Jun 29
48m 18s
For this Out Takes, we dedicated it to the return of MDFF aka Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, which is celebrating its 10th year this July in bringing quality films online and in cinema for Melbourne cinephiles that amplify marginalised voices and share stories from here and around the world.
One of the LGBTQIA+ documentary’s on offer this year is ‘Out Laws’ which follows three queer activist-litigants – Friedel from Namibia, Rosanna from Sri Lanka and Raven from Barbados – as they take their governments to court over the colonial-era laws that still criminalise same-sex intimacy across 60+ countries. The film premiered at BFI Flare in March to a standing ovation and five-star reviews in Screen Daily and will be screening with a selection of queer short films on Sunday July 12 from 5.15pm at Cinema Nova. Our special guest was James Lewis online from London who is the codirector of ‘Out Laws’ and the co-founder of The Good Side and Head of Productions, where he steers the agency’s film work. James has 20 years of experience as a producer in TV news, branded content and impact documentary filmmaking. ‘Out Laws’ is James’ first feature documentary and is a result of a decade working to support the decriminalisation movement and provided excellent insight and context into this must-see documentary.
We followed that up with reviews of two fantastic short films that are also on offer at this year’s MDFF; “Sheesh, A Taylor Love Story” that documents Filipino Taylor Swift impersonator Taylor Sheesh and explores how her drag performances have transformed Swiftie fandom into a movement of joy, empowerment, and belonging; and ‘The Last Closet’ which is directed by Reese Leigh and explores why the AFL remained the last major sports league without an openly queer male player, and examines inclusion within Australian sports.
The post Melbourne Documentary Film Festival (MDFF) with special guest James Lewis for ‘Out Laws’ appeared first on Out Takes.