Out Takes

For this program, we decided to follow the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid!) and feature a selection of reviews and recommendations for TV shows and films that we have recently enjoyed and wanted to make you all aware of too. Up first, ‘On the Road’ is an intense drug, violence and sex-fuelled Mexican thriller directed by David Pablos that introduces us to Veneno, a young hustler who makes ends meet by sleeping with drivers at truck stops in exchange for cash or drugs. He seemingly has no family nor long-term plans; so, when one of his clients stiffs him, he decides to hitch a ride to the other side of the country. Enter Muñeco, a hardened forty-something trucker estranged from his wife and kids, who offers Veneno a seat in his 18-wheeler. As the men drive across northern Mexico, walls come down and feelings develop – but can the pair outrun the demons from Veneno’s past? The film won the Queer Lion at Venice as well as the festival’s Orizzonti Award for Best Film and is a great addition to the line-up of excellent queer films we’ve had hit out big and small screens in 2026. Then we moved on to ‘The Invite’; directed by Olivia Wilde from a screenplay by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, this very funny, intense, and heartbreaking feature is an English-language remake of the 2020 Spanish film ‘The People Upstairs’ and stars Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton. Our next pick was ‘Ride or Die’, a new TV series that was created by Tessa Coates and stars Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham, who also serve as executive producers. The story follows two long-time friends who have to go on the run from a mysterious enemy, and it turns out that one of the friends is secretly a highly trained assassin. We finished up by revisiting our interview from March with AP Pobjoy, the writer and creator of ‘Homebodies’, a brilliant local series that came out in March of this year via SBS, that celebrates trans visibility and Australian queer storytelling. ‘Homebodies’ stars Claudia Karvan, Luke Wiltshire, and Jazi Hall, and follows Darcy, a trans man who reluctantly returns to his regional hometown to care for his estranged mother, Nora. But home isn’t as he left it. Nora has been living with a secret housemate: Dee, the teenage ghost of Darcy’s pre-transition self. As old wounds resurface, Darcy must confront the parts of himself he tried to leave behind or risk losing himself entirely. It’s must-see Aussie TV for many reasons including Claudia Karvan’s Silver Logie award winning performance for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama series.

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For this Out Takes, we looked at two very different queer films adapted from much loved books, got the scoop on the program of one of our favourite Sydney queer film festivals and revisited our interview with Gregg Araki, whose latest film is in cinemas this week. First up was our review of ‘Here the Whole Time’ from Brazilian writer and translator Vitor Martins whose debut novel won the Best Translated Young Adult Book award from the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative and is published in 9 countries. The story follows a 15 day period during their school break where two young guys are thrown together and come to realise that all of the things on the surface that make them so different is also the ingredients that bring them together. The book was described as the ultimate feel-good YA romance which celebrates body positivity, self-acceptance and standing up to bullying and homophobia and it is now a gorgeous and uplifting feature film available to watch now on Netflix. Next up we took a look at ‘The Chronology of Water’, the directorial debut from Kristen Stewart that is adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch’s autobiographical bestseller. Brought up in an environment torn apart by violence, abuse, alcohol and extreme trauma, the story follows Lidia’s journey to find her own voice in an exploration of how trauma can be transformed into art through re-possessing our own bloody histories, particularly those uniquely experienced by the bodies of women and girls. We then moved on to the 13th Queer Screen Film Festival which is back on in Sydney from September 2 – 8 and on demand from the 9 – 16. This year’s program features 28 films plus the return of the Queer Screen Pitch Off Competition and Emerging Narrative Feature Competition, and, for the first time, Queer Screen Studio — a high-octane day of masterclasses, practical panels, and elite networking, from mastering the perfect investor pitch to navigating global festival circuits and post-production secrets. We caught up with Queer Screen’s CEO Benson Wu and it’s Programming Assistant Celeste Diep to get all of the details on this year’s festival including the special guests and events on offer alongside a great line-up of feature and short films. We finished up by revisiting our interview from June with Gregg Araki, the legendary queer filmmaker noted for his involvement with the New Queer Cinema movement whose latest film ‘I Want Your Sex’ is in select Australian cinemas from August 27. His filmography includes the Teenage Apocalypse film trilogy from the 90’s and his 2010 film ‘Kaboom’ was also the inaugural winner of the Queer Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. His latest film stars Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman and Charli XCX in what has been described as an enjoyably outrageous, risqué sex-comedy, set in the Los Angeles contemporary art scene. We jumped at the chance to speak with him earlier this year and in this interview, we discussed his motivation for telling this story, his influence on the lead characters and how he feels now about being labelled one of the pioneers of New Queer Cinema.

