MGFF23 Festival Guests

We’re thrilled to be joined by an array of festival guests from Australia and across the globe, participating in events throughout the 2023 Mardi Gras Film Festival.

Keep an eye on this page, socials and eNews for announcements of additional guests and events. Guest events have limited tickets so book now to avoid missing out and who knows who you’ll see at MGFF23!

Opening Night Gala: Of an Age

Goran Stolevski

Writer & Director
Award-winning Macedonian-born and Australian raised writer-director Goran Stolevski came to prominence with short films including Would You Look At Her, winner of the Best International Short at Sundance 2018. Collectively his shorts played over 200 festivals worldwide. Goran’s feature debut You Won’t Be Alone is steeped in Macedonian folklore with a genre twist. Produced by Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings at Causeway Films (The Babadook), with Focus Features handling worldwide distribution, You Won’t Be Alone premiered in competition for the Grand Jury prize at 2022 Sundance Film Festival, receiving rave reviews from critics.

Elias Anton

Actor
Elias Anton is best known for his breakout performance as Danny opposite Rachel Griffiths and Matt Nable in the television adaption of Christos Tsioklas’ lauded novel, Barracuda. His acclaimed portrayal was recognised by Elias being awarded the TV Week Logies Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding Newcomer. Elias’ other TV credits include roles on Neighbours, and the series Arguments with My Mum. Elias’ feature film credits include director Kriv Stenders’ Australia Day opposite Bryan Brown, Sunflower for director Gabriel Carrubba and the leading role of Kol in Of an Age from director Goran Stolevski.

Thom Green

Actor
Thom Green is recognised as one of the most talented young actors in Australia and has won or been nominated for numerous awards including the AACTA Award for Best Young Actor. In 2010 he joined the cast of the acclaimed television series Dance Academy as Samuel Lieberman, and was as series regular Kip Wampler in the US television series Camp. He returned to Australia in 2016 for the lead role in the feature film Downriver, for which he received the Best Actor award at the Iris Prize Film Festival. After a brief hiatus from acting, Thom returned to the screen in 2020 in Stan’s Eden.

Hattie Hook

Actor
Hattie Hook is an exciting young talent making her mark on the Australian screen industry. Her recent screen credits include Savage River (ABC) and Of an Age, which opened the Melbourne International Film Festival. She has just finished filming the much anticipated BBC series Ten Pound Pom which will air on Stan this year. Other credits include Gypsy (The Production Company), Mary Poppins (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) and Annie (Gordon Frost Organisation).

Of an Age will screen on Wednesday 15 February and Tuesday 28 February at Event Cinemas George St. Goran Stolevski, Elias Anton, Thom Green and Hattie Hook will participate in a special Q&A following the opening night gala screening on Wednesday 15 February. The opening night gala screening will be followed by an after party in Gold Class. After party tickets are now sold out, but film-only tickets are still available for the both screenings.

Number 96: TV’s First LGBT Show

Joe Hasham

Actor, Number 96
Joe Hasham graduated from NIDA in 1968 and was fortunate enough to land the role of gay lawyer, Don Finlayson, in the iconic TV series Number 96. Joe now lives in Malaysia where he is the co-founder and artistic director of The Actors Studio and the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre. Joe is also Adjunct Professor of TUTAS Conservatory Degree Programme of Performing Arts, a collaboration between The Actors Studio and Taylor’s University. Joe will forever call Australia home.

Andrew Mercado

Director, Outrageous: The Queer History of Australian TV
Andrew Mercado has been an openly gay TV presenter and entertainment reporter since 1999. As a TV historian and critic, he writes for industry website Mediaweek and his newest book Outrageous: The Queer History of Australian TV will be released through Pantera Press later this year. His short film by the same name will have its World Premiere as part of the this screening.

Number 96: TV’s First LGBT Show will screen on Thursday 16 February at Event Cinemas George St. Joe Hasham, Andrew Mercado and Sarah Walker will participate in a special discussion about the queer history of Australian TV following a camptastic episode of Number 96, the first time Joe has spoken in-depth about being the first actor in the world to portray an openly gay regular character on television.

Punch

Welby Ings

Writer & Director
Welby Ings is a professor of Design at Auckland University of Technology. Across the last forty years he has been a gay activist heavily involved in homosexual, prostitution and education reform in New Zealand. Although he has been arrested multiple times he has also been awarded the Prime Minister’s inaugural award for tertiary teaching, and multiple medals for his contributions to learning, research and the creative arts.

