So the lovely Miss Claire Connors has been doing a tip top multigrain job of reviewing some of the highlights of this year's festival. With only a few days left, I thought I'd join the love fest and remind y'all to VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE FILMS. We have $12,000 in prize money for filmmakers, and you choose the best short, doco, feature, and Aussie short. Get amongst it! I myself am about to leave for the Transformations package now, which is sure to have some gems, as will tomorrow's Mixtape, which hosts the best of the gay and lesbian shorts this year.

The focus on activism at this year's fest has meant some amazing documentaries covering a wide range of topics from homophobia, the gay rights movement, transphobic violence to HIV/AIDS activism. With Vito and We Were Here providing insight to the AIDS epidemic in the US in the 80s, and the people who battled for recognition and action from a dismissive Reagan government; tomorrow's documentary Still Around promises to be a wonderful complement to these films. Celebrating hope and survival, Still Around brings together 15 different short films to mark the 30th anniversary of one of the world's most substantial health pandemics. Imma be there, I hope to see you too.

VOTE VOTE VOTE HERE IS A PICTURE OF A PUPPY HUGGING A STUFFED TOY TO REWARD YOU

We are so used to thinking of politicians as heartless bastards that it is quite refreshing to see a film where they are depicted as humans, and likeable humans at that! And no wonder given that Four More Years (Fyra Ar Till) is a Swedish film. Those progressive Swedes manage to deal the sexual lives of the country’s political leaders with fondness and a lighthearted comedic touch, rather than branding them deviant pervert outcasts and revelling in their very public shaming. And it’s not a politician and a secretary, or a politician and a prostitute that we are dealing with here. It’s the Secretary of State and the leader of the Opposition Party who are getting busy. To make matters more interesting, these politicians are on the opposite side of the political spectrum and the closet, with one being publicly out, and the other whose queer sexuality comes as a surprise to himself late in life.

The story follows the handsome, married, political star David Holst as he nears the election that he is by all accounts fated to win. When victory and the Prime Ministership are snatched away from him, David falls into a lethargic slump. It is four more years until the next election, and whilst his wife and campaign manager Fia plots his comeback, David trudges through the motions of meetings, party politics and public appearances. Striking up a friendship with Martin Kovac seems a perfectly good distraction from the monotony of his floundering career, but becomes complicated when the relationship turns sexual and serious, and threatens to destroy everything he and his wife have worked towards.

Four More Years is the best kind of Rom Com, and has been a crowd pleaser, which is why it is back by popular demand on Monday 26^th March at 8.15 - Session 93. Let the sound of the Swedish language wash over your ears and the story of the film warm your heart as you sit back, relax and enjoy a final taste of MQFF goodness.

I should preface this by saying I am not really a fan of musicals, don’t generally like cheesy stuff, and don’t really understand the appeal of watching models walk down catwalks. Given that all of these elements appear in Sheldon Larry’s Leave It On The Floor, you would think it’s not really my cup of tea. However, this film is about the ballroom scene famously depicted in the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning, and features fierce, fabulous, dazzling dancing. So it’s entirely fascinating as well as being fantastically good fun. 

“You had me at dancing” I hear you say, telepathically. I know, right? “So… what kind of dancing do we get to see?” I hear you ask, telepathically (It’s that time of the festival where everyone is so sleep deprived we start to hear voices, and have lengthy conversations with them). Well what if I said that this gem features moves choreographed by the man who works for Beyonce? Yep, that in itself is a recipe to salivate over. And the rest of the film is just as tasty.

Bradley Darnell Lyle, or “Bad Brad” as he is later called, is kicked out of home when his mother catches him watching gay porn. Brad meets the very cute Carter in a drug store and the two have a flirtatious encounter. But mutual attraction is not the only thing that emerges out of this meeting. The boys have pick-pocketed each other. Brad pursues Carter (whilst singing, of course - because it’s a musical and what chase scene would be complete without a song?) and stumbles upon the ballroom scene in LA. Events unfold at a cracking pace. Brad is chatted up by Princess who teaches him the lingo, rules and etiquette of the House Ball, and introduces him to Queef Latina (!!!), the sassy and protective “Mother” of the “House of Eminence”. The competition heats up on and off the floor as Princess and Carter fight for Brad’s affections. Things escalate to crisis point, unfolding in struggles between love and hate, and even life and death.

The film deals with fairly heavy issues, including homophobia and transphobia, queer homelessness, and suicide. However, it is also ultimately an affirmation of the strength and talents of the performers in the ballroom scene, and the love shared between members of the queer “family”. The original soundtrack is pumping and infectiously catchy, and the dance scenes, “walks”, and runway battles are a triumph. If you love your drag-queens sarcastic but with hearts of gold, your manly men oiled-up with rippling muscles, and your House Ball categories made contemporary with a “GaGa twist” then this film definitely delivers.

