The Board and Management of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival have made the difficult decision to postpone all further sessions of this year’s program, starting from Monday 16 March 2020.

This will include all remaining festival sessions and events until 23 March 2020, as well as our regional program in Geelong, Bendigo, Shepparton, Ballarat and Morwell.

While the advice from the Chief Medical Officer this week may not directly impact our screenings, MQFF feels that suspending the remainder of our screenings is the best decision at this time.

The festival has had good support from the community in its first few days, however, there is a number in our community who are anxious about COVID-19 and being in public spaces. Our mission is to bring the important stories of LGBTIQ communities to the screen for everyone to enjoy, and we cannot fully realise this mission in the current climate.

We understand the festival is important for the community and we are thankful for the support we have received from our staff, volunteers, sponsors, donors, members and festival-goers.

The MQFF team will, in the upcoming weeks, work out the next steps for the festival which may include rescheduling the event for a later date or providing other options for ticketholders.

MQFF will be in contact with all current members and ticketholders as we know more and ask for everyone’s patience and support during this time.