Zeno Graton’s debut feature The Lost Boys (Le paradis) isn’t just a prison relationship drama, it’s a look at a group of boys struggling to become men in a system designed to restrain them. Joe (Khalil Gharbia) is three weeks away from freedom. Having served six months at a youth detention centre, he is starting... Continue Reading →
If you’re a queer person of faith, or have Christians in your life, then 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture is a must-see film to add to your watchlist. Filmmaker Sharon “Rocky” Roggio fascinatingly breaks down the Biblical texts often used to attack the LGBTQ+ community by digging into a fateful mistranslation back in 1946... Continue Reading →
Isla Roberts is what you would call "a character". The octogenarian at the heart of the loving documentary Isla’s Way, is quick with a joke and a raucous laugh, but as the camera lingers and director Marion Pilowsky pushes, it becomes clearer why we are here. Pilowsky doesn’t just want to hear Isla recount her... Continue Reading →
Giuseppe Fiorello’s sun-drenched film Fireworks (Stranizza d'amuri) captures the essence of young queer summer love in the 80s. Impromptu dips in natural creeks; basking in the nighttime heat; the colours of fireworks lighting up the sky. The glorious visuals make the aggressive local culture and homophobia just a bit more bearable until Fiorello is ready... Continue Reading →
Sunflower opens with two sharp images. The first, follows a young man walking through fields of the titular flowers in bloom. The second, focuses on a group of school boys beating up a gay kid on a deserted playground. It is unclear whether they are the same person. This coming out story isn’t some sugarcoated... Continue Reading →
Writer-director Nicholas Anthony’s debut feature, shot entirely on iPhone 13 Pro Max, takes us into the mind of Max (Bronte Charlotte), a woman in Melbourne on the verge of turning 30. A struggling writer, she’s hit a wall where her youthful enthusiasm and drive have been worn down by rejection. As she tries to live... Continue Reading →
Philip Quast is musical theatre royalty. A frequent Sondheim collaborator and Olivier Award-winner, who has commanded the stages of Lincoln Center, the Royal Albert Hall, and the UK's National Theatre. Now he’s packing the relatively petite space of Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre for an autobiographical cabaret titled, The Road I Took. Quast is a towering figure,... Continue Reading →
Theresa Rebeck’s Bernhardt/Hamlet is probing gender politics and a brilliant showcase for Kate Mulvany in Melbourne Theatre Company’s rambunctious new production. Sarah Bernhardt (Mulvany), the Meryl Streep of the late 19th and early 20th century, is looking for a new challenge to suit her towering talents now that she's aging out playing ingénues. So she... Continue Reading →
Edward Albee’s pedigree as the chronicler of domestic dysfunction is well earned and the Sydney Theatre Company’s new production of The Goat or, Who is Sylvia revels in the nasty details. Dark comedies don’t get much darker than this, and when we say "the goat", we don't mean "the greatest of all time". Martin and... Continue Reading →
Opera Up Late takes opera's biggest hits and sprinkles them with some late night fairy dust. Stars of the Sydney Opera House's Dame Joan Sutherland theatre are dragging up, getting down and belting the high notes for an evening of delights that’s making an early claim to be the real highlight of Sydney WorldPride’s cultural... Continue Reading →
