Okay, MQFFsters... Let's talk different. And let's talk proud. There's something I want to put out there and I'm going to grab onto that sweet, sweet new 2016 tagline say it... and I'm going to ride that tagline like a baby monkey on a pig.
A couple of years back, I was discussing with a most excellent friend the birth of a most excellent feminist film festival and we got around to discussing the merits of MQFF. A lot came up. I'm a fanboy, as you'll have gathered. I love the community aspect. I love the vibe. I love that under director Lisa Daniel the festival has gone from strength to strength. And my friend shot back that 16 years (at that stage it was 14 years) is a long time for a festival to sit under a one person. That perhaps MQFF needed a shake-up.
I scoffed. Mainly, I guess, because I've always been quite partial to Lisa's programming.
But, as you know, things change. 2015 was Lisa's final year and you all gave her a rousing send off. Reins have been passed. The festival is now under new artistic and operational management (welcome Spiro and Dillan) and we have gotten that shake-up after all.
At least from my vantage point, MQFF already looks and feels different, and proudly so. It's kind of subtle though. It may be hard to notice at first but I think there's been some quiet stamping going on.
First up, I want to bring your attention to the fact that the films this year aren't boxed loosely into features, documentaries, shorts and centrepiece presentations. You'll need to take a step back to recognise it but there is some definite curating going on. In the spirit of MQFF's clever posters, there're a couple of programming streams that have been cordoned off.
Outside the snappily titled features section ("Queer and Not From Here"), there's an Australian spotlight, containing the fabulous documentary Remembering the Man, which I can recommend but can't throw a review at you. That stream also has Richard Lowenstein and Lynne-Maree Milburn's interesting (but indulgent) Ecco Homo and Poppy Stockell's rugby doco, Scrum, which I've heard solid word on (you can be guaranteed that the men are solid at least). There's also a "Loud and Proud" stream, pulling in queer music interests; and a couple of streams for the adventurous festival goer, "Avant-Gays" and "Out There", both of which look to be challenging.
In amongst all this, you'll notice a slant towards the year's most worthy queer offerings. This has meant the reclaiming of some titles that have played at other film fests prior to MQFF. Personally, I'm pleased the programming team hasn't been shy in giving these another big screen outing. Yes, those with keen eyes for queer cinema will definitely have picked up and poured over these delights already but for those who haven't you are in for some real treats.
Of those I've seen (and I am pleased that I'll actually be able to catch up on some I missed), these three will almost certainly find themselves in the top ten cinema going experiences of the fest:
If those films aren't exciting enough for you (and if you read my review of the Greenaway film, you'll hear just how hot under the collar it can get an audience), there's a whole orgy of cinematic brilliance locked in under the moniker "Pioneers".
Most of the sidebar rests on this year's collaboration with the Melbourne Cinematheque, a look back at two of the most visually arresting films in the history of queer cinema (or the whole of cinema actually), Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Querelle and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant but the influences of both films bounce off other films in the program. That's the beauty of true pioneers, and R.W.F. was certainly that. These films should not be missed on the big screen.
And for those who are interested, I've been blogging my way through Fassbinder's extensive body of work. I'm about three quarters of the way through (34 films in). You can check all that out at Director Focus: Rainer Werner Fassbinder (there's a Part I and a Part II)
A flow on effect from both the active curation and the festival cherry picking is that there are fewer "bums on seats" films in the festival this year. There's more brains than brawn on offer...
This is where I turn straight to camera and address you directly because the MQFF team has put together a fantastic program. It is a program that builds on a rock-solid foundation but it is also a program that, like the festival, screams loud and clear, proudly different.
It's going to take a little getting used to. Maybe a little stepping outside of the comfort zone. But there is a lot of quality in here and it is the type of program that should increase the festival's already impressive profile. When that happens, there'll be even stronger films on offer.
Wouldn't it be great to see Lorenzo Vigas's Golden Lion winning Desde Allá at MQFF before it plays at MIFF? (because doubtless they've pilfered it). Let's reclaim what's ours.
So, if there's no seat here that your bum is jumping at straight away, read on. Take a risk. Bring a friend to hold your hand. Get amongst it. I'm sure you'll be surprised.
Anyway, the full program is up on the festival's website but if you want a little guidance, here's where I'm at:
Most of the sidebar rests on this year's collaboration with the Melbourne Cinematheque, a look back at two of the most visually arresting films in the history of queer cinema (or the whole of cinema actually), Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Querelle and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant but the influences of both films bounce off other films in the program. That's the beauty of true pioneers, and R.W.F. was certainly that. These films should not be missed on the big screen.
