News & Reviews

The inaugural Midsumma Movies will hit the screen at The Capitol Theatre this January, delivering a sizzling weekend of the newest and most fabulous queer cinema.

Running from 27 – 28 January 2024, with back-to-back screenings across two glorious days, Midsumma Movies will showcase a dynamic cross-section of queer cinema including this summer’s hottest queer film releases, Dicks: The Musical and Bottoms, as well as encore screenings from MQFF33 – Shape, Solo and the Australian Made Shorts.

Midsumma Movies is a collaboration between the Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) and Midsumma – Victoria’s two largest festivals for LGBTQIA+ communities and their allies. The partnership is set to become a regular feature of Midsumma – showcasing film as a key part of queer arts in Victoria.

The partnership also has a historical connection for the two organisations, as the Melbourne Queer Film Festival originally started as a part of Midsumma in 1990 before becoming an independent festival.

MQFF CEO, David Martin Harris, said: “Midsumma is a celebration of queer art in all its forms, and film is a vital part of how we tell the stories of our communities. This new partnership with Melbourne Queer Film Festival will see this important art form become a regular part of the Midsumma line-up and showcase the latest queer films – as well as some throwbacks that are an important part of our queer history.”

Karen Bryant, Midsumma CEO said: “Midsumma Festival is proud to have always had a strong history with MQFF and we’re excited to be taking this collaboration to the next level in the form of Midsumma Movies, as we amplify voices and share unique narratives from all areas of our rainbow community. At Midsumma, we are thrilled to support this vibrant showcase of queer cinema, recognising its ability to inspire, provoke thought, and drive positive change.”

Tickets for Midsumma Movies are now on sale at mqff.com.au

Midsumma Movies program

• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2022) – screening Sat 27 Jan – 3:45 PM. Adapted from Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s beloved YA novel, this delightful coming-of-age romantic drama tracks the burgeoning friendship between Aristotle and Dante, two Mexican-American teenage outsiders growing up in El Paso, Texas, and contesting a range of social and ethnocultural expectations, in the late 1980s.

• Dicks: The Musical (2023), screening Sat 27 Jan – 8:30 PM. Writer-star pairing Aaron Jackson and Joshn Sharp play aggressively heterosexual, unconvincingly identical twin salesmen separated at birth but united in the offices of a retail company bossed by Megan Thee Stallion’s Gloria. Their pissing-contest rivalry there falls away when they realise their fraternal bond and become hellbent, à la The Parent Trap, on reuniting their mother (Megan Mullally) and father (Nathan Lane).

• Bottoms (2023), screening Sun 28 Jan – 8:30 PM. Unpopular senior-year lesbian besties PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) hit upon a brilliant scheme to lose their virginity to the unattainable cheerleaders they’re crushing on – they’ll set up a fight club for aggrieved girls to let rip with their pent-up frustrations with men. What could possibly go wrong?

• Australian-Made Shorts. screening Sat 27 Jan – 1:00 PM. Direct from the MQFF33 season, this collection of short films celebrates the brightest and best Australian queer filmmakers, highlighting the richness of storytelling and the breadth of original talent working in Australia today.

• Solo (2023), screening Sat 27 Jan – 6:00 PM. MQFF33’s fabulous Closing Night Gala film features Simon (rising star Théodore Pellerin), a skilled make-up artist who, by night, is a mainstay of Montreal’s exuberant drag scene. His performances are elevated upon hooking up with the charismatic Olivier (Félix Maritaud), a French drag artiste who becomes his partner on and off stage.

• Shape (2023), screening Sun 28 Jan – 3:30 PM. Boasting a sell-out screening at MQFF33, Roger Ungers’ insightful documentary explodes the harmful, nigh-on impossible body image standards gay men are bombarded with in glossy magazines, on social media and hook-up apps. Eviscerating a hierarchy favouring white over people of colour, perfectly sculpted abs over more common figures and looking down on those who embrace femme identities or are older. Shapeasks if there’s a way the gay community can become more truly inclusive?

• Bend it Like Beckham (2002), screening Sun 28 Jan – 6:00 PM. After the Matildas-mania during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, MQFF celebrates the 21st birthday of a beloved soccer classic, cherished by the LGBTQIA+ and women’s football. During the summer before she’s due to commence university, Jesminder “Jess” Bhamra sneaks out of home to play soccer with local boys in defiance of her Punjabi Sikh family’s wishes. Tomboy Jules (Keira Knightley) catches sight of her and ushers her into an amateur women’s football team.

• Laugh-Out-Proud Shorts, screening Sun 28 Jan – 1:00 PM Prepare to laugh ’till your side hurts while watching a throuple trying to find the perfect bed (and also a perfect night’s sleep!), a woman who dies during a hysteroscopy then her queer archangel reveals that her soulmate is the doctor who accidentally killed her. These 6 short films will have you rolling in the aisles.