Brisbane Queer Film Festival is still going strong at 17 years
Image: Grandma, starring Lily Tomlin.
Queer month in Brisbane just keeps getting better. With the two summery weeks of MELT Queer Festival coming to a close, audiences can now look forward to the 17th annual Brisbane Queer Film Festival from Thursday, February 18 to Sunday, February 28.
Now with a new home at the beautiful restored 1970s New Farm Cinemas, Brisbane Queer Film Festival will showcase 16 award-winning feature films and two Queer Shorts sessions. But you better get in quick, popular films like Lilly Tomlin’s Grandma, Summer of Sangaile (Lithuania’s first LGBTI film), Queer Shorts and five other films are close to selling out.
The program features films from all over the world, with highlights including Australian documentary Remembering The Man – a documentary focusing on Holding The Man’s Tim Conigrave and John Caleo; opening night gala film 54: The Director’s Cut by Mark Christopher; the 40th anniversary screening of Australian classic The Devil’s Playground; and a double documentary session celebrating the butch lesbian identity
Festival curator Shannon King’s picks for the festival are the new Peter Greenaway film Eisenstein in Guanajuato, which will satiate the needs of film buffs; the beautiful and engaging Butch Duo featuring award-winning documentaries The Royal Road and Feelings are Facts: The Life of Yvonne Rainer; and Teddy Award-winning documentary The New Man, about a trans Uruguayan revolutionary searching for her identity in her country of birth.
“I wanted Brisbane audiences to explore what it means to be LGBTIQ in other cultures as well as our own. These films show the true identity of queer: never hiding always searching and striving,” King said.
The festival program includes films from Kenya, Lithuania, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, USA, Spain, Mexico and Australia, with films featuring well-known actors like Lily Tomlin, Laverne Cox, Mike Myers, Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Simon Burke and Patricia Velasquez.
Come and celebrate queer month in style at New Farm Cinemas, just don’t wait too long to buy a ticket, this year is looking to be the most successful festival yet.
Brisbane Queer Film Festival is on February 18-28. For details and bookings, click here.
