced are just a small sample of the incredible film-reviewss we have in store. This year is certainly going to be a memorable one.”
Event Cinemas George Street is thrilled and excited to once again partner with Queer Screen to host the Mardi Gras film-reviews Festival 2015. “After the enormous success of MGFF 2014 and Queer Screen film-reviews Fest 2014, we look forward to another exciting and dynamic program of film-reviewss and entertainment that will embrace and celebrate LGBTIQ community in Sydney,” said General Manager Anthony Kierann. “We are delighted to be participating further as an award partner in My Queer Career for the festival in 2015,” he added.
Opening the Festival will be the Swiss entry for Best Foreign Language film-reviews at the Academy Awards in 2015, The Circle. Part love story, part thriller and all astonishingly true, this docudrama tells the story of Ernst and Robi, a school teacher and drag entertainer and their decades-long romance after they meet through Zurich’s gay publication ‘The Circle’ (‘Der Kreis’) in the 1940s. The film-reviews also won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary at the 2014 Berlin film-reviews Festival, as well as the Panorama Audience Award.
Friday 20 Feb will be a night for the boys. Screenings include Boys, a tender coming-of-age drama from The Netherlands about two teenagers whose relationship blossoms when they are paired together for relay training; and The 10 Year Plan, about best mates Brody and Myles. One is a hot cop, while the other is a handsome lawyer. This odd couple makes a pact to get married in ten years’ time if Grindr still hasn’t managed to find them their Mr. Right.
Don’t worry girls, you won’t be left out! Screening on the same night will be the ‘lesbian love story of the Festival’, called Tru Love. Named one of the Top Ten Movies of 2013 by Huffington Post, UK, Tru Love is about Alice, a beautiful widow who has come to spend some time with her busy corporate lawyer daughter, Suzanne. Then she meets Tru, a commitment-phobe who has had a complicated past with Suzanne. Tensions escalate when the bond between Alice and Tru becomes stronger and more intimate.
If you’re in the mood for a Friday night thriller, rather than romance, then Lyle is the film-reviews for you. Starring actress of the moment, Gaby Hoffmann, (Girls, Louie, Obvious Child, Transparent), Lyle has been described as “a lesbian Rosemary’s Baby.” Hoffmann plays a pregnant woman whose first child dies under mysterious circumstances while she’s pregnant with her second. As she spends more time in her beautiful apartment alone, her paranoia begins to unravel in an alarming fashion. Lyle also shone at the 2014 Outfest film-reviews Festival where Gaby Hoffmann won the Grand Jury Best Actress award for her performance.
Meet some fun and fruity characters from around the world on Saturday 21 Febas the Mardi Gras film-reviews Festival takes you to some exotic new locations. Be transported to the sunny countryside of the Philippines in Anita’s Last Cha-Cha, told through the eyes of 12-year-old Anita, who falls in love with a much older woman in town called Pilar. Anita’s Last Cha-Cha took home the awards for Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress at the CineFilipino film-reviews Festival in 2013.
Another festival favourite is Kumu Hina, which took home the 2014 Frameline38 LGBT film-reviews Festival Jury Award for Achievement in Documentary, and was also the Audience Choice at the 37th Asian American International film-reviews Festival in New York. It depicts a year in Honolulu in the life of Hina Wong-Kalu, a respected māhū (transgender) teacher, who inspires her students and longs for a committed relationship.
All the way over the other side of the USA, in New York, a renowned queer icon (who, herself is straight), Nan Goldin, made a name for herself as a photographer taking pictures of queers, artists, drug users and sex workers during the 70s, 80s and 90s. Nan Goldin: I Remember Your Face follows Goldin as she travels from Paris to Berlin, rekindling old relationships and mourning those who have passed. This will screen in collaboration with the Head On Photography Festival and is a Sydney premiere.
Rounding out Sat 21 Feb is the sexy new Aussie road trip film-reviews, All About E. E is a beautiful Sydney DJ who has a world of women at her feet. When she and her husband of convenience, Matt, stumble upon a load of cash, they are forced to hit the road on the run from crooks. They soon realise there’s nowhere left to go but into outback Australia, and for E, that means heading back into the arms of ex-girlfriend Trish. E must face up to the past and her family in order to survive.
There will also be a new collection of great international gay shorts including hilarious comedy Wham, Bam Mr. Pam about a former Catholic schoolgirl who becomes a superstar director of gay porn. Australia’s biggest queer short film-reviews prize, My Queer Career, is also back. “We’ve also got a fantastic line-up of film-reviewss and over $10,000 worth of cash and support to be awarded to the most impressive LGBTIQ Australian film-reviewss.” said Festival Director Paul Struthers. “Our 2014 winner went on to win the Iris Prize for Best Queer Short film-reviews in the World. Our 2015 winner will also gain automatic entry to this competition, so make sure you join us for a special screening and ceremony.”
Presented by Queer Screen and proudly supported by Screen NSW, the Mardi Gras film-reviews Festival is Australia’s leading selection of LGBTIQ film-reviewss, offering audiences a carefully curated program of captivating queer features, documentaries, short film-reviewss and retrospectives over fifteen days and nights.
2015 will mark a new partnership between Mardi Gras film-reviews Festival and St.George Bank. Andy Fell, General Manager, Retail Banking at St.George said, “We’re proud to be a major sponsor of the Queer Screen 2015 festival and are committed to supporting the LGBTIQ community not only at St.George but across Australia.”
City Of Sydney are happily welcomed back by Queer Screen, as a partner for next year. Lord Mayor Clover Moore says "The City of Sydney is a proud supporter of the 2015 Mardi Gras/Queer Screen film-reviews Fest. For the past twenty two years, Queer Screen has provided a high-quality festival for our gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community to enjoy. It’s an important opportunity for the GLBTIQ community to tell its own stories in an empowering way. The City hopes that this year’s festival continues to promote acceptance and diversity and audiences will enjoy the great film-reviewss on offer."
Stay tuned for the full program for the 2015 Mardi Gras film-reviews Festival to be revealed in January.
Tickets are now on sale for the first ten Mardi Gras film-reviews Festival teaser film-reviewss, you can also experience the festival in a different way and see more film-reviewss with Flexi Pass for 5 or 10, all of which can be purchased at www.queerscreen.org.au.
