Mark Robinson is one of eight finalists in this year's My Queer Career competition. He is also the only finalist to have two short films in the running for the MQC title in 2008. In an interview with GenQ, Mark talks about his short films Paradise and Everything We Are, future works and offers advice to those looking to start a career in film making.

When did you first take an interest in film making?

I didn’t really understand the power of cinema until I was in my late teens, I always thought I’d end up in politics, I was always socially minded and that’s what got me excited, was the ability to influence and be apart of social change. We grew up moving around, lots of caravan parks, refuges and foster homes, which is probably why I deal with the subject matter I do.

Though it took me a few years to actually admit it to my friends, filmmaking always felt so unattainable for years, it was a career that lots of people threw around, I really wanted it, so I kept it to myself until I got excepted into film school in my twenties.

Where is the one place that you would most like to create a film?

Australia, where the bloody hell else!

What is your entry in the My Queer Career competition about?

My two films ‘Everything We Are’ and ‘Paradise’ are quite similar in themes. They deal with a common idea of mine, which is everyone deserves to be able to place food on the table, but more importantly they and there family should be able to enjoy it. The story is told through two separate relationships and the inabilities we have to communicate honestly with the ones we care for the greatest.

How do you feel about being a finalist in the world’s largest queer short film competition?

It’s great to have an audience, especially when its peers that you are making films for.

What I’m really excited about is the regional screenings. I wish when I was growing up a travelling queer film festival popped into my town!

Are there any other short/full length films you currently have in planning/production?

I’m currently writing a feature screenplay, working title ‘Love Child’ which deals with the myth that Australia is a middle class nation. I see it as Australia’s answer to ‘Once Were Warriors’, it tells the story of two groups of siblings from two generations and the challenges they face living in Australian public housing estates.

I’m also working on a story that loosely deals with the 1989 Mark Park Murders and many other gay bashings that occurred during that period in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. Working title ‘Bondi Run’, deals with the boys involved in the crimes, it is believed groups of kids as young as thirteen travelled to from the western suburbs to take part in these hideous crimes.

Do you personally feel that more support needs to be given to queer filmmakers, or for films which address issues in the gay community?

Funding for the arts in general is always needed and wanted. However I think the queer community globally is blessed when it comes to film. We have so many internationally recognised film festivals to screen our work and we have a demanding and faithful audience that can’t get enough queer stories. What we need are more storytellers like Greg Arraki and Anna Kokkinos who tell authentic stories with an honest queer voice. I also think it’s time that queer films help shape the society we want to live in. Cinema is the most powerful medium for change.

Where do you see your career taking you in ten years time?

I have so many stories I want to tell, I want to spend the next ten years developing a unique voice in Australian cinema, so that I can continue to tell stories that matter well into my twig light years!

If there was one particular well known film you wanted to have made, what would it be?

Babette's Feast - Gabriel Axel

What advice would you offer for those looking to create their own short film for the first time?

Be honest, if you have decided on film as a career, you must have something damn interesting to say, so say it. Doesn’t matter how simple the idea is, if you believe it, you’ll have an audience.

The winners of the 2008 My Queer Career Competition will be announced on Thursday 14 February.

Tags: Mardi Gras Film Festival 2008, My Queer Career