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Following its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, ‘Corpus’, a genre-bending erotic body horror from rising filmmaker Corrin Evans recently had its Australian premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival. The film follows Sayo, a soulful nightlife photographer and small-time drug dealer in the summer of 1998 in New York City. When he’s invited to a party upstate by Vince, his long-time friend, unrequited love, and a movie star on the rise, they — together with their rowdy friend Ross — drive to a remote, bucolic manor in hopes of some summer debauchery. Upon arrival, they discover that the promise of a party is actually three mysterious women — Billie, Wren, and Cata — whose disturbing agenda draws the boys into a dark web of seduction and terror. We spoke with Australian actor Brodie Townsend and the films co-writer and producer Lily Cowles (who is also one of the leads in the film) while they were in Melbourne to find out more about their roles in this super horny horror film.

We also revisited our interview with Academy-Award winner Kevin Macdonald whose documentary ‘High & Low – John Galliano’ is streaming now on DocPlay.  The film delves into the captivating and complex life of the flamboyant and iconoclastic head designer at Dior, John Galliano, who soared to unimaginable heights before experiencing a public downfall that shattered his career.

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For this program, we celebrated the upcoming release of ‘STOP! THAT! TRAIN!’, arguably the queerest, campiest, and silliest film you’ll see in cinemas this year that brings together a cast of some of your favourite RuPaul Drag Race queens fighting for their lives on a runaway train with a range of celebrity cameos that will leave you running to the movie theatre to make sure you don’t miss this wild ride. Obviously, we jumped at the chance to review the film and also speak with Drag Race icons Ginger Minj and Jujubee and director Adam Shankman. This hilarious and OTT cinematic tribute to disaster-parody films sees them faced with a catastrophic “Stormaganza” threatening to derail their train. With RuPaul as President Gagwell and celebrity cameos by Lisa Rinna, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and many more, ‘STOP! THAT! TRAIN!’ is a camp and crazy cinematic experience not to be missed. In speaking with the two lead queens of the film and its director, we discussed all the behind-the-scenes tea from their time on the film, plus we find out if we can get the ‘STOP! THAT! TRAIN’ sequel (a.k.a. the she-quel) filmed down under.

We also continued on with our coverage of this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival, which is on right through August, by looking at some of the great queer films on offer. From a sweeping Spanish melodrama to documentaries about a young North American man’s transition to rodeo riding in the Australian outback, we literally found a selection of features and short films that are guaranteed to keep you engaged and entertained this winter.

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One of the queerest, campiest and funniest films of 2026 is about to land in Australian cinemas and we jumped at the chance to speak with its director Adam Shankman and two lead stars Jujubee and Ginger Minj in the lead up to its release. From the producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race comes STOP! THAT! TRAIN!, a cinematic experience not to be missed that celebrates the kitsch, glamour and tongue-in-cheek humour of drag queens. Drag Race icons Ginger Minj and Jujubee star as train stewardesses faced with a catastrophic “Stormaganza” threatening to derail their train, leading them to join forces with RuPaul as President Gagwell. Celebrity cameos abound in this camp comedy, such as gay icons Lisa Rinna, Sarah Michelle Gellar and many, many more. For this Out Takes Extra, we discussed how they got involved with this project, their favourite cameos in the film, whether the sequel could be made in Australia and much more.

STOP! THAT! TRAIN! will be released in Australian cinemas on August 13, 2026.

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