Queens Of The Crop: Sydney Film Festival’s Best LGBTIQ Movies
From queer classics to campy thrillers and modern masterpieces, direct from Cannes.
With more than 250 films jammed into two weeks of screenings, it can be pretty difficult to decide what to see at Sydney Film Festival. Lets narrow things down by asking the pivotal question: but is it gay?
We’ve fine-combed the schedule for the best and brightest LGBTIQ films on offer at the 67th Sydney Film Festival, which runs from June 5 to June 16.
Here are our top eight picks, from documentaries on Chelsea Manning and RuPaul’s Drag Race alum, to campy fashion horrors, classics of queer cinema and much-hyped indie films.
Booksmart (2019)
You’ve probably seen a bit of hype around Booksmart, the directorial debut of Olivia Wilde. After arriving in US cinemas a few weeks ago, it’s being celebrated as a savvy, funny and frank depiction of being a teenage girl — sex and all.
The film follows best friends Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein, who was in Lady Bird), who try to have a wild night out after realising they’ve just graduated high school with A+ grades but few experiences.
Amy’s a lesbian, and the film reflects the world more and more (not all) teens now live in: acceptance. Amy’s sexuality is just as awkward, icky and misunderstood as Molly’s, and the film doesn’t pat itself on the back over it, either.
Sure, it’s landing in Australia on July 11, but why wait?
Female Trouble (1974)
One of John Waters’ most famous films, Female Trouble remains just as debaucherous to watch as it was back in 1974.
Starring Waters’ muse, the drag queen Divine, as bratty teenage girl Dawn Davenport, who soon finds herself with a child out of wedlock and living in a world of drugs, sex work and petty crime. Acid attacks, electric chairs and Hare Krishnas follow.
It’s a wild dark camp comedy, and one of Waters’ best. Despite his fame, it can be hard to source high quality versions by the grandfather of camp online — plus, with films like these, it’s always funner in a crowd.
In Fabric (2019)
Cinephiles love distribution company A24, the company behind the likes of Lady Bird, Moonlight, Eighth Grade and Hereditary, to name a few. When they snap up a film, the hype begins — that’s the case with In Fabric, a British horror about killer dress.
Directed by Peter Strickland, In Fabric follows a recently divorced woman (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) who buys a red dress as a pick-me-up. But it’s cursed!
Equal parts silly and scary (and starring Gwendoline Christie), this campy film might not have any LGBTIQ characters, but it’s certainly queerer than Love, Simon, that’s for sure.
Sequin In A Blue Room (2019)
Making its world premier at Sydney Film Festival, this Australian feature is a queer coming-of-age thriller set in the sometimes dark, sometimes tender world of hookup apps.
Directed and co-written by Melbourne filmmaker Samuel Van Grinsven, Sequin In A Blue Room centres on a a 16-year-old who tries to trace down a hookup from a sex party, acknowledging that for queer youth, nascent sexual experiences often look very different.
The film was recently awarded a grand by Queer Screen, allowing it to debut at Sydney Film Festival.
Pain And Glory (2019)
The latest from revered Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar (Volver, The Skin I Live In), Pain And Glory was a contender for the prestigious Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes.
Lead by frequent Almodóvar stars Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas (who won Cannes’ Best Actor award this year for the film), Pain And Glory centres on acclaimed director Salvador Mallo, who, in his 50s, finds himself in a creative lull.
As he reflects back on his life, body of work and loves across genres, the film flashes between periods — occasionally refracting Almodóvar’s own life. By all accounts, it’s stunning.
Trixie Mattel: Moving Parts (2019)
This documentary follows RuPaul’s Drag Race star Trixie Mattel after her less-than-stellar time on Season 7.
Featuring intimate behind-the-scenes footage taken over the years, the doco covers her many turns her career has taken since — from worldwide tours to country albums, a Viceland show and snatching the crown on All Stars 3.
This Is Not Berlin (2019)
Partially based on director Hari Sama’s own life, This Is Not Berlin is a drama set in the queer underground of 1986 Mexico City.
A hit at this year’s Sundance, the film has been celebrated for capturing a countercultural moment through its post-punk soundtrack, use of super 8, and general pulse of aggression.
The coming-of-age story around 17-year-old protagonist Carlos (Xabiani Ponce de Leon) might cross a lot of familiar ground, but its set in an intoxicating world largely lost to time.
“With a coolness factor off the charts,” wrote Variety, “this musically and otherwise seductive drama is likely to appeal to audiences who lived through the era as well as those who wish they had, both straight and gay.”
XY Chelsea (2019)
Filmed between her 2017 release from prison and her re-imprisonment earlier this year, this documentary helps fill in some of the blanks surrounding US soldier-turned-activist Chelsea Manning, who released classified military documents to Wikileaks.
Offering unparalleled access to one of the most famous (and divisive) queer activists of the current day, XY Chelsea sees Manning dive straight back into her work, rather than shy away from a public which called her a traitor — and turned her in-prison transition into a punchline.
With news just this week that Manning’s lawyers will fight tooth-and-nail to repeal her imprisonment for refusing to testify to a grand jury, it’s clear that her story is far from over. But XY Chelsea offers a strong footing on an ongoing saga.
Junkee is a proud media partner of Sydney Film Festival.
Jared Richards is a staff writer at Junkee, and co-host of Sleepless In Sydney. Follow him on Twitter.