MGFF21 Special Events

Inclusive and authentic casting is an important issue in film and beyond. This panel, hosted by Mon Schafter, Editorial Lead of ABCQueer, will discuss this topic with Lucky Price, a Casting Director and proud trans man and advocate for trans rights and visibility. Also joining us is writer and comedian Alistair Baldwin, who has written for ABC’s The Weekly, Hard Quiz and Get Krack!n, and Bee Cruse, a proud Gomeroi, Wiradjuri and Monaroo-Yuin Storyteller. She works as a writer, director, producer in film, television and theatre and regularly takes on acting and Drag King roles in her spare time.

In the wake of #MeToo and the industry’s continuing battle with widespread sexual misconduct, there is a growing need for intimacy coordinators to safely create intimate sex scenes for Film & TV productions.

But what is an intimacy coordinator and what do they do? Filmmakers and actors are invited to join Intimacy Coordinator Leah Pellinkhof in this online workshop, demonstration and Q&A to learn more about:

• Negotiating consent
• Proper communication
• Balancing the safety of performers alongside the vision of writers and directors
• The intimacy on set guidelines and how they apply to you
• Discussion on how to make films sets COVID safe.

Leah trained under the UK’s Ita O’Brian and was a consultant in the development of MEAA’s intimacy on-set guidelines.

What’s a film festival without festival guests? We are super excited to announce all Australian films in the program will feature a post-film Q&A live in-cinema after the screening.

And although our physical borders may be closed the world of online has brought us even closer together in creating an interactive festival environment. We will be uploading a variety of pre-recorded interviews with filmmakers and hosting live Q&As on YouTube and Facebook.

Keep up-to-date by signing up to the festival enews via our website and keep an eye on our socials. You never know when an interview with your favourite filmmaker or actor will pop up in your feed!