So, if you are looking for a way to re-energize after glutting yourself on the overabundance of delectable festival treats, Leave It On The Floor - Session 87 - will get your body moving and raise your spirits, leaving you feeling high on life. What more could you ask of a closing night film? And what better way to get the post-film party started? See you on the floor y'all!!

I don’t know about you, but when I think of ‘August’ I think of grey skies, wind and freezing my face off. No thanks! In a more idealistic mood I may have daydreams about listening to the pitter-patter of rain on the roof, the joy of beanies and mittens (or ‘handshoes’ as the Germans call them), and steaming hot bowls of soup. Well, if you are anything like me, you’d be way off the mark with Eldar Rappaport’s film. There will be no wholesome bowls of soup for our protagonists this August, only steaming hot bowls of lust. That’s right, this is a hot film, with a very hot cast.

So, it’s summer in LA and temperatures are reaching record highs. Local boy Jonathon lives with his Argentinean boyfriend Raoul, who is working under the table at a bar job while he waits for his visa; one of the many ways he has shown his commitment to his relationship with Jonathon. But when the magnetic bad boy Troy comes back to town, old passions are reignited. Jonathon’s heart may be with Raul, but his desires start to stray elsewhere. When Troy and Jonathon meet to ‘catch up’, every steaming cup of coffee zings with sexual tension and the affected breezy surface of neutral friendship is seared away to reveal a surging mass of irrepressible desire. With all this chemistry brewing, it quickly becomes apparent that chocolate for breakfast and excessive amounts of sugar in his coffee are not Jonathon’s only bad habits…

August delves into the tensions between love and lust, fidelity and freedom, nurturing and addictive relationships, and pleasure and pain. There is something in this film that everyone can relate to – the pick up, the old flame, the dedicated friend, the trouble-maker, the loving boyfriend and the searing heat of insatiable desire. We’ve all been there at one point or other, and this film explores all of these things as well as having a great setting, an outrageously attractive cast, and a contemporary story, well told. Oh, and did I mention that this film is totally hot?!

If you haven’t seen it yet, and you don’t have tickets for this Saturday’s screening, don’t stress. August is back by popular demand on Monday 26^th. Don’t miss out on the very saucy Session 89. 

Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same is one personal you are unlikely to come across in your average newspaper. But it is this highly specific ad that forms the premise of Madelaine Olnek’s film with the same title. So, you might ask, what do you get when you cross lesbian romance with space aliens? An unexpected, hilarious out-of-this world filmic adventure, that’s what!! With this unique tale of alien-earthling love Olnek throws our expectations out the window, crafting a Rom Com like no other. 

Three space aliens - Zylar, Barr and Zoinx - are exiled from their planet due to the damage their ‘Big Feelings’ are doing to the Ozone layer. They are sent to Earth on a mission to get their hearts broken so they can return home. Our three ladies from outer space are dispatched to New York; the city that has prompted many famous musings on love and loss, from Woody Allen to Carrie Bradshaw. In this particular edition of heartbreak in NYC we find ourselves pondering intergalactic lesbian love. How ought our bald-headed aliens initiate romantic rendez-vous with local lesbians? Navigating the social mores of the dating scene proves a challenge to the newly arrived aliens, who blunder through the nuances of courtship and general social etiquette, weirding out many an earthling in their path.

The film’s style and plot are decidedly B-Grade. The tinfoil spaceship is delightfully shoddy, as are the high-collars on the space alien tracksuit costume. The human actors are deadpan while the aliens are... well... aliens. This low budget lesbian sci-fi is definitely a cult classic in the making. But never fear, it’s not the “so bad it’s good” kind of film. Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (a title that good deserves to be written in full every time!) was selected for Sundance in 2011 and has charmed film critics and audiences alike.

Whilst the humour is largely generated from awkward interactions, the characters are surprisingly three-dimensional and their stories have real emotional pull. The relationship between Jane - the office supplies store employee - and Zoinx will actually tug at your heartstrings and make you rethink your incredulities about Alien/Earthling couples.

The film has a fun and funny premise that deals with quite smart and relevant themes. Human conventions that seem very normal and everyday are shown to be very strange indeed. The cops who are trailing the aliens have more bizarre and passive aggressive conversations than the aliens who are very logical and honest. We know what motivates Zylar; the pursuit of “hot earthling on alien action”, but how can we comprehend the deep anxieties that prompt one cop’s insistent claim that he is “not comfortable with boston bun donuts”? The unflinching directness of the space aliens contrasts with the fears and self-consciousness of humans. It seems we have a thing or two to learn about ourselves and our lives from these other-worldly lesbian lasses.

So, if you missed Codependent Space Alien Seeks Same first time around at MQFF, you have one more chance to see it on Friday 23^rd March at 8.15 (Session 60). Take your friends, family and significant other – this one will thrill all humans (especially those who love a good extended ‘Waggle Dance’ scene). Don’t miss out!!