And for those who are interested, I've been blogging my way through Fassbinder's extensive body of work. I'm about three quarters of the way through (34 films in). You can check all that out at Director Focus: Rainer Werner Fassbinder (there's a Part I and a Part II)
A flow on effect from both the active curation and the festival cherry picking is that there are fewer "bums on seats" films in the festival this year. There's more brains than brawn on offer...
This is where I turn straight to camera and address you directly because the MQFF team has put together a fantastic program. It is a program that builds on a rock-solid foundation but it is also a program that, like the festival, screams loud and clear, proudly different.
It's going to take a little getting used to. Maybe a little stepping outside of the comfort zone. But there is a lot of quality in here and it is the type of program that should increase the festival's already impressive profile. When that happens, there'll be even stronger films on offer.
Wouldn't it be great to see Lorenzo Vigas's Golden Lion winning Desde Allá at MQFF before it plays at MIFF? (because doubtless they've pilfered it). Let's reclaim what's ours.
So, if there's no seat here that your bum is jumping at straight away, read on. Take a risk. Bring a friend to hold your hand. Get amongst it. I'm sure you'll be surprised.
Anyway, the full program is up on the festival's website but if you want a little guidance, here's where I'm at:
Thursday 31 March | Slated as a queer take on The Big Chill. Okay. Queers, alcohol, surfacing secrets... that's all well and good but I want to know who's been cast in the Kevin "Stiff in a Box" Costner role. If Neil Patrick Harris doesn't show up in a hearse, I'm flipping tables. The guide says this is mumblecore inspired. I don't find mumblecore at all inspired. It's got a lot to live up to after last year's risky (it was subtitled) triumph. To me this looks a tad generic. BYO white bread to soak up the alcohol afterwards. Good or bad, its all about drunken talking points at the afterparty. |
Friday 1 April  8:15 pm - Departure 10:15 pm - Beautiful Something | Friday brings a slow start to the festival I fear. Kicking off with Portrait of a Serial Monogamist, a lesbian friendship group piece about love advice. I'm not sure my newly-divorced self will be able to cope. But I'll try (mind open, mind open, mind open). The later films are more promising. Departure looks like a well-shot, if mopey, family breakdown film. Hoping it can coast along on shallow focus and Juliet Stevenson. Finally, the late showing of Beautiful Something is one of the few fleshy flicks that made the cut. I'm promised it is a crowd puller and a stylish film in its own right. It features a very attractive piece of flesh on the cover. Tickets are already flying out the door I bet. |
Saturday 2 April 4:00 pm - Deep Run 6:00 pm - Naz and Maalik 8:15 pm - Tab Hunter Confidential 10:15 pm - Closet Monster | At the program launch I was alerted by a very excited critic friend to the fact that Isabella Rossellini is voicing a pet hamster in one of the films. Said film is Closet Monster. Said film is tagged as having "a smattering of Cronenbergian body horror." Said film is on the must see list. In the lead up, some Lizbian romance, a trans* vs. religious right doco and a sweet (I'm told) love story between to queer muslims in NYC. That last one sounds particularly up my alley. So much so that's I'm scheduling it in over grumpy Lily Tomlin in Grandma. I'm guessing Tomlin's name is big enough that she should find release somewhere else soon. Also, the much lauded Tab Hunter documentary, the latest film from Jeffrey Schwartz, who has previously showed at MIFF/MQFF with the docos I am Divine and Vito. |
Sunday 3 April 3:30 pm - When My Sorrow Died 6:00 pm - La Belle Saison 8:15 pm - Boulevard | I just realised I almost missed getting a ticket to Summer, one of the films that has personally been recommended to me. It got lost in the plethora of summery lesbian films that have been jammed into this years festival (see La Belle Saison and Summer of Sangaile). I think it was this one that was recommended to me. Anyway, I'm catching two of the three today so I'll be able to let you know. Otherwise, I'm tossing up between Scrum and the doco on performance artist Armen Ra. Scrum, though it's packed with rugby bodies, runs short and I'm sure will be just as satisfying on the small screen (if it doesn't get another screening). NYC performance art for me. Closing the night out with Robin Williams' final film. Critical response to Boulevard hasn't been welcoming but I feel I owe it to the late, great funny man. And he is a scorching actor. |
Monday 4 April 8:00 pm - Hidden Away Picking up on my gender fixation of last year, Girls Lost promises coming of age gender-swappery that is a little more artsy than that 1996 Guy Pearce/Claudia Karvan vehicle. Hidden Away is one of the film's I missed on its run at the Spanish Film Festival. This kind of film is right up my callejón. Points for Spain, points for Morocco, points for refugee themes, points for sweet, star-crossed lovers. Will be glad to finally catch it. | Tuesday 5 April 8:30 pm - The Glamour and the Squalor I've got to say, word on The Summer of Sangaile has about as mixed word can get. Director Alanté Kavaïté took away the best director price at Sundance but others haven't been so effusive. Everyone agrees it's super pretty though. Lesbians in fields of flowers. Afterwards, The Glamour and the Squalor will provide the grunge/techno tonic. Well received doco tracking the life of Seattle DJ Marco Collins and his work with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and The Prodigy |
