Out Takes

For this Out Takes Extra, we got together 24 hours post-Oscars for a debrief and to see if any of our winner predictions were spot on or way off (spoiler – we did pretty well). Let us know what you loved and loathed about the 98th Academy Awards via email or on our socials. Happy Awards Season to all who celebrate!

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For this Out Takes, we welcomed the return of the Melbourne Women in Film Festival. Running from March 19–23 across ACMI and Fed Square, this year’s program continues to bring together bold works from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and Pasifika. Over four days, audiences can look forward to premiere screenings, restorations, creator conversations and hands-on workshops—an immersive celebration of diverse perspectives and the homegrown visionaries shaping the screen industry’s future. The Melbourne Women in Film Festival recently unveiled its landmark tenth-year program, marking a decade of championing women and gender-diverse filmmakers from Australia and beyond. We caught up with Festival Director Dr Sian Mitchell to discuss this year’s program and much more.

We also reviewed ‘The Moment’, a new film that turns the spotlight on Charli XCX as we go behind the scenes for a hilarious look at the life of a popstar as she navigates the complexities of fame and industry pressure while preparing for her arena tour debut.

Finally, we took a look at ‘A Friend of Dorothy’, a new short film that is delightfully queer and in the running to win an Oscar too.

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With ‘Scream 7’ finally out in cinemas around the world after various delays and controversies, we took the opportunity for this Out Takes to review this latest instalment in the 30+ year franchise and also explore its queer legacy across this incredibly popular and at times very camp slasher film series. From those iconic early days of high-profile scream queens being killed off in the opening scenes of the films to the enduring and contentious relationship between Sidney and Gail across the years, we celebrate the queer connection between the films and its fans along with the impact it’s gay creator Kevin Williamson has had on the horror genre.

We then took the program in a different direction by taking a look at the new Netflix docuseries that has everyone talking about Tyra. ‘America’s Next Top Model’ was created and hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks and began in 2006. It ran for 24 seasons and created spin offs around the world including here is Australia. The show featured up and coming models from across the USA vying to win the competition by competing in challenges, doing photo shoots and commercials and living in a shared house all while being filmed 24/7. The show was always controversial and with more contestants sharing their stories online it was only time before someone decided to take a look back at the people involved and what actually went on behind the scenes on this massively popular reality television juggernaut ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model’ packed a lot in to its three episodes and we were keen to join the conversation on this series too.

Finally, with Award’s season nearing the finish line before the Academy Awards in mid-March, we took the time to reflect on the recent BAFTA Awards and see if there are any clear favourites or surprises coming through in the recent winners and to also provide an update on our picks for Oscar glory in 2026.

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For this Out Takes, we celebrated the release of two highly anticipated queer films for February that celebrate the diversity of our community, the importance of representation and the ability for LGBTQIA+ folks to tell our own stories in an authentic way while still been given the opportunity to have them out in the mainstream.

First up was ‘Jimpa’, the latest film from Adelaide based writer, producer and director Sophie Hyde. Inspired by Hyde’s own life with a direct link to her gay activist father Jim, this film is a multi-generational queer family story starring award-winning favourites Olivia Colman and John Lithgow plus it introduces us to the extraordinary talents of Aud Mason-Hyde. Along with our review of ‘Jimpa’, we were delighted to be joined in the JOY studios by Sophie and Hyde where we covered a wide range of topics and themes including how this very personal story developed into a feature film, how audiences have responded to the performances and characters, plus we discuss the connection that their father and grandfather Jim Hyde had to JOY and his impact in the queer community.

We then reviewed ‘Pillion’, the debut feature film from British director Harry Lighton that tells the story of Colin (Harry Melling) who lives a small, carefully ordered life with his parents until Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), the charismatic leader of a gay biker gang, claims him as his submissive. Drawn into Ray’s world of leather, ritual, and unspoken codes, Colin awakens to intoxicating new dimensions of desire and belonging and the film traces the ecstatic and uncomfortable contours of a dom-sub relationship that evolves into something far deeper – a meditation on identity, control, and the unsettling shapes devotion takes when boundaries dissolve.

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For this Out Takes Extra, we had the pleasure of speaking with Sophie Hyde and Aud Mason-Hyde at the JOY studios in the lead up to the Australian release of ‘Jimpa’ which is in cinemas now. Sophie Hyde is an acclaimed Adelaide-based film director, writer, and producer. Following on from her debut feature ’52 Tuesdays’, she has gone on to work on projects here and around the world including ‘Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’ with Emma Thompson and ‘Animals’ with Alia Shawkat. Her latest film ‘Jimpa’ is based on her own family story after her father, Jim Hyde, came out to his wife as gay when they were married with young children, and explores a fictionalised version of their unique path forward in keeping their family connected while also living their own lives. The film stars Olivia Colman, John Lithgow, and introduces us to the extraordinary acting abilities of Sophie’s very talented child, Aud Mason-Hyde.With Sophie and Aud at the JOY studio’s to discuss ‘Jimpa’, we took the opportunity to cover a wide range of topics from film-making to gender identity through to Jim Hyde’s connection to JOY and the experience of being in a bath with Olivia Colman on set! ‘Jimpa’ is in Australian cinemas now so visit your local cinema listings for details and also visit the Queerest Part of Us project to celebrate, recognise and remember our stories and connection to community. Also, keep up to date with everything Out Takes on Instagram, BlueSky and Facebook and thanks for listening to this Out Takes Extra.

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