The complete lineup for Queer Screen’s Mardi Gras Film Festival—running in Sydney cinemas February 13th – 27th, with highlights available to stream on-demand nationally in Australia from February 28th – March 10th—has just been announced. It marks the final edition of MGFF under the leadership of Festival Director Lisa Rose, who shares, “Come for the love of cinema, the love of queer films, and the love of community”.
Out of the 150 LGBTQ+ films in this year’s festival, 20 are Australian premieres, and one is a world premiere, In Ashes (Se Gennem Aske), the debut film from Denmark-based filmmaker Ludvig C. Poulsen. Beyond the films, the festival includes talks, panels, workshops, and events including the popular Inqueersition: Queer Screen Trivia Night.
MGFF 2025 opens with the Sydney premiere of Anthony Schatteman’s Young Hearts, a heartwarming Belgian coming-of-age crowd-pleaser. The festival will close with the Australian premiere of the French dramedy Somewhere in Love (Une vie rêvée), about the healing power of a middle-aged woman’s budding romance.
Among the Australian premieres are Michael Clowater’s Drive Back Home, a dark comedy about two brothers on a road trip through 1970s Canada starring Alan Cumming and Charlie Creed-Miles; Queer Palm-winner Three Kilometers to the End of the World (Trei kilometri pâna la capatul lumii), Emanuel Parvu’s drama about a young man seeking justice after a homophobic attack; English period romance Lilies Not For Me; and Amrou Al-Kadhi’s Layla, a contemporary drama about a British-Palestinian drag performer who falls for an uptight marketing executive.
The MGFF 2025 documentary lineup includes Kimberly Reed’s I’m Your Venus, a powerful tribute to the life of the late Venus Xtravaganza, who was memorably featured in Jennie Livingston’s classic Paris Is Burning, as her blood and ballroom families come to terms with her murder and her legacy decades after her death; Dana Flor’s Ani DeFranco profile 1800-On-Her-Own; Markus Stein’s award-winning portrait of radical queer photographer Jürgen Baldiga, Baldiga: Unlocked Heart; and directors Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee’s excavation of the life Black trans singer Jackie Shane, Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story.
Gay icon and Broadway deity Liza Minnelli returns to the spotlight in Bruce David Klein’s Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story, while the MGFF 2025 program also includes a screening of the musical masterpiece Cabaret (based on the stage version which is still pleasing crowds on Broadway and in the West End).
This edition of the festival will feature a rare chance to see a restored version of Robert J. Kaplan’s Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers from 1972 starring Holly Woodlawn. While the Sisters and Brothers of The Order of Perpetual Indulgence Sydney present a special screening of Emile Ardolino’s beloved 1992 comedy Sister Act starring Whoopi Goldberg, while screenings of other favourites include Mike Nichols’ 1996 comedy The Birdcage staring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, and Ol Parker’s Imagine Me & You from 2005 starring Piper Perabo and Lena Headey.
Other highlights include Mikko Mäkelä’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize-nominated Sebastian; 2024 Teddy Jury Prize-winner Crossing written and directed by Levan Akin; Ponyboi and Desire Lines which both world premiered at Sundance; Luke Gilford’s dreamy look at the queer rodeo community, National Anthem; Janis Pugh’s sophomore narrative feature Chuck Chuck Baby starring Sherlock’s Louise Brealey; Greyson Horst’s relationship dramedy Throuple; Luca Guadagnino’s Queer starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey and featuring Drew Droege in a memorable supporting role; and Julián Hernández’s latest film Demons at Dawn (Los demonios del amanecer).
“The film industry has changed dramatically throughout my time with Queer Screen,” adds Rose. “The volume of LGBTQIA+ content we see, as well as how and where we see it, continues to evolve. Yet the sense of belonging that comes when the lights dim and a room full of queer people experience a queer story together remains a constant. Even when a film divides the audience, the feeling of community that envelops us is unifying.”
Tickets and passes for MGFF25 are on sale now. Queer Screen memberships are also available and offer discounted tickets and priority entry. For more details and to check out the full lineup head to queerscreen.org.au.
