Guest Interview: Henry Boffin

With its World Premiere just around the corner, we sit down with writer-director Henry Boffin to discuss his film Strange Creatures, which will screen on Thursday 29 August as part of the 11th Queer Screen Film Festival. Hear what he has to say about the film, what career advice he’s give to his younger self, and the LGBTIQ+  film that impacted him the most.

Queer Screen: Tell us about your film and why everyone needs to buy a ticket to see it.

Henry Boffin: Strange Creatures is about two vastly different brothers, Nate and Ged, who are thrust back into each other’s lives when their mother passes away from a sudden aneurysm. They’re then forced on a road trip together after discovering a letter written by Mum requesting that her ashes be scattered at the old family home in rural NSW.

Nate is a clean-cut, proud pansexual man living with his funeral director boyfriend in inner Melbourne, while Ged is a rough-around-the-edges, alcoholic FIFO working the mines in WA. They’re pretty much chalk and cheese. This is a love letter to both road movies and mis-matched buddy comedies with two knockout lead performances from Riley Nottingham and Johnny Carr that’s by turns hilarious and heart-breaking. The chemistry between the two perfectly captures the ups and downs of the tumultuous road of dysfunctional family love/hatred. You’ll feel all the feels – and will most certainly want to check in on your own family after the credits roll.

What do you hope audiences take away from your film?

The film’s title is actually from Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park – ‘What strange creatures brothers are!” – which ruminates on how useless men are at sharing their feelings with one another. One hundred years later and we’ve only relatively recently identified how detrimental bottling up emotions is to our mental health. Go figure.

A lot of people have come up to me and said that they have a Ged in their family. While I obviously want people to find the brothers’ dysfunctional relationship hilarious, I think Strange Creatures has a message that cuts a lot deeper than your typical comedy. I hope the film inspires people to start talking more openly about mental health struggles within family structures, especially regarding sexuality and identity. Connections are messy, but they’re also what bind us together, and we need to be looking out for each other now more than ever with everything that’s going on in the world.

There are more channels for LGBTIQ+ films than ever before, why are queer film festivals like ours still important?

There is a lot of content out there, which by itself is certainly no bad thing, but it can also quickly get overwhelming and great stories easily get lost in the noise. I think LGBTIQ+ festivals such as Queer Screen are so important in that they offer a curated experience handpicked by experts who have done their homework and really know their stuff. Festivals like this, where people share in a communal experience in a cinema, really help spread a sense of community and awareness which is so, so vital. Events such Queer Screen really are the lifeblood of this beautiful and vibrant community.

What was the first LGBTIQ+ film you saw that really impacted you?

I remember watching My Beautiful Laundrette when I was probably eighteen or so and being so heavily impacted by it. I watched it for the first time after moving from the UK to Australia so it just hit this heavy nostalgic nerve of home for me. The performances are just so gorgeous and it’s so quietly devastating.

Also, huge shout-outs to Portrait of a Lady on Fire and All of Us Strangers, both of which I absolutely adore.

Our festival theme is all about fun, flowers, romance and flirting. What’s the first film that pops into your mind when you hear that theme?

Maybe because there’s flowers mixed in there, The Perks of Being a Wallflower sprung to mind. That film really captures that chaotic mess of teenage romance, flirtation and identity so nicely. I think there’s something sweet about how at that age everything seems so chaotic, yet simultaneously you really think you know what you’re about as a person. And Bowie’s “Heroes” is always a fun time.

What is one piece of career advice that you would give your younger self when it comes to filmmaking?

Don’t give a damn what other people think about your art. I was raised as a pretty timorous kid so it took me a while to come out of my shell. It’s your life. It doesn’t matter what other people think. Be brave. Enjoy the process.