Based in Sydney, Australia and founded in 1993, Queer Screen has been the country’s leading champion of queer screen culture for over 30 years—and we are on the lookout for world-class content.
Originally launched as QueerDoc in 2000, the festival evolved into Queer Screen Film Fest in 2013. Now entering its 12th edition, the 2025 Queer Screen Film Fest will take place from 27–31 August at Event Cinemas George Street in Sydney.
Submissions for the 12th Queer Screen Film Fest are now open.
For the first time, the festival will launch an Emerging Feature Film Competition to spotlight and support rising filmmakers. This new section is open to directors presenting their first or second feature film with LGBTIQA+ themes and characters, completed in 2024 or 2025.
The winner of the competition will receive a cash prize of AUD $2,500.
Unlike in previous years where submissions were opened for both festivals simultaneously, we are currently only accepting feature submissions for Queer Screen Film Fest (27-31 August, 2025). Submissions for Queer Screen’s Mardi Gras Film Festival (February, 2026) will open in July, 2025 – which will include feature and short films. Australian short films are only considered for Mardi Gras Film Festival, as they are automatically under consideration for our Australian short film competition, My Queer Career – entrants are not required to maintain a Sydney Premiere.
To be notified when submissions for Mardi Gras Film Festival open, you can join our filmmaker mailing list: here.
All entries must be submitted via FilmFreeway.
For full terms and conditions, please refer to our FilmFreeway page.
If you have any questions or run into issues, feel free to contact us at programming@queerscreen.org.au.