Punch will screen on Thursday 16 February at Event Cinemas George St and Friday 24 February at Ritz Cinemas Randwick. Welby Ings will participate in a special Q&A following the Thursday 16 February screening.

Lonesome

Craig Boreham

Writer, Director & Producer
Craig Boreham is an award-winning Sydney based writer and director. Boreham’s films have screened at over 200 international festivals, including the Berlin International Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Cannes, Palm Springs, Frameline and Outfest. He has received numerous awards and nominations including the Berlinale Teddy Award for his short film Transient. A graduate of the UTS and the AFTRS, Craig is currently developing several new feature projects.

Dean Francis

Producer & Director of Photography
Dean Francis a multi-award-winning director, producer, and cinematographer whose work has screened in more than 200 international film festivals. In 2015 Dean adapted the stage play Drown> into a feature film which he directed, produced, and shot. The film became the best-selling picture in the history of Sydney’s Mardi Gras Film Festival before its theatrical release in Australia and the USA. Dean is the founder and CEO of JJ Splice, an all-media production company working on commercials, music videos, branded content, and feature films.

Josh Lavery

Actor
Josh is an up-and-coming actor based in Melbourne Australia. He was the lead in Meaghan Palmer’s acclaimed ADG Award winning short Tasty and has been seen most recently in collaborations with Melbourne’s Sissy Screens queer filmmaking collective including Alex Cardy’s Bender. Lonesome is Josh’s first feature film lead role.

Anni Finsterer

Actor
Anni Finsterer plays Carol in Lonesome and is an AFI award winning actor who works across film, television, theatre and voiceover. Her recent feature film credits include I Met a Girl, Sweet Country and Teenage Kicks. For television, The Gloaming (Disney), Harrow (ABC), Wentworth Season 7, Reckoning, Glitch and Secret City. Anni won an AFI Award for her role in 3 Acts of Murder. For the stage, Anni has worked extensively for the STC, MTC, Belvoir, Ensemble, Bell Shakespeare, Griffin Theatre Company and American Drama Group Europe.

Ian Roberts

Actor
Ian Roberts is an Australian icon from a celebrated career as a professional rugby league player before shifting his sights toward his acting career. Ian appeared in the Australian television mini-series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities as a bodyguard for George Freeman. In 2012 Ian landed his first starring role in the film Saltwater, opposite Ronnie Kerr, his first role playing a gay man. In 2016 he appeared in the gay-themed film Teenage Kicks, playing a straight single father. He has appeared in Superman Returns and Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.

Lonesome will screen on Friday 17 February at Event Cinemas George St. Craig Boreham, Dean Francis, Josh Lavery, Anni Finsterer and Ian Roberts will participate in a special Q&A following the screening. The film will be followed by an after party celebrating Lonesome. Film-only tickets are also available.

Asia-Pacific Queer Film Festival Award

Erich Rettstadt

Writer & Director
Erich Rettstadt is a queer American filmmaker and theatre artist whose work emphasises inclusivity and escapism. He obtained his BFA in Film Production from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and MFA in Writing for Screen & TV from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. His short film Tank Fairy premiered at SXSW 2022 where it won the Midnight Shorts Audience Award, and is an Official Selection at 100+ festivals in 30+ countries.

Asia-Pacific Queer Film Festival Award will screen on Saturday 18 February at Event Cinemas George St. Erich Rettstadt will be in attendance introduce the screening.

In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction

Lisa Marie Evans

Director & Editor
Lisa Marie Evans is a filmmaker, animator and artist activist who loves collaboration and travel. Evans shares knowledge to empower artists and community. She has developed curricula, taught filmmaking to all ages, and programmed film festivals and events. She directed and edited In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction, which has screened for audiences across seven countries since April 2022.

Fiona Kelly McGregor

Panellist
Fiona Kelly McGregor is the award-winning author of eight books, most recently the novel Iris, an interrogation of how society criminalises its most marginalised people. Indelible Ink won 2011 Age Book of the Year and was shortlisted for several other awards. Her critical writing appears regularly in The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books and more.

Gail Hewison

Panellist
Gail Hewison, a 78er, was arrested at the first Mardi Gras on 24 June 1978. A long-time activist, she ran The Feminist Bookshop 1982-2011 with her sisters Libby and Jane, and has read (and sold) a lot of lesbian books. She was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) 2006 for services to women, and to emerging writers. She is currently a Convener of the OutStanding Short Story Competition. Activists never retire.

