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Mardi Gras Film Festival
Thursday, 12 February 2026 until Thursday, 26 February 2026
There have been lesbian and gay film festivals in Sydney since 1978. Initially these were run by the Australian Film Institute. In 1986, the AFI partnered with what was then theSydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, to present an annual ‘Sydney Gay Film Week’during the Mardi Gras festival. The film festival was taken over by commercial concerns in 1991, but still screened as a highlight of the Mardi Gras season.
In 1993, a group of queer Sydney filmmakers, students and others approached Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras with a view to establishing an independent organisation whose primary focus was queer film and screen culture. This organisation, Queer Screen, had the central aim of reclaiming Sydney’s GLBTIQ film festival as owned and operated by the community. From that time, Mardi Gras was the principal funding body of Queer Screen, initially with a five-year funding agreement, followed by a three-year agreement in 1998. This agreement came to an end with the 2001 Mardi Gras Film Festival.
The Mardi Gras Film Festival has grown considerably since 1993. It is now one of Australia’s largest film festivals of any kind, and one of the top five queer film festivals in the world. It is highly regarded by filmmakers all over the world, and is the most important avenue for promoting gay and lesbian titles to distributors and exhibitors in this territory.
• My Queer Career
Australian short film competition with over $16,000 AUD worth of prizes to be won, in the categories of Best Film, Best Screenplay, Emerging Filmmaker, Emerging Performer and Audience Award
• Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Film
• Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature Film
• Audience Award for Best Narrative Short Film
• Audience Award for Best Documentary Short Film
2026 program...
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A gay North Korean defector arrives in Seoul, hiding his sexuality from his fellow defectors as he navigates a new life and the city’s queer spaces.
Wed, Feb 18, 6:00pm
A
A Deeper Love: The Story of Miss Peppermint
Charting the rise of trailblazing performer and trans icon Miss Peppermint (RuPaul’s Drag Race), a turning point for trans representation.
Wed, Feb 25, 6:30pm
A tender and heartfelt comedy-drama about a glamorous drag queen caring for his mother, from Singaporean director ONG Kuo Sin (Number 1).
Mon, Feb 16, 6:15pm
A Grand Prix winner at Cannes Critics’ Week, Thai superstar Davika Hoorne stars in this absurd, genre-defying comedy about a haunted vacuum.
Tue, Feb 24, 6:15pm
Afternoon Delight: I Was Born This Way
A movie matinee, afternoon tea and intergenerational social gathering celebrating our older LGBTIQ+ community (plus friends and allies).
Sun, Feb 22, 1:30pm
An interconnected group of lesbians navigate their desires and fears in Paris, in this charming and romantic French answer to The L Word.
Mon, Feb 16, 7:00pm
B
Fresh off its premiere at Venice, this poetic genre-blending romantic odyssey is sparked by the love between two best friends in the rural Greek mountains.
Tue, Feb 24, 6:00pm
Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day
In 1950s Yugoslavia, celebrated filmmakers face surveillance and persecution as queer lives and artistic freedom collide in this sweeping historical drama.
Wed, Feb 18, 6:30pm
Visionary filmmaker Farnoosh Samadi drew on the Iranian LGBTIQ+ community’s real experiences to craft this tense yet poignant thriller.
Tue, Feb 24, 6:30pm
Bi, pan, fluid, queer – those attracted to more than one gender take centre stage in this inclusive package about finding acceptance at any age.
Fri, Feb 20, 8:45pm
A 35 year-old queer Moroccan filmmaker in New York reflects on how her sexuality has shaped her relationship with her mother in Casablanca.
Wed, Feb 18, 7:00pm
C
Castration Movie Anthology ii. The Best of Both Worlds
The second part of a labyrinthine post-modern trans epic, from underground Canadian filmmaker Louise Weard, amassed a cult following.
Sun, Feb 15, 12:00pm
D
After a break-up, Benji reflects on his doomed relationship with macho, closeted Jake in this darkly funny, emotionally charged anti-rom-com.
Mon, Feb 23, 6:00pm
Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ delivers a luminous and deeply affecting performance as a queer Nigerian asylum seeker detained in a UK asylum centre.
Tue, Feb 17, 7:00pm
A mysterious drone appears outside a student’s Parisian window, turning surveillance into obsession and control in this sleek techno-thriller.
Fri, Feb 20, 8:30pm
Lucio Castro (End of the Century) returns with a very different sensuous drama, shaped by art, desire and chance encounters that blur time itself.
Mon, Feb 16, 8:45pm
F
A gay throuple – including the first pregnant trans man in Norway – prepare for impending fatherhood in this warm and observant documentary.
