Films for lesbians and those who love them

A collage of image from various films of women kissing or embracing

23 Jan Films for lesbians and those who love them

Featuring captivating documentaries, riveting shorts, steamy romances and even an ode to Bollywood cinema, here are just some of the many electrifying films featuring lesbians at Queer Screen’s 31st Mardi Gras Film Festival.

A woman sits in a car with a young girl, her adopted daughter, sitting on her lap

Housekeeping for Beginners

Thu 29 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St

Though Dita has no interest in being a mother, she nonetheless becomes the de facto matriarch of a household of queers with nowhere else to go. But when circumstances leave her girlfriend unable to care for her two daughters, Dita has no choice but to raise them as her own – and somehow keep her entire brood of misfits safe.

A woman wearing a faux fur coat smiles awkwardly as she holds a small dog

Cora Bora

Fri 16 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St
and
Sat 24 Feb, 6:30pm
Dendy Cinemas, Newtown

Hacks scene-stealer Meg Stalter takes on her first lead role as Cora, an awkward LA musician who finds her world thrown off its axis when she returns to her hometown. This brilliant queer comedy is also surprisingly touching, and the perfect vehicle for the hilarious Stalter.

Two women in identical clothing stand facing each other, one looking intently at the other

Split

Fri 23 Feb, 6:30pm
Event Cinemas, George St
and
Sun 25 Feb, 7:00pm
Dendy Cinemas, Newtown

While shooting a film a stunt woman finds herself falling for the enigmatic lead actress that she is doubling for. What starts as an innocent exchange of glances soon ignites into a turbulent love affair in Split; a five-part feminist series that explores the queer female gaze and its transformative power.

Two women sit on a couch, one with her legs across the other, as they kiss

The Queen of My Dreams

Wed 21 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St
and
Thu 22 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, Hurstville

This celebration of classic Bollywood cinema seamlessly weaves the tales of a queer Muslim student in 1990s Canada with her mother’s journey of self-discovery in 1960s Pakistan, in this moving exploration of grief and cultural identity starring Amrit Kaur (The Sex Lives of College Girls).

Two women wearing crude cat face paint, as if done by a child, sit together smiling

Days of Happiness

Tue 20 Feb, 8:15pm
Sydney Opera House Playhouse

Emma is a talented up-and-coming conductor who is caught in a conundrum between career, family and love. With her agent father on one side and her new single-mother girlfriend on the other, she must decide whether she will stick with the status quo or carve a new path, in this moving drama.

Two women dance under pink lighting, with glitter all over their faces

Silver Haze

Mon 19 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St

In Silver Haze, Franky falls in love with Florence, a patient at the hospital where she works. After being scarred in a fire as a child, Franky’s yearning for revenge begins to give way to a life seeking something more. Together, can they undo the systems that have failed them and finally heal?

Sapphic Shorts

Sat 24 Feb, 4:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St
and
On Demand Australia-wide
Fri 1 Mar–Mon 11 Mar

Featuring the touching reunion of former lovers after 50 years apart, an idyllic impromptu date and a woman’s attempts to shake off the ghost of a long-dead 1950s lesbian pulp novelist, this eclectic collection of shorts celebrates the diversity of sapphic life and is not to be missed.

A woman with bright red hear and colourful glasses looks through a rack of clothes

Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field

Thu 22 Feb, 6:30pm
Event Cinemas, George St

Meet the woman behind The Devil Wear Prada’s cerulean sweater – visionary stylist and amazing lesbian Pat Field, whose rock-star life in NYC would lead her to clothe Meryl’s Miranda Priestly as well as Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw. If clothes make you happy, then this is the doco for you.

Two smiling women stand in the street looking into each other's eyes, one holding the face of the other

All the Silence

Wed 21 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St
and
On Demand Australia-wide
Fri 1 Mar–Mon 11 Mar

Miriam has two passions: teaching sign language and acting. As a CODA (a Child of d/Deaf Adult) who lives with her deaf girlfriend, her hearing is central to her entire outlook on life. When she starts to lose her hearing, she’s forced to confront her own identity and relationships with those she loves.

A woman in period clothing sits in a restaurant

Hilma

Tue 27 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St
and
On Demand Australia-wide
Fri 1 Mar–Mon 11 Mar

Hilma is a stunning biopic that dives headfirst into the world of abstract artist Hilma af Klint. Traversing her life, we see her growth as an artist, the influence of her lovers on her work, and her resolution to be recognised as a talent in the patriarchal art world of the time.

Two women stand in a doorway, one looking lovingly at the other

Polarized

Sun 18 Feb, 6:30pm
Event Cinemas, George St
and
On Demand Australia-wide
Fri 1 Mar–Mon 11 Mar

Opposites attract in this subtle and beautifully composed romance from the writer-director of I Can’t Think Straight. While racial, religious and cultural tensions simmer, Lisa and Dalia form an attraction that prompts both of them to consider what is worth sacrificing in the journey to be themselves.

Two women stand on a beach looking into each other's eyes, one with her hand on the other's waist

Who’ll Stop the Rain

Sat 17 Feb, 4:30pm
Event Cinemas, George St
and
On Demand Australia-wide
Fri 1 Mar–Mon 11 Mar

Su I-Hsuan’s evocative and romantic debut feature set in post-martial law Taipei sees art student Chi-wei join a protest for creative freedom at her art college. During this fight for student’s rights, she meets and develops feelings for one of the group’s leaders, Ching.

Two women smile at each other – one is wrapped in a blanker, the other a string of colourful fairy lights

Girls Don’t Cry

Tue 20 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St
and
On Demand Australia-wide
Fri 1 Mar–Mon 11 Mar

Equal parts gritty and sweet, Girls Don’t Cry is a sensitive, delicate film about Mia and Ele’s whirlwind journey through the Italian countryside – one fleeing home, the other desperate to return to her’s in Romania. As they navigate the world, the pair retreat into the safety of each other’s arms.

Women Loving Women Shorts

Fri 23 Feb, 8:30pm
Event Cinemas, George St
and
On Demand Australia-wide
Fri 1 Mar–Mon 11 Mar

Connected by the common theme of women falling in (and out) of love with each other, these films traverse the many ways people show those feelings, offering a winning selection of shorts that deliver a thoroughly entertaining mix of romance, humour, joy and pathos.

Two women in period clothing – one a gown, another a maid's uniform – dance together in front of a crowd

The Chambermaid

Wed 28 Feb, 7:00pm
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick

Anka leaves her small town to work as a maid for a prominent Austrian family in Prague. After a rocky start with the family’s daughter, animosity soon becomes companionship and an escape from societal expectations, in this passionate historical drama about love across opposite ends of the social ladder.

Power Alley

Mon 26 Feb, 6:30pm
Ritz Cinemas, Randwick

Volleyball player Sofia is on the cusp of being recruited for a scholarship, and is in a blossoming relationship with teammate Bel, when she finds out she’s pregnant. We follow her struggle to get an illegal abortion in Brazil, in this captivating film about queer sisterhood and women’s bodily autonomy.

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MGFF23