Wednesday 6 April 9:00 pm - The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant Do I need to say it again? GET A TICKET TO THESE FILMS!!! They are sumptuous. They are stimulating. They are production designed to the hilt. And in the case of Querelle there is penis as far as the eye can see. If you choose not to, or if you miss out (because the Cteq crowd may grab all the seats), I have it on good authority that Mala Mala is one of the best films in the program. Still pissed they programmed them head to head. | Thursday 7 April 8:30 pm - Henry Gamble's Birthday Party I haven't heard much on either of these but what i have is good. Henry Gamble's Birthday Party is apparently a super well-shot and brilliantly performed film with complexity hidden in its conservative religious family shin-dig. How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) controversially has a Korean-American director looking at life in the Bangkok slums. Thailand put it forward as their entry to the Oscars this year so some cultural merit must have been retained. |
Friday 8 April 8:45 pm - Front Cover 10:30 pm - You're Killing Me | You know you're programming a festival right when you can pull in one of the most talked about (and rarely re-staged) events of the past year. He Hated Pigeons is billed as a phantasmagorical cinema experience and plays on the big screen with a different live score every time. MQFF has pulled in the services of Frankie Topaz from Total Giovanni. You shouldn't need to be convinced. I'm following that singular event with some of the more foddery films of the fest, Front Cover, which looks a little generic but may offer insight into accepting once's cultural heritage, and You're Killing Me, a horror comedy starring Chloë Sevigny himself, Drew Droege. |
Saturday 9 April 6:15 pm - Daddy 8:30 pm - Guy on Guy Shorts (!!!) 10:30 pm - Everlasting Love | Okay, so the big news for Saturday is that I'm seeing one of the shorts packages. I never see the shorts packages but I've scheduled myself into a corner. Are you proud of me? Prior to that, Chemsex is apparently utterly fantastic and utterly gruelling. I'm desperately intrigued but worried since it is a Vice production and I'm still not completely trusting of their motives. Daddy is a drama from Bear City actor Gerald McCullouch, who performed the role in its off-Broadway incarnation. There's not many reactions online as yet but what there is has been extremely positive. I should note, a review of the play was subtitled - "Don't Let Your Son Go Down on Me" so this could be "challenging". Finally, Everlasting Love riffs off Stranger by the Lake's beat-sexing. I'm sure it's going to be far more exploitative but that's what you want in a late showing. Plus bums. |
Sunday 10 April 4:00 pm - Back On Board: Greg Louganis 6:15 pm - Dressed as a Girl 8:30 pm - Fourth Man Out | Sunday's looking like a bit of a black hole for me. Actually, it is a little quite on the screening front overall. Taking out the shorts offerings, I'm left with the Susan Sontag doco, which I have seen and is solid (I'll probably attend for the panel); another Greg Louganis doco, which is apparently quite good (and it's always fun to check in with an old crush); and Dressed as a Girl, a look at London's underground drag scene, which could be a blast. After all that, the closing night film, Fourth Man Out, looks white, "straight-acting" interminably bro, and filled with cheeky homophobia. But hey, I'm ready to be surprised. |
Monday 11 April 8:00 pm - TBA | This is my little space to bitch and moan about how the films I can't get to program in never make it into the "back by popular demand" sessions. I'm crossing my fingers for a second screening of Mala Mala, which has garnered nothing but raves (but those Puerto Rican drag queens are locking horns with R.W.F. so I just can't make it). If not that, then a second round of Scrum... mmmm rugby mans... One thing I do see is that these sessions are now labelled "Encore and Surprise" screenings. I like that surprise part. MIFF's pulled a few coups in the past and dropped some pretty special films in at the last minute. With MQFF positioning itself as a more art conscious festival, I'd love to see them follow suit. Surprise away!!! |
So, yes, I reiterate, there is a lot of quality cinema on offer. Tell your friends. Buy lots of tickets. Gift tickets to strangers. Broaden your horizons. Do this festival a little differently.
Pep talk over.
Oh, and if you haven't already done it, you can also follow my general festival-going antics on Facebook or Letterboxd. Drop a comment if you feel so inclined. Help to get the word out. And if you want more immediate reactions, feel free to follow me on the Twitter.
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