After attending the 2025 Mardi Gras Film Festival festival launch last week, Flynn Boffo from Film in Revolt give us his top picks for the 2025 festival.
Baldiga: Unlocked Heart
18th Feb at Event Cinemas George Street
For those who loved All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Baldiga: Unlocked Heart will serve as an excellent companion piece. Detailing the life of photographer Jürgen Baldiga in West Germany’s Queer underground during the 1980s, a time of sexual exploration, activism, and AIDS.
Drive Back Home
20th Feb at Event Cinemas George Street
Drive Back Home is a two-hander road movie about two brothers reunited when Pearly (Alan Cumming) is arrested for having sex with a man in a park, stuck in jail he calls on his estranged brother Weldon to bail him out. With some very cold weather, long drive home, and a stuffed pug, the two are forced to settle their differences.
Carnage for Christmas
22nd Feb at Dendy Newtown
Continuing a prolific run of micro budget horror films, local director Alice Mao Makey teams up with Editor Vera Drew (The Peoples Joker) for a festive slasher. True crime podcaster Lola (Jeremy Moineau) returns home for Christmas only to discover that an urban legend has also returned, a killer Santa known as the Toymaker.
Joan the Kid & Oi (My Queer Career)
24 Feb at Event Cinemas, George Street
Made by AFTRS alumni, Joan the Kid and Oi (Starring and written by FIR member Laneikka Denne) return to Sydney after making waves in festivals across the country. They will be competing in the My Queer Career competition for cash prizes worth up to $5,000.
Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers
26th Feb at Ritz Cinema, Randwick
Rediscovered after 50 years in obscurity Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers is a sketch musical starring Warhol superstar Holly Woodlawn. Filled with references to old Hollywood and with appearances from Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. This cult film in the waiting is finally making its way onto screens.
Bonus! – The Birdcage
26th Feb at Laneway Cinema, The Rocks
Free Screening
I would be doing the Elaine May fan in me a huge disservice if I did not highlight that the 1996 comedy classic is playing at the Rocks Laneway Cinema (TICKETS ARE FREE!!).
Mardi Gras Film Festival
13 – 27 Feb 2025