Mon, Feb 16, 7:00pm
Darren Thornton’s (A Date for Mad Mary, MGFF17) warm, sharply observed comedy about the bond between mother and gay son won the Audience Award at BFI London Film Festival.
Sun, Feb 22, 6:00pm
G
Featuring Zane Phillips (Fire Island) as the son of a diva muppet, these short films explore gay life in all its facets, from the ridiculous to the heartfelt.
Fri, Feb 13, 8:45pm
The extraordinary but little-known true story of Anne Grandjean, an intersex person subjected to public trial for the crime of falling in love in 18th century France.
Mon, Feb 23, 6:30pm
Poetically tracing the journey from adolescence to adulthood, Girlfriends offers up an artful triptych of love stories in a woman’s life.
Thu, Feb 19, 8:45pm
H
Ally Sheedy and Radha Mitchell star in Lisa Cholodenko’s award-winning debut, a landmark of ‘90s indie cinema and a modern queer classic.
Fri, Feb 20, 6:30pm
From unexpected hook-ups to romantic rendezvous, things get hot and heavy in this collection of films. Featuring John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch).
Sat, Feb 21, 8:30pm
I
Lady Gaga and Billy Porter feature in this joyful documentary celebrating the life of Carl Bean, singer of gay anthem “I Was Born This Way”.
Thu, Feb 19, 7:00pm
If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart into Your Mouth and Smile
This Teddy Jury Prize winner brilliantly captures those nascent years when someone first begins to question and explore their own identity.
Sun, Feb 22, 6:30pm
In Conversation with Sophie Hyde
Acclaimed Australian filmmaker Sophie Hyde will sit down for a wide-ranging discussion about her storied career and creative process.
Sat, Feb 14, 3:00pm
Centring the lives of Indigenous queer people from across the globe, these films celebrate LGBTIQ+ Aboriginal, Māori, Samoan and First Nations voices.
Mon, Feb 16, 6:30pm
Join us for a panel discussion with film professionals from here and abroad, followed by a chance to connect with other screen professionals.
Sun, Feb 22, 3:30pm
J
Award winners Olivia Colman and John Lithgow star in this uplifting multi-generational family story from acclaimed filmmaker Sophie Hyde.
Thu, Feb 12, 7:00pm
L
Live Commentary: Lesbian Space Princess
Filmmakers Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese join moderator Nina Oyama (Deadloch) to discuss the making of their award-winning film.
Sun, Feb 22, 1:30pm
A 30th anniversary screening of the recently remastered Aussie classic about chaotic student life, starring Frances O’Connor and Radha Mitchell.
Wed, Feb 18, 6:30pm
Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) gives a tour de force performance as a mother separated from her son in this complex, deeply affecting drama.
Sat, Feb 21, 6:30pm
M
A sun-drenched gay paradise gives way to clinical corridors and quiet closets in this poignant, late-in-life reckoning with freedom and desire.
Wed, Feb 25, 7:00pm
My Queer Career: Australian Shorts
Don’t miss these eight films competing in My Queer Career, Australia’s richest LGBTIQ+ short film prize, with over $16K worth of prizes.
Mon, Feb 23, 6:30pm
N
Forty years after a gay Apache man was framed for the murder of a priest, long-buried evidence is uncovered that could prove his innocence.
Sat, Feb 21, 4:30pm
An actor and a politician struggle to keep their secret affair hidden, in this bold and playful erotic thriller that embraces voyeurism and spectacle.
Sat, Feb 14, 8:45pm
When waning pop star Alice and rising singer-songwriter Nova are forced into a joint tour, their on-stage rivalry develops into a love affair.
Sat, Feb 14, 7:00pm
O
A gruff, burly mussel farmer is forced into close proximity with a ruggedly handsome skipper, in this sweaty, salt-weathered romantic drama.
Wed, Feb 18, 8:45pm
P
A humorous, interactive panel that will unpack the films and TV that still have a hold on our queer hearts, even if they're now deemed “problematic”.
Sat, Feb 14, 1:30pm
Festival favourite Marco Berger (The Astronaut Lovers, QSFF24) returns with a gently absurd, homoerotic fable where “man’s best friend” is literally a man.
Sat, Feb 21, 6:00pm
An impossibly handsome biker (Alexander Skarsgård) takes a directionless wallflower (Harry Melling) on as his submissive, in a kinky “dom-com”.
Fri, Feb 13, 6:30pm
Back by popular demand after opening QSFF25, Russell Tovey (Looking) and Tom Blyth (The Hunger Games) star in this tense romantic thriller.
