Films for lesbians and those who love them

Featuring captivating documentaries, riveting shorts, steamy romances and even a zombie apocalypse breaking out at a warehouse party, here are just some of the many electrifying films featuring lesbians at Queer Screen’s 33rd Mardi Gras Film Festival.

Love Me Tender

Sat 21 Feb, 6:30pm
Event Cinemas, George St

Adapted from Constance Debré’s bestseller, this complex drama is deeply affecting and emotionally raw. Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) is utterly magnetic, giving a tour de force performance as a woman whose unapologetic independence clashes with homophobic and misogynistic bureaucracy.

Dreamers

Tue 17 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St

Isio, who fled homophobia in Nigeria, is detained and placed in an asylum removal centre after living in the UK undocumented for two years. Inside she meets Farah, a pragmatic and charismatic roommate who understands the system’s cruelty all too well. As feelings develop and appeals are repeatedly rejected, the pair must decide whether survival means obedience or rewriting the rules.

Bearcave

Tue 24 Feb, 6:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St

Fresh off its premiere at Venice, this poetic, genre-blending romantic odyssey is set against the stunning mountains of rural Greece. Best friend Argyro, a down-to-earth farmer, and Anneta, a local manicurist, live in the remote village of Tirna. When Anneta reveals she’s pregnant and expected to leave town to live with her dull cop fiancé, Argyro challenges Anneta to embark on one final adventure to find the mystical Bearcave.

The Little Sister

Sun 15 Feb, 6:30pm
Event Cinemas, George St
and
Wed 25 Feb, 6:30pm
Dendy Cinemas, Newtown

Winner of the Queer Palm and Best Actress (Nadia Melliti) at Cannes, Fatima is the youngest daughter in a boisterous Franco-Algerian family, at university she secretly explores her sexuality via a series of one-off steamy hookups, using a fake name to maintain anonymity.

Sapphic Shorts

Sun 22 Feb, 6:30pm
Events Cinemas, George St

Seven sapphic short films from across the globe, these are stories that look at desire, yearning and connection. Featuring awkward self-discovery, a meta look at the “Bury Your Gays” trope and resilience in the face of adversity.

Live Commentary: Lesbian Space Princess

Sun 22 Feb, 1:30pm
The Red Rattler Theatre

Join writer-directors Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, alongside moderator Nina Oyama (Deadloch), as they discuss the making of award-winning Australian animated sci-fi comedy, Lesbian Space Princess. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to revisit the hilarious inter-gay-lactic adventures of introverted Princess Saira (Shabana Azeez, The Pitt) as she faces off against the Straight White Maliens (Aunty Donna)

High Art

Fri 18 Feb, 6:30pm
The Rocks, Laneway Cinema

Gloriously restored in 4K, Lisa Cholodenko’s (The Kids Are All Right) award-winning debut is a landmark of ‘90s indie cinema and a modern queer classic. When aspiring magazine editor Syd (Radha Mitchell, Love and Other Catastrophes) has a chance encounter with her reclusive neighbour, once-famous photographer Lucy Berliner (Brat Pack icon Ally Sheedy), both women see the opportunity to advance their careers.

Girlfriends

Thu 19 Feb, 8:45pm
Event Cinemas, George St

Girlfriends offers up an artful triptych of love stories in a woman’s life that unfold in reverse chronological order. Together they paint a captivating picture of the ways someone’s past lives and loves influence who they become.

Queens of the Dead

Fri 20 Feb, 6:30pm
Event Cinemas, George St

When a zombie apocalypse breaks out during a warehouse party, an eclectic group of drag queens and club kids must put aside their differences to fight against the brain-thirsty undead. Starring a who’s who of queer scene-stealers – Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding), Tomás Matos (Fire Island), Nina West (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Jack Haven (I Saw the TV Glow), Dominique Jackson (Pose) and Margaret Cho – Tina Romero puts her own sparkly twist on the genre her father George A. Romero popularised, in this laugh-out-loud comedy.

