For the first time, and in partnership with the local Pink Mountains organisation, The Carrington Hotel in Katoomba will host the best five films of the 23rd Mardi Gras Film Festival presented by Queer Screen.
“We are delighted to bring the Mardi Gras Film Festival to the Blue Mountains for the first time and to screen at the beautiful Carrington Hotel,” said Festival director Paul Struthers. “It’s very exciting to bring the best festival films on tour to such a supportive community”.
Pink Mountains co-convenor, Peter Hackney, said the decision to bring a Mardi Gras event to the area was “indicative of the burgeoning LGBTIQ community in the Mountains. They’ve seen that we have a vital, rapidly growing queer scene and have responded accordingly.
“We congratulate the Mardi Gras Film Festival for thinking outside the box and we urge all local LGBTIQ people and visitors to support these film screenings wholeheartedly,” he said.
As well as the five films, the Carrington will also screen the winner of the prestigious My Queer Career awards. The films will be shown from March 11-13. Tickets on sale at queerscreen.org.au and via the Mardi Gras Film Festival app.
The screenings include: Remembering the Man, a bittersweet documentary further exploring the relationship between Australians Timothy Conigrave and John Caleo as detailed in Holding the Man (Friday, March 11, 7pm); Liz in September, a Venezuelan lesbian film (Saturday 6pm); Beautiful Something, a sexy and tender glimpse into life for the contemporary gay man (Saturday 8pm); Tchindas, which follows the life of three queer artists as they prepare for a spectacular carnival in Africa (Sunday 2pm); and That’s Not Us, which looks at three couples – one gay, one lesbian, one straight - on a weekend away at a beach house and how they manage the intricacies, vulnerabilities, laughter and connection that comes with relationships (Sunday 4pm).
The winner of My Queer Career, Australia’s largest LGBTIQ film prize, will be shown on Friday, March 11, along with Remembering the Man.