Sun, Feb 15, 7:00pm
Q
A trans woman overcomes bigotry to become the first woman to work in the Patagonian coal mines, in this rousing drama based on true events.
Tue, Feb 17, 8:30pm
An eclectic group of drag queens and club kids must battle the undead when the zombie apocalypse breaks out, in this laugh-out-loud comedy.
Fri, Feb 20, 6:30pm
This selection of shorts will make you laugh, finding humour in sibling relationships, first crushes, mean gays and even racial profiling. Featuring Cathy Moriarty.
Tue, Feb 17, 7:00pm
Gay male nuns, lesbian custody battles, trans surfers and the bond between a sperm donor and his child are the subjects of just some of these documentaries.
Tue, Feb 17, 6:15pm
From the weird and wonderful, to the surreal and strange, through to the genuinely frightening, this eclectic package of queer genre films is a real scream.
Thu, Feb 19, 9:00pm
R
A delirious, queer reframing of Dante’s Inferno as a neon-drenched tropical fantasy at the border between life and death, charged with punk spirit and camp spectacle.
Sun, Feb 22, 7:00pm
Executive-produced by Olympic gold medallist Sue Bird, Row of Life tells the remarkable story of Paralympian Angela Madsen's solo, unassisted row across the Pacific Ocean.
Sat, Feb 21, 2:30pm
S
From early sexual awakenings to late-in-life discoveries and everything in between, this collection of sapphic films features T’Nia Miller and Dominique Provost-Chalkley.
Sun, Feb 22, 6:30pm
Narrated by Elliot Page, this engaging documentary is about the scientists studying the diversity of gender and sexuality in the animal world.
Sat, Feb 14, 11:00am
Full of over-the-top humour with an authentic heart, She’s the He is a bold reinvention of the high school teen comedy, joyfully reframed through a much-needed queer and trans lens.
Thu, Feb 26, 7:00pm
A gifted rower develops unexpected feelings for her brother’s new girlfriend, in this wind-brushed coming-of-age drama capturing the intensity of first love.
Fri, Feb 13, 7:00pm
A young lesbian teen accidentally stumbles upon photos of a man who was her father’s first love, in this sweet and tender coming-of-age tale.
Wed, Feb 25, 6:00pm
T
Featuring bright and catchy ‘80s-style tunes, this frothy, feel-good musical rom-com about reuniting with an old crush is a true crowd-pleaser.
Sat, Feb 14, 6:30pm
Kristen Stewart makes her directorial debut in this visceral adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s best-selling memoir, starring Imogen Poots.
Thu, Feb 19, 6:15pm
Erotically charged and alive with unspoken longing, The Last First Time is a raw, immersive portrait of a young man on the brink of becoming.
Tue, Feb 17, 8:30pm
The Queer Palm and Best Actress (Nadia Melliti) winner at Cannes, this subtle drama traces a young Muslim woman’s path between faith and self-discovery.
Sun, Feb 15, 6:30pm
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
A rare animated film with a LGBTIQ+ lead, this sci-fi action comedy about embracing differences is chaotic fun for the whole rainbow family.
Sun, Feb 22, 4:00pm
Marking its 50th anniversary, John Hurt stars as Quentin Crisp, who made the bold decision to be openly gay in 1930s and ‘40s England.
Wed, Feb 25, 6:30pm
Alice Maio Mackay’s sixth feature is witchy, ferocious and defiantly trans, blending occult horror with coming-of-age vulnerability.
Thu, Feb 19, 6:30pm
A famous trans actress balances her hedonistic lifestyle and public image in this compelling erotic melodrama, co-starring Alfonso Herrera (Sense8).
Sat, Feb 21, 7:00pm
An erotic and provocative portrait of Japan’s hidden gay subculture, following a gay masseuse drifting through parlours, bathhouses and the adult film industry.
Fri, Feb 20, 6:45pm
Spotlighting T4T romances, an attempted egg cracking and a luxury brand heist, these films showcase the varied lives of trans and gender diverse people.
Mon, Feb 23, 7:00pm
An evocative experimental documentary exploring queer sexuality, consent and belonging within Berlin’s sex-positive community.
Sat, Feb 21, 9:15pm
W
A defiant queer romance set on the volatile Kashmir border, where two men risk everything to choose love over fear and division.
Sun, Feb 22, 8:30pm
These films, all about women in love, play out against the backdrop of women’s soccer, a holiday caravan park, a 1990s Melbourne sharehouse and the rodeo.
Tue, Feb 24, 8:30pm