Women Loving Women Shorts

Tue 24 Feb, 8:30pm
Event Cinemas, George St

Scoring a hot new babe to shove it in an ex’s face, a mysterious confrontation with an older woman while closing after a shift and a playful romance between sharehouse roomates set in 90s Melbourne. This is just a glimpse into the six short films in the Women Loving Women lineup!

Nova & Alice

Sat 14 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St

Emma Bucht’s heartfelt musical drama celebrates the joy of unexpected love and new beginnings. Reluctantly forced into a joint tour by their manager, waning pop star Alice and rising singer-songwriter Nova have precious little in common except a genuine love of music.  As they travel across Sweden together, their on-stage rivalry develops into an unexpected artistic partnership and, eventually, love. But can their summer romance survive the realities and responsibilities of life away from the road?

Summer’s Camera

Wed 25 Feb, 6:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St

After the death of her photographer father, Summer stops taking photos – until a crush on school soccer star Yeonwoo compels her to pick up her father’s camera again. But when she develops the film Summer discovers a series of photos of Maru, a man she’s never met before. Tracking him down, he reveals he was her father’s first love, becoming an unexpected queer mentor as they bond through shared grief.

Amantes

Mon 16 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St

An interconnected group of lesbians navigate their desires and fears in Paris, produced by an exclusively women team, Amantes celebrates the romantic lives of unapologetically complex lesbians with heart and humour.

Skiff

Fri 13 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St

The youngest of three, fifteen year-old Malou is a gifted rower bullied by her teammates for avoiding group showers. The one constant in Malou’s life is her brother Max – until she develops unexpected feelings for his new girlfriend, Nouria.

Girl for a Day

Mon 23 Feb, 6:30pm
Event Cinemas, George St

In 18th century France, Anne was born intersex and raised as a girl at the advice of a priest. Girl for a Day transforms historical records into a quietly devastating meditation on identity and bodily autonomy.

Row of Life

Sat 21 Feb, 2:30pm
Dendy Cinemas, Newtown

Row of Life tells the remarkable story of Paralympian Angela Madsen’s most ambitious journey yet: a solo, unassisted row across the Pacific Ocean. In 2020, Angela attempted to row over 3,500 kilometres solo and unassisted across the Pacific Ocean, from LA to Hawaii. Throughout it all is the unyielding support of Angela’s wife Deb who, even separated by a vast ocean, champions Angela’s dream at all costs.

Bouchra

Wed 18 Feb, 7:00pm
Event Cinemas, George St

Rendered in striking 3D animation and infused with documentary intimacy, this thoroughly unique debut defies categorisation, using real life phone calls between co-director Bennani and her mother as part of the narrative.

Drone

Fri 20 Feb, 8:30pm
Event Cinemas, George St

Architecture student Émilie has just arrived in Paris. She makes ends meet working as a cam girl, carefully controlling what’s seen. As a flirtation with fellow student Mina begins, she finally starts to feel she’s settling in. Then a mysterious drone begins hovering outside her window. At first, fascination and fear intertwine. As its gaze seeps into her work, relationship and sense of self, the balance of power shifts.

Love and Other Catastrophes

Wed 18 Feb, 6:30pm
The Rocks, Laneway Cinema

A 30th anniversary screening of the recently remastered Australian classic starring Frances O’Connor (Mansfield Park) and Radha Mitchell (High Art), an ambitious film studies student, is entangled in a web of lies as she tries to avoid her girlfriend Danni (Radha Mitchell, High Art) moving in.

The Serpent’s Skin

Thu 19 Feb, 6:30pm
Dendy Cinemas, Newtown

After escaping her transphobic hometown, twentysomething Anna arrives in the city determined to start over. She soon falls for Gen, a goth tattoo artist, and the pair discover they share supernatural abilities. When a tattoo session with Anna’s neighbour Danny goes wrong, a demonic force is unleashed. As it begins feeding on those around them, Anna and Gen must harness their powers to protect their found family.