Hayli Thomson

Panellist
Hayli Thomson lives in Sydney, and writes novels about candid characters for anybody who ever watched Jo March leap a fence and longed to be her best friend. The Comedienne’s Guide to Pride, her debut young adult novel about a lesbian teen who is named a finalist in a contest to be Saturday Night Live’s next big name, was released by HarperCollins Australia in 2022. Hayli began her writing career as a lesbian romance novelist, and was a Lambda Literary Award nominee for her work under the pen name Virginia Hale.

Kaylene Langford

Moderator & Panellist
Kaylene Langford is a Guringay woman and a passionate entrepreneur, coach, writer and speaker, and the founder and owner of StartUp Creative, a hugely popular online platform, podcast, and print magazine that educates, inspires and supports creative entrepreneurs and future innovators. She’s a highly respected business coach, podcaster, educator and author whose work has given her unique insight into human behaviour. Her first book How to Start a Side Hustle was published in July 2021 with Hardie Grant Books.

In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction will screen on Saturday 18 February at Event Cinemas George St and On Demand. Lisa Marie Evans, Fiona Kelly McGregor, Gail Hewison, Hayli Thomson and Kaylene Langford will participate in a special panel discussion at the cinema screening about the film and offer a local perspective on the subject.

Blitzed!

Bruce Ashley

Director
Bruce hails from Sydney and has recently returned to Australia after being a resident of the UK and USA. His noteworthy long form projects include AIDS awareness documentaries Red Hot & Dance and Stolen Moments – Red Hot & Cool, concerts for U2 and David Bowie, and the thrilling MotoGP documentary Hitting the Apex produced and narrated by Brad Pitt. His music video credits include artists such as Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Madonna, Santana’s “Smooth”, and Pearl Jam’s MTV Music Video of the Year winning “Jeremy”.

Karin Steininger

Story Producer & Editor
Karin Raven Steininger is a documentary film editor and writer. Specialising in science, politics and history, her films have won numerous awards including an Oscar, an Emmy and a Walkley. Of the film, she says, “Story producing and editing Blitzed! during the dark days of lockdown was a delightful ray of rainbow sunshine. Enjoy!”

Blitzed! will screen on Saturday 18 February at Ritz Cinemas Randwick, Tuesday 28 February at Event Cinemas George St, and On Demand. Bruce Ashley and Karin Steininger will participate in a special Q&A following the screening on Saturday 18 February.

This Place

V. T. Nayani

Writer & Director
V. T. Nayani (pronounced nine-knee) is a Tamil director, producer, and writer from Toronto. Her work intentionally, intimately, and tenderly explores how we continuously come of age, at every stage of life. Most recently, V. T. completed the Directors’ Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television’s Directors Program for Women, and BIPOC TV & Film’s Showrunner Bootcamp. She is also an alumni of the CBC’s Workshop for Diverse Creators, HotDocs’ Doc Accelerator, and BlackStar Film Festival’s William and Louise Greaves Filmmaker Seminar, as well as a recipient of the UN Women Yvonne M. Hebert Award for filmmakers and photographers.

Maureen Grant

Editor
Maureen Grant is an award-winning picture editor for film and television. For over a decade, she has been an integral part of bringing nuanced and complex stories to the screen. She takes pride in being part of projects that are changing and challenging on screen representation, and is a trusted collaborator to numerous directors. Maureen brings a background in multiple creative disciplines, and an MA in Media Studies to her work. She has further honed her skills as a resident of the Canadian Film Centre’s Editors Lab and the Berlinale Talents Lab. She won the 2022 Directors Guild of Canada Award for Best Editing – Movies for Television and Mini-Series, and is a five-time nominee of the Canadian Cinema Editors Awards. Hebert Award for filmmakers and photographers.

This Place will screen on Saturday 18 February at Ritz Cinemas Randwick and Saturday 25 February at Dendy Newtown. V.T. Nayani and Maureen Grant will participate in a special Q&A following the screening on Saturday 18 February.

The Winner Takes It All

James Demitri

Writer, Director & Producer
James Demitri is a writer/director who’s first feature film Misplaced has won over 10 Best Feature Film awards including the Cannes World Film Festival. His 20 years of photographic and directing experience in the fashion industry have helped develop his strong sense of visual style and story telling. With The Winner Takes It All James takes us on a hilarious ride of total and delicious camp!

