The 27th Queer Screen Mardi Gras Film Festival is in full swing until 27 February, and the program is full of lesbian delights. Here is LOTL’s pick of the top 5 hidden gems. Don’t miss them!
Queering the Script
They are using astonishing research and footage; queering the Script charts the evolution of intersectional queerness on screen. Exploring some key fandoms proves queer viewers’ impact in their quest to create change and demand better representation. It’s also a fun and utterly enthralling love letter to LGBTIQ+ fans, filmed during significant events like ClexaCon and a Xena get-together. And who doesn’t want to go to ClexaCon!?
Saturday 15 February at 1.30 pm, Dendy Cinemas, Newtown. They were followed by The Power of Queer Fandom, a panel discussion featuring Danielle Jablonski, co-owner and executive director of ClexaCon.
Bonnie & Bonnie
A modern-day Bonnie & Clyde, set on the “wrong side of the river” in Hamburg. Seventeen-year-old Yara is trapped in a world dictated by cultural obligations to her strict Albanian family. When she meets Kiki, a free-spirited bartender, she is presented with a life she never expected. But when her domineering older brother discovers her secret and a video of his violent intervention goes viral, Yara is forced to make a life-changing decision. A thriller about the risks of being true to yourself, even in the face of adversity, Bonnie & Bonnie is a wild and unforgettable ride.
Thursday 20 February at 8.30 pm, Event Cinemas, George St.
White Lie
A popular undergraduate student faking cancer struggles to maintain her secret. In this tense and stylish Canadian drama, Katie Arneson becomes famous on campus for her brave fight against melanoma. On social media, she is publicly raising money for cancer, and to her loving and supportive girlfriend, the money she offers up is said to be for an experimental treatment. When Katie turns to her father, he doesn’t believe her. As the elaborate deception starts crashing down, the film hints at Katie’s troubled history and past trauma.
Sunday 16 February at 8 pm, Event Cinemas, George St and Wednesday 26 February, Dendy Cinemas, Newtown.
Olivia
Olivia, a young English girl, arrives at a finishing school in France. Most of the pupils boarding at the school are divided into two camps: those devoted to the headmistress, Mademoiselle Julie and those who follow Mademoiselle Cara, an emotionally manipulative teacher who is a hypochondriac to boot (and is also obsessed with Mademoiselle Julie!). Set in the 1800s, this French classic is full of tension-filled innuendo. Based on the 1949 novel by Dorothy Bussy, the film was made in 1951 and recently restored. It is like no film you’ve ever seen before!
Saturday 22 February at 3.30 pm, Event Cinemas, George St.
The Ground Beneath My Feet
Lola is almost 30 and controls her family life with the same ruthless efficiency she uses to profit from her high-powered job and hide her illicit, hotel-room-bound affair with her boss, Elise. No one knows about her older sister Conny or her family’s history of mental illness. But when a tragic event forces Conny back into Lola’s life and her secrets begin to unravel, Lola’s grip on reality slips away. A tense, careful and provocative film set in the cities of Rostock and Munich.
Saturday 22 February at 8.30 pm, Event Cinemas, George St.
Distance
A woman returns to the family she abandoned five years ago when she left her life in the Philippines to be with the woman she loved. As everyone struggles to reconnect and avoid opening old wounds, her most senior and most resentful daughter begins to fall in love with a girl herself—a splendid drama with simmering suppressed emotions featuring beautiful, nuanced performances.
Tuesday 25 February at 6.30 pm, Event Cinemas, George St.
