Emerging and established filmmakers, future film festival staff, and fans of movie magic are invited to attend Queer Screen’s Pride in Film events during the Mardi Gras Film Festival (MGFF) this month.
The series features an Industry Development Day at Haymarket Creative on Sunday 23 February, where attendees can Ask Ana Kokkinos Anything at a morning masterclass, journey From Script(ment) to Screen after lunch and get hot takes on the film festival circuit when outgoing Festival Director Lisa Rose and Sydney Film Festival (SFF) CEO Frances Wallace lift the lid on life Behind the Festival Curtain in the afternoon.
Lisa Rose said the Queer Screen Pride in Film: Industry Development Series, which is supported by Screen NSW, will bring together filmmakers and film students who want to tell stories that showcase diverse sexualities and gender identities.
As well as nurturing local talent, Queer Screen has a remit to engage the audiences and the communities we serve. “These events are designed to spark ideas and celebrate creativity,” she explained. “I really hope our audience members who dream of one day making a movie will come along to the events and feel inspired.”
Those interested in working at a film festival – or just interested in how film festivals work – are encouraged to attend Behind the Festival Curtain. “I guarantee it will be interesting to everyone with a connection to film, whether they are already in the industry, want to be in the industry, or happy sitting in the audience at the cinema,” Rose said.
For the film students in the room, Rose promises to reveal the One Big Thing she wants all students to know when they are making shorts to submit to the festival circuit. Budding film festival programmers who are contemplating filling Lisa Rose’s sparkly sequined shoes* when she finishes up at Queer Screen later this year will also find the discussion enlightening.
Joining Rose will be SFF CEO Frances Wallace, who can offer advice and anecdotes from her dazzling twenty-five-year (and counting) career as a global arts leader, including six years as Executive Director of San Francisco’s LGBTQI+ film festival, Frameline.
Acclaimed writer-director Ana Kokkinos, who changed the game when Only the Brave and Head On burst onto big screens in Australia in the 1990s, has an equally astounding career to draw advice from when she presents a masterclass focusing on the directing process. Participants can submit a question when they register for the free event and it will be answered during the class, which will be informed by the topics most asked-about.
Kokkinos has been delivering the hard-hitting goods from the 90s ‘til now, most recently on the small screen with television shows such as Seven Types of Ambiguity (2017), The Hunting (2019) and Ten Pound Poms (2023). So, go ahead: Ask Ana Kokkinos Anything.
The From Script(ment) to Screen masterclass will be co-presented by writer-director Mikko Mäkelä and producer James Watson, whose third successful collaboration, narrative feature Sebastian, screens at MGFF on 24 February. Their short film Nothing Special screened at MGFF24, while their debut feature, A Moment in the Reeds, was a festival favourite at MGFF18.
Mikko Mäkelä said the masterclass will suit everyone who is interested in the process of crafting a scene, especially those with some experience. “I hope it can demystify the process by exploring two different approaches to scene-making; one more improvisational and one less, through examples from both Sebastian and A Moment in the Reeds.”
With input from producer James Watson, the masterclass will also offer deep insights into making independent films on a range of budgets, Mäkelä added.
Scriptwriters and those aspiring to the profession should also attend the Queering the Writer’s Room panel on 15 February at the State Library of NSW, when TV writers Anchuli Felicia King (Deadloch, Mary & George), Enoch Mailangi (All My Friends Are Racist, Invisible Boys) and Greg Waters (Riot, Dance Academy) join moderator, writer and broadcaster Gen Fricker (Gruen) to discuss what it’s like to represent our often-underrepresented communities.
Members of our festival audience should mark their diaries for the second panel on 15 February at the State Library of NSW when, unlike during a film, audience participation will be welcome! It Should’ve Been Queer gives film lovers the opportunity to join a light-hearted chat about the movies and TV shows that made us feel seen, even when we weren’t on screen.
Culture writer and critic Michael Sun, film festival programmer Jordan Bastian (SXSW Sydney), filmmaker and actor Juan Pablo Di Pace (Duino), writer Rebecca Shaw (Tonightly, Hard Quiz) and performance artist and musician Dyan Tai (Empress, screening in QueerDOC Shorts) will lead the discussion.
The final panel, Intersectional Genre Filmmaking on a Microbudget, at Event Cinemas George Street on 25 February, brings together MGFF guest filmmakers Kaye Adelaide (The Rebrand) and Lauren Neal (Under the Influencer), who understand the art of making films with whatever magic can be pulled out of a hat, especially in teams featuring a majority of women and gender diverse creatives. Chair of the Screen Australia’s Gender Matters Taskforce, Rosie Lourde, will moderate.
Update: Alice Maio Mackay (Carnage for Christmas) will now not be on this panel.
Following the panel, an untold number of collaborations are bound to unfold during our annual Industry Networking event, when LGBTQI+ industry peeps gather together for the final Queer Screen Pride in Film: Industry Development Series event. Both the panel and the Industry Networking event are presented with Screen Australia’s Gender Matters Taskforce.
All events are free to attend. Bookings are essential: queerscreen.org.au