Maxi Shield

Actor
Maxi Shield wears a myriad of hats: performer extraordinaire, pole dancing compère, anti-violence safety ambassador and rugby union mascot, to name but a few. Largely, however, Maxi is known as the good girl of drag. Her infectious personality and hilarious performances have made her a Sydney icon and an international LGBTQIA+ sensation, appearing on RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under and on stage with Madonna. The Winner Takes It All is Maxi’s feature film debut.

Jessica Marchi

Actor
Jessica Marchi is an Italian-Australian actor, singer and model known for her comedic videos. She has worked on a number of projects both in theatre, film and television, including feature film Get Free and ABC series Significant Others. She is an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, diversity, and multiculturalism.

Manuel Kornisiuk

Actor
Manuel is an Argentinian-born actor, model and singer based in Sydney Australia, whose passion lies in writing and performing soul/indie music. His talent and chiselled looks have made him an international social media sensation.

Jack Stratton-Smith

Actor
Hailing from New Zealand, Jack moved to Australia to pursue an acting career. He has appeared in Kong: Skull Island and Unbroken, and has starred in Neighbours, Harrow, Robbie Williams biopic Better Man, and series 2 of the multi-award winning The Newsreader. Jack has also had a very successful modelling career appearing in everything from print to runway, for Calvin Klein, Harrolds, Hugo Boss and GQ. He is also excited for the release of his first music EP.

The Winner Takes It All will screen on Saturday 18 February at Event Cinemas George St. James Demitri, Maxi Shield, Jessica Marchi, Manuel Kornisiuk and Jack Stratton-Smith will participate in a special Q&A following the screening. The film will be followed by an after party celebrating The Winner Takes It All. Film-only tickets are also available.

Trans Women Champions

Victoria Anthony

Documentary Subject, Trans Glamoré
Victoria Anthony is a proud transgender woman and DJ from Sydney, Australia. She’s known for her DJ sets at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and her Oxford Street DJ residencies. She is also the founder and organiser of the transgender cabaret Trans Glamoré and a passionate transgender visibility advocate.

Julie Peters

Documentary Subject, The Accidental Archivist
Julie Peters has been an activist for trans education since her transition in 1990. She grew up in the 1950s, before being trans was widely heard of let alone understood. Julie became the first openly trans woman to run for Federal and Victorian State parliaments and continues to educate through performances, being out in the workplace, and in academia.

Mon Schafter

Moderator
Mon Schafter is a Walkley Award-winning journalist and presenter and the co-host of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade on ABC TV. Mon has told countless stories for ABC TV’s 7.30 and Hungry Beast, and also hosts the ABC podcast Innies + Outies, featuring uniquely Australian stories about coming out or staying in. Mon is the Content Lead of ABCQueer and the co-chair of LGBTQIA+ youth support service Twenty10.

Trans Women Champions will screen on Monday 20 February at Event Cinemas George St. Victoria Anthony and Julie Peters will participate in a special panel discussion moderated by Mon Schafter following the screening. The screening will be followed by an after party celebrating both films. Film-only tickets are also available.

Stephen Cummins Retrospective Gala

Simon Hunt

Collaborator
Simon Hunt is an artist-activist who works in music, performance and film. Best known for his satirical activist character “Pauline Pantsdown”, he lectured in Media Arts at UNSW for 30 years, and was a founding member of Queer Screen. He is the executor of the estate of Stephen Cummins, with whom he collaborated as a composer and screenwriter.

Mathew Bergan

Collaborator
Mathew Bergan has a background in dance performance, film, yoga and writing. Today he works as an embodied councillor and Gestalt psychotherapist in training. His current art practice includes documentary cinema which celebrates queer ancestry and queer sound healing sessions, working within queer trauma.

Stephen Cummins Retrospective Gala will screen on Tuesday 21 February at Event Cinemas George St. Simon Hunt, Mathew Bergan and Nick Henderson will participate in a special panel discussion following the screening. The screening will be followed by an after party celebrating Stephen Cummins. Film-only tickets are also available.

How to Tell a Secret

Robbie Lawlor & Enda McGrattan

Cast Members
Robbie Lawlor and Enda McGrattan are a world-renowned HIV activist and creators of the revolutionary podcast Poz Vibes, for people living with HIV, their friends, family and allies. Robbie is a PhD scholar, member of the European AIDS Treatment Group and co-founder of Access Medicine Ireland, while Enda is an iconic queer performer and comedienne, known for his drag persona Veda. They talk about sexual health, the importance of testing and inequitable access to treatment around the world, and collaborated with the Health Service Executive on a national U=U campaign, the first government campaign to feature people openly living with HIV.

