2024 Mardi Gras Film Festival Audience Award Winners

A collage of three images. One if from the film 'Femme'. The second is from the film 'A Portrait of love'. The third is from the film 'Lesbians on the Loose'

03 Mar 2024 Mardi Gras Film Festival Audience Award Winners

2024 Mardi Gras Film Festival Audience Award Winners

Announcing our 31st Mardi Gras Film Festival (MGFF24) Audience Award winners!

This year we celebrated LGBTQIA+ films from all around the world.
MGFF24 gave screens to 161 LGBTIQ+ films and events across 77 unique programs in cinemas across Sydney and Australia-wide with our On Demand Encore.

This year’s festival theme was ‘conversation’ and (humble brag) it was a great success. Conversations were had, questions were asked and debates were… debated.

The films that got audiences most excited for a post-screening chat were our Audience Award winners. Our Audience Award Winners go home with a pocket-full of prize money thanks to our presenting partner Optus.

The winners receive:
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature – $2000
Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature – $1000
Audience Award for Best Short – $500

And… this year’s winners are:

Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature

Winner: Femme

Following a violent homophobic attack, how far is Jules willing to go to ingratiate himself into his attacker’s world to get revenge? Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Benjamin) and George MacKay (Pride) are phenomenal in this acclaimed neo-noir thriller about internalised homophobia and queer resilience.

A still from the film 'Femme'. A close-up of two people sitting in a car. One looking out the window, while the other looks at them.

Runner Up: When Time Got Louder

2nd Runner Up: The Missing

Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature

Winner: A Portrait of Love

A joyful celebration of the life and loss of Archibald award-winning artist Craig Ruddy, told through the eyes of his loving partner of twenty years. Directed by Molly Reynolds (My Name is Gulpilil), go behind the scenes of their life together to witness the spirit of the man and artist.

A still from the film 'A Portrait of Love'. Two people smiling widely. One rests their head on the other's shoulder. They are posing happily for the picture.

Runner Up: Queendom

2nd Runner Up: Every Body

Audience Award for Best Short

Winner: Lesbians on the Loose (Screened as part of Sapphic Shorts)

This documentary chronicles the origins of Lesbians on the Loose (LOTL), a free lesbian magazine started in 1989 as a grassroots 8 page black & white newsletter that became Australia’s longest-lived Lesbian magazine.