GenQ - For the not so straight individual

15 March – 25 March 2007

• Opening Night- Astor Theatre Closing Night- Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
• All other sessions at Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
• Tickets on sale February 22 from www.melbournequeerfilm.com.au
Also at Hares and Hyenas, 63 Johnston Street Fitzroy and at ACMI Cinemas.

The largest and most successful queer film festival in Australia, the Melbourne Queer Film Festival will take place from March 15- 25 at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, commencing with its roof-raising opening night and party at the Astor Theatre in St Kilda. In 2006, 20,000 film and queer film devotees attended MQFF, an illustration of the immense success and support for the Festival in Melbourne.

In 2007, the Melbourne Queer Film Festival continues to be driven by Volkswagen, and MQFF is proud to announce that Volkswagen has committed to a 3 year naming rights sponsorship from 2007 to 2009. Festival Director, Lisa Daniel is thrilled to present the program this year which she is delighted to confirm as the very best yet. 122 films will screen over ten days including 38 feature films and 27 documentaries. Over 10 feature film Australian premieres.

“The programming panel has gone to great lengths to carve out a selection of films which highlights the maturity of queer cinema as a genre across the globe�, said Daniel. “We are delighted to present the Australian premiere of 2 new Australian feature films, Ed Aldridge’s gay surf film Tan Lines, and the World Premiere of Melbourne filmmaker Kylie Eddy’s This Kiss, and there’s some great new films from the next generation of up and coming Australian filmmakers featured in the City of Melbourne Awards short film package. .�

Opening and Closing nights of the Festival are as always, a highlight of the social calendar for the queer community. MQFF is delighted to confirm Infamous, the accurate and compelling portrayal of the brilliant and egotistical author Truman Capote as the opening night film. Closing night film is the hilarious Itty Bitty Titty Committee, by Jamie Babbit (But I’m a Cheerleader) featuring an all star cast of lesbian favourites such as Daniela Sea (The L Word, Shortbus) and Jenny Shimuzu (Foxfire) in this high powered girl on girl adventure. Director Jamie Babbit will also be a guest of the Festival.

Highlights of the 2007 program include: The Gymnast, winner of 9 international Best Film Awards including LA Outfest, 20 Centimetres, a hilarious Spanish comedy featuring a narcoleptic transsexual prostitute, Another Gay Movie, a queer teen sex comedy that makes ‘American Pie’ look tame, and Cut Sleeve Boys, from Hong Kong starring Chowee Leow, who is am MQFF guest. A strong international selection includes features from Iceland, The Philippines, Mexico, Taiwan, Romania, Bosnia, Herzegovina and South Korea including the brilliant award winning film, The King and the Clown (Wang-ui Namja), South Korea’s Official Entry into the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. From out of the archives MQFF presents Frank Brittain’s seminal 1970 Australian feature,The Set. Regarded by many as Australia’s first film to have an openly gay storyline and characters, the film will be introduced by Executive producers Roger Ward and David Hannay.

The Selectors’ Choice (the fave film from the MQFF selection Panel) is Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis, a spectacular documentary on the life of cultural misfit and queer screen culture pioneer, Jack Smith. Another film not to be missed is Indonesia’s first lesbian feature film Last Second (Detik Terakhir).

The Documentary program includes: Cruel and Unusual, a powerful film about gender reassignment and the criminal justice system; Beyond Hatred, the moving documentary about the gay bashing death of a young French man in 2002; Small Town Gay Bar, a profile of two historic Mississippi gay venues in the heart of Middle America’s Bible Belt and Beyond Conception: Men Having Babies, chronicling the high-tech journey to build a modern family. Documentary sessions accompanied by panel discussion will include the important and powerful Meth, co-presented by Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria and Rainbow’s End, co-presented by the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby that also includes discussion regarding the future of queer activism.

This year in partnership with the City of Melbourne, MQFF presents the 2007 Oz Shorts program which offers a $2000 cash prize for Best Australian Short Film. Filmmakers will also vie for best feature film, best documentary, best short film and best Australian Short Film with over $9000 in cash prizes on offer.

Strap on the stilettos or buckle up those boots, MQFF needs you on the floor….

For tickets, schedule and all information visit www.melbournequeerfilm.com.au