How to Tell a Secret will screen on Monday 20 February at Dendy Cinemas Newtown. Robbie Lawlor and Enda McGrattan will participate in a special Q&A following the screening.

The Longest Weekend

Molly Haddon

Director
Molly Haddon is a film and theatre director based in Sydney, Australia. In her teens, she worked as a professional actor in various Sydney theatre productions and then went on to study film at Macquarie University. There she fell into cinematography and later completed the Graduate Certificate: Cinematography at AFTRS. Molly then decided to combine her cinematography and acting backgrounds and move into directing. Since then she has studied at NIDA in the Directors Studio program and completed multiple award-winning short films.

Jorrden Daley

Writer & Producer
Jorrden Daley is a freelance writer based in Sydney, Australia, currently employed as a notetaker and brainstormer in regular Roadshow Rough Diamond and Warner Bros. story rooms. Her feminist sci-fi series, Cut City, was optioned by John Edwards (Love My Way). Jorrden studied at AFTRS completing the Foundation Diploma and Post Graduate Certificate in Screenwriting. Jorrden has written dozens of screenplays including Sick for Christmas, a finalist for the Cold Smoke Production Development Fund, and Psycho Bitch, a finalist in the Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition.

Tammy Macintosh

Actor
Tammy Macintosh is an Australian TV actress born in Perth, best known for her roles in Australian TV drama Police Rescue (1989), mystery series Jeopardy (2002), and alien adventure series Farscape (1999). Tammy was also a part of Australia’s most followed drama series All Saints (1998) joining the series in 2002 and staying until the series’ final episode in 2009. She went on to the navy patrol series Sea Patrol (2007), and would later join the cast of Australian award-winning drama Wentworth (2013) as Karen ‘Kaz’ Proctor. After leaving the series on her own terms in 2019 she joined Wentworth co-star Leah Purcell in filming of The Drover’s Wife.

The Longest Weekend will screen on Thursday 23 February at Event Cinemas George St. Molly Haddon, Jorrden Daley and Tammy Macintosh will participate in a special Q&A following the screening. The film will be followed by an after party celebrating The Longest Weekend. Film-only tickets are also available.

The Giants

Dr Bob Brown

Documentary Subject
Bob Brown ‘came out’ in 1976, and besides being leader of the Greens, was the first openly gay member of the Australian parliament. Going from doctor to career environmentalist, Bob led the campaign to save Tasmania’s Franklin river in 1983, and in 2023 his foundation is campaigning to save Tasmania’s Tarkine rainforest and wildlife. Bob and Paul Thomas have been together for 27 years and live in Cygnet, south of Hobart.

Laurence Billiet & Rachael Antony

Directors & Producers
Laurence Billiet and Rachael Antony are the creative duo behind production studio General Strike. Their recent film Freeman (ABC TV), in collaboration with Stephen Page at Bangarra Dance Theatre, was the most watched documentary of 2020 on Australian television. It was awarded the 2021 Australian Directors Guild award for Best Direction in a Documentary, the Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting at the 2021 NSW Premier Literary Awards and the Digital History Prize at the 2021 NSW History Awards. The Giants is their debut feature film.

The Giants will screen on Wednesday 22 February at Event Cinemas George St. Dr Bob Brown, Laurence Billiet and Rachael Antony will participate in a special Q&A following the screening. The film will be followed by an after party celebrating The Giants. Film-only tickets are also available.

Gateways Grind

Jacquie Lawrence

Director
Jacquie is a prolific writer, director, producer and commissioning editor with a legacy of queer content who was awarded the Iris Prize Fellowship 2022. As a commissioning editor at Channel 4, she was responsible for Dyke TV, Queer Street, Gay Icons and Coming Out Night. As an independent filmmaker, she directed and produced a raft of lesbian themed documentaries. Her feature film Triple L is slated for production in 2023.

Fizz Milton

Producer
Fizz Milton has worked in both independent film and TV production for over 20 years, producing series and singles for ITV, Channel 4 and BBC. As BBC’s Head of Genre Management & Business Affairs for Drama she was responsible for the whole slate of independent and in-house TV drama from Doctor Who to Lip Service, Spooks to Tipping the Velvet. As co-director of Jackdaw Media she produced Different for Girls, an award-winning web series.

Gateways Grind will screen on Sunday 26 February at Dendy Cinemas Newtown, as part of Afternoon Delight with The Love Project on Monday 27 February at Event Cinemas George St, and On Demand. Jacquie Lawrence and Fizz Milton will participate in a special Q&A following both screenings.

