La Cage Aux Folles, 1978

Laugh-Out-Proud – Shorts Package

You’ve all seen the late, great Robin Williams and Only Murders in the Building star Nathan Lane as a gay couple attempting to play it straight to impress the conservative family of their son’s fiancée in the 1996 classic The Birdcage. But have you seen the Saint-Tropez-set, French-language original? Adapted by director Édouard Molinaro from Jean Poiret’s play of the same name, he casts Cesar-winner Michel Serrault in the role of Zaza the drag star and Italian actor Michel Galabru as his slightly butcher partner Renato, who owns a cabaret club.

Need a little LOL in your life? We’ve got you sorted with these laugh-out-loud shorts.

The Mattachine Family, 2023

Isla’s Way, 2023

If you’re hankering for a feel-good fix that packs in a fabulous cast, look no further than this cosy hug of a queer film from writer/director Andy Vallentine. Produced by Zach Braff, it features Younger heartthrob Nico Tortorella and Fuller House actor Juan Pablo Di Pace as a gay couple, Thomas and Oscar, whose dreams of making a life together unravel when their foster baby is reclaimed by his mother. Unleashing a spiral of complicated feelings, neither man knows exactly what they want anymore. Schitt’s Creek fave Emily Hampshire, Hacks lead Carl Clemons-Hopkins and Single Parents actor Jake Choi all show up as part of their logical family.

Isla is a feisty, stubborn and resilient octogenarian who lives with Susan, who is a lesbian. But Isla won’t be pigeonholed, instead calling herself “a widow”, having been married previously to a man with whom she raised four children on her farm in country South Australia. Refusing to relinquish her passion for horse driving carriages, Isla remains active in her community no matter her age, even as the naysayers insist her time to slow down has come. A quirky new Aussie documentary, Isla’s Way observes an indomitable woman, community elder and miniature horse lover.

Before I Change My Mind, 2022

Who’s Queen? – Shorts Package

Robin, an androgynous newcomer at school, defies the binary norms of a single-sex sports team just as Before I Change My Mind breaks the usual tropes of gender on film. This well-crafted, exciting story chooses to explore themes of personal growth and motivations for defiance, rather than treading a well-worn path of brutish bullying. Robin befriends the boys, develops feelings for the rebellious troublemaker Carter, and takes the audience on a voyage of high school drama, high emotion, 1980’s flair, and thought provoking comedy.

MQFF stands with our drag queen superstars in celebrating their art through these fabulous short films.

Sunflower, 2023

Summer Qamp, 2023

Coming out isn’t always easy, even in a big city like Melbourne. Writer/director Gabriel Carrubba’s semi-autobiographical debut feature explores the challenges at play in a working-class suburb on the outer edges of the train line. Nowhere Boys alum Liam Mollica plays 17-year-old Greek-Italian highschooler Leo, crushing on his best mate Boof (Luke J. Morgan) but unable to tell him how he really feels in this delicate coming-of-ager that doesn’t shy away from the harsher realities still too often at play. One for the Heartstopper fans.

A queer summer camp for kids would be the easy way to describe Canadian filmmaker Jen Markowitz’s latest feature documentary, but it’s so much more than this. Using mostly fly-on-the-wall cinematography Summer Qamp provides a sincere lens into the lives, hardships, successes, highs and lows of a group of queer campers, many of whom are trans, non-binary or just trying to figure themselves out. It’s the summer camp queer-kid dreams are made of, and seeing young queer joy on screen still feels truly radical in 2023.