Out Takes

For this Out Takes, we dedicated this show to the 2026 Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a.k.a MQFF, and some of the fantastic films on offer in this year’s line up. Now in it’s 36th year, this year’s festival runs from November 13 to 22 and it is recognised internationally as one of the most important platforms for Queer cinema in the world and plays a vital role in providing a forum for celebration, advocacy and visibility for queer communities. We started off by reviewing five films in the program that celebrate the diversity and quality LGBTQIA+ cinema on offer; The Dads, Kick, Jaripeo, Girlfriends, and Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders. We then revisited two interviews from May of this year from two of the talented folks whose films are also featured in this years festival. First up was William D. Caballero, the director of They Dream. In this deeply moving documentary, William returns home to be with his mother as they navigate the loss of their family members. Together, they draw on family audio and video, and step into the roles of their relatives, reimagined through vivid animation. This simple yet cathartic act soon transforms their lives. Our second interview was with Sydney-based director Dean Francis whose film Body Blow is described as a neo-noir exploring sex, power, and queer identity. It tells the story of disgraced cop Aiden, played by Tim Pocock, who is sent deep undercover into Sydney’s pulsing gay nightlife, where he meets Cody, played by Tom Rogers, a young bartender whose charm quickly complicates his mission. But Cody answers to Fat Frankie, a commanding drag queen brought fabulously to life by Paul Capsis, who pulls Aiden into a web of crime and danger. The film also features an unforgettable performance from Sacha Horler. Both films are must-see’s on the big screen for MQFF 2026.

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For this Out Takes we time traveled back to the future to look at two new films that showcase one of the best pop music performers of all time and some very choice up and coming talent from across the ditch. First up was our review of George Michael: The Faith Tour, a restored concert film featuring George Michael’s 1988 Faith Tour performances at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, captured on 35mm over two nights during the European leg of the tour. As a solo artist, he sold over 100 million records and has been widely recognised as a creative force in songwriting, vocal performance and visual presentation. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023 and while he was openly gay from 1998 we always claimed him as one of us. Now we get to relive the magic of him as an all out performer thanks to a new concert film that features never seen before footage, audio and photographs from a period when George Michael was the king of the pop world. We then took a look at ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ which is not only the arrival of some major kiwi film talent but will also close this year’s Melbourne Queer Film Festival. The film begins in the summer of 2006 in rural New Zealand where we meet 14 year-old Sid Bookman who is caught between childhood and adolescence, navigating a burgeoning sexual curiosity and a desperate desire for acceptance. Her coastal town is quiet and contained, but glimpses of life beyond – flickering reality TV, American pop culture, and the occasional seedy chatroom – ignite both longing and restless possibility. We also shared our interview with the films writer and director Paloma Schneidman and it’s lead actress Ani Palmer which was recorded in August when they were in town following their Australian premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival where we found out more about what went on with the casting and making of the film, its brillaint soundtrack plus we find out more about the Jane Campion connection.

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For this Out Takes, we featured two interviews and a review that focused on an academic exploration of queer drama in the local television industry and two films featured in the British Film Festival that highlight the diversity on offer in this years program. First up, we spoke with Dr Damien John O’Meara about his new book ‘Queer Stories in Australian TV Drama – Production Culture, Policy, and Distribution’ which examines how such expectations manifest through hidden production processes for queer stories in Australian scripted television. Through analysis of 18 original interviews with Australian television industry professionals, along with political-economic, content, and textual analysis of queer television content from 2011 to 2021, this book demonstrates how Australian television’s once-pervasive industry perceptions that queer stories would not appeal to broad audiences changed throughout the decade. Our long-form discussion digs into many of the themes covered in the book and how Australia’s television industry has changed in relation to queer stories appearing onscreen. We then spoke with Luke Mazzaferro, a Sydney based filmmaker, writer and Academy Award nominated producer whose latest film ‘Parky’ that he co-directed is a revelatory and intimate portrait of Sir Michael Parkinson – Britain’s king of the chat show and the man behind the beloved ‘Parky’ icon – as told in his own words and from those closest to him. We ended this program with a review of ‘Extra Geography’, a very quirky and quite queer feature film from BAFTA-winning director Molly Manners which is described as a coming-of-age story and an intimate snapshot of the challenges and joys of teenage girlhood.

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For this Out Takes, we shared three interviews for you that highlight some of the great talent and queer films on offer here and abroad this October and November. We recently reviewed the beautiful drama ‘On The Sea’ which is screening exclusively at Cinema Nova which is set in a remote fishing community in Northern Wales. The film begins with us meeting Jack, a mussel harvester, who expects his son to continue the family trade. Tensions arise when his son resists this expectation, and the arrival of Daniel, a new deckhand further complicates relationships within the community. Daniel is played by Lorne MacFayden who we had the pleasure of speaking with recently from London for a chat about the film, the importance of telling these late in life coming out stories and more. We also recently featured some of the great LGBTQ films on offer in this years Irish Film Festival which is on now across Australia in cinemas and online. One of the short film highlights is ‘Flirt’ which is written and co-directed by Louis Flanagan which follows a young man’s debs night which is turned on its head when a secret threatens to devastate his relationship and future plans. We caught up with Louie from his home base of Dublin to discus how he got started in filmmaking, his career in TV production and his wonderful film. We rounded out this show by speaking with Louise Lever, the recently appointed Festival Director for the Melbourne Queer Film Festival. With the MQFF program launch held recently, we got to see the fantastic line-up of feature films on offer this November for the 36th edition of the festival so who better to speak about the line-up then the person who helped pull it all together. As a filmmaker and film lover it was great to speak to Louise about her new role, the theme for this years festival and of course some of the many highlights on offer for MQFF 2026.

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It is fair to say that ‘La Bola Negra’ is one of the most highly anticipated films of 2026 and definitely one of the most keenly awaited queer films in years. Directed by Los Javis and featuring an incredible cast including Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close, alongside new Spanish talent including Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Guitarricadelafuente and our special guest for this interview, Milo Quifes. At 25 years of age, Milo is a published author and ‘La Bola Negra’ is his first feature film acting role so he’s off to a great start. We caught up with him online recently as he was promoting the film and we had a great conversation about how he came to be in the film, the experience of working with Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi and the impact of being a part of this story that explores queer Spanish culture on a global scale. ‘La Bola Negra’ is in Australian cinemas now and is a must-see on the big screen.

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