Golden Delicious

Jason Karman

Director
Jason is a Vancouver-based screenwriter, director and producer. His 17 short films have screened at festivals worldwide. In 2019, he was awarded the Best Editor Award at the Vancouver Short Film Festival for Lionhood. An advocate of equity for Asian Canadians in Media, he is a 2020 recipient of Telefilm Canada’s Talent to Watch program.

Jesse Hyde

Actor
Jesse Hyde is an Australian actor, dancer, model and musician from the South Coast of New South Wales. Throughout his decade-long career Jesse is best known for Ladies in Black (directed by Bruce Beresford) and Backtrack (directed by Michael Petroni). He will appear in an upcoming international feature film to be released at the end of the year.

Golden Delicious will screen on Sunday 26 February at Dendy Cinemas Newtown and Wednesday 1 March at Event Cinemas George St. Jason Karman will participate in a special Q&A following both screenings, and will be joined by Jesse Hyde on Sunday 26 February.

Heartbeast

Aino Suni

Writer & Director
Aino is a Helsinki-based filmmaker who goes both ways – directing both fiction and documentary. Graduating in 2014 with a Masters in Film Screenwriting from the University of Salford, her feature narrative debut Heartbeast premiered in competition at the Goteborg Film Festival. Her intimate 2019 documentary Never Again, about a young Finnish rapper, inspired elements of Heartbeast.

Heartbeast will screen on Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 March at Event Cinemas George St. Aino Suni will participate in a special Q&A following both screenings.

Vegas in Space

Phillip R. Ford

Co-writer & Director
Phillip R. Ford is a stage and film producer, director and entertainer, known as the “honorary straight man” in the legendary San Francisco drag troupe Sluts A-Go-Go, known for the cult classic Vegas in Space. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Film Production from San Francisco State University, where he served as a guest lecturer in Contemporary Cinema. He will present Hi Spots in a Low Dive: The Home Movies of Doris Fish as part of Doris Fish: Queen of Queens at the State Library of NSW on Sunday 26 February.

Miss X

Co-writer & Actor
Miss X, also known as Bradley Chandler, was a member of the legendary San Francisco drag troupe Sluts A-Go-Go alongside Doris Fish and Tippi. He met the rest of the trio at a come-as-your-favourite-Fellini-character party in 1979, and throughout the 1980s they performed together in notorious theatrical nightclub spectacles. He co-wrote and starred as Queen Veneer in the cult classic Vegas in Space.

Silvana Nova

Actor
Silvana Nova is an activist, performance artist and former drag queen who starred as Wynetta Whitehead in the cult classic Vegas in Space. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner Craig Seligman, author of Doris Fish biography Who Does That Bitch Think She Is?, which will be launched as part of Doris Fish: Queen of Queens at the State Library of NSW on Sunday 26 February.

Timmy Spence

Actor & Music Director
Timmy Spence is a musician, performer and drag queen known for his 1981 musical collaboration with Sluts A-Go-Go, Brand New Dance, and his appearance as Lieutenant Dick Hunter in cult classic Vegas in Space. He remains a legend of the San Francisco club scene through his collaborations with friends and other local stalwarts, including drag queens Peaches Christ and Heklina.

Jacqueline Hyde

Close Friend of Doris Fish
Jacqueline Hyde was a member of the radical underground Sydney drag troupe Sylvia and the Synthetics, who subversively spearheaded sexual and cultural liberation from 1972 until early 1975. A close personal friend of Doris Fish, the pair co-compèred Cabaret Conspiracy together. She is now a resident of Paris.

Vegas in Space will screen on Tuesday 28 February at Ritz Cinemas Randwick. Phillip R. Ford, Miss X, Silvana Nova, Timmy Spence and Jacqueline Hyde will participate in a special Q&A moderated by Jay Katz following the screening. Join us afterwards for an exclusive, out of this world after party. Film-only tickets also available.

Soft

Joseph Amenta

Writer & Director
Joseph Amenta is a genderqueer filmmaker based in Toronto who focuses on post-genre stories immersed in the underbelly and subcultures of LGBTIQ+ community. Joseph was selected for the TIFF Talent Lab in 2019 after completing their residency at the Canadian Film Centre Directors; Lab in 2018. They received the Toronto Screenwriting Conference Breakthrough Artist Award for their script for their feature debut Soft, which premiered at TIFF in 2022.

Soft will screen on Wednesday 1 March at Event Cinemas George St. Joseph Amenta will participate in a special Q&A following the screening.