With Sydney playing host to this year’s WorldPride extravaganza, we slipped into our celluloid closet and snuck into some of our slinkiest queer films in the SBS On Demand vaults.
Ammonite
Not content with delivering one of the most affecting gay romances of all time in English moors-set , brilliant followed it up with this equally . It casts Titanic star Kate Winslet as real-life palaeontologist Mary Anning, a pioneer in her field, and imagines a possible dalliance between her and Saoirse Ronan’s upper-class type who’s nevertheless smothered by societal expectations. The quiet moments in which hope is uncovered make for sublime viewing.
Ammonite is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
The Happy Prince
Stepping into the once well-heeled shoes of literary enfant terrible Oscar Wilde was a lifelong dream for . One that he finally realised onscreen with this heartbreaking and ravishing portrait of the artist at his wits’ end, living in penury in Paris after an unfortunate court case inadvertently led to hard labour in jail. He was born to play this role and is in grand company, with Colin Firth and Edwin Thomas as loyal friends Reggie Turner and Robbie Ross, respectively.
The Happy Prince is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Céline Sciamma is one of the most exhilarating directors working right now, in her native France or anywhere, with not one of her fantastique films putting a foot wrong. But it was this impossible portrait of 19th-century women in love that really grabbed the world’s attention, taking home both Best Screenplay and the Queer Palm at Cannes. actor Adèle Haenel plays a grieving noblewoman resisting her fate in an arranged marriage who winds up besotted with the artist (an also impeccable Noémie Merlant, Tár) sent to stealthily capture her likeness for unwanted hubby. A masterpiece.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Black Divaz
Wonnarua man and keen-eyed director Adrian Russell Wills immortalises the abundant love shared by soul sisters in this . If you’re used to all the catty sass hurled on RuPaul’s Drag Race, you might be surprised to find that the contestants here – including – are mostly ultra-supportive of one another. It’s a super-wholesome love-in that’s a salve for sorry souls.
Black Divaz is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Benedetta
Whether it’s Showgirls, Basic Instinct, Elle or Starship Troopers, button-pushing Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven’s movies have always been super-queer, even when they’re technically not. There’s nothing technical about the lesbian desire on offer here, based on the true story of a 17th-century nun (Virginie Efira) who falls in love with another sister (Daphné Patakia, ), much to the disgust of their unforgiving Abbess (an arch Charlotte Rampling, chewing the scenery with glee). Fair warning: if the idea of a religious icon being used for self-pleasure appals, look away now!
Benedetta is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Kamikaze Hearts
While we’re on the topic of lesbian shockers, praise be to Juliet Bashore’s reality-blurring mix of documentary and erotic fiction that plunges us deep into the seedy underbelly of the San Francisco porn scene during the ’80s. Featuring real-life porn star Sharon Mitchell alongside lover and colleague Tigr, as probably not that exaggerated versions of themselves, it centres on them attempting to shoot a new sex tape based on the opera Carmen (it’s A LOT). Outré excellence that pierces the patriarchy with unapologetically queer mayhem.
Kamikaze Hearts is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
The Man With The Answers
Greek filmmaker Stelios Kammitsis invites us on a visually and emotionally enticing road trip that traces a fine line from his home country to the lapping waters of the Adriatic Sea in picturesque Italian city Bari and on to the snow-capped mountains of Bavaria in no particular hurry. The languorous voyage is just enough time for Vasilis Magouliotis’ faded Olympic diver, mourning the loss of his gran, to jump in his car, pick up Anton Weil’s initially annoying German hitchhiker and, slowly but surely, tumble head over heels for him. As do we, also for the scenery.
The Man With The Answers is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Homecoming Queens
There’s nothing like the dreaded big C and a near-death experience to make you embrace your inner queer. That’s the case with this dark comedy based on the real-life experiences of co-creator Chloë Reeson, who bonded with fellow showrunner Michelle Law over their personal stories of overcoming chronic illness as twenty-somethings. A rough-as-guts reckoning with the absurdity of youthful misfortune, it packs plenty of gross-out humour to go with the heartache. Impeccably handled by director Corrie Chen, it’s a homegrown hero.
The Queen
No, not the one with Helen Mirren, but it’s also right royally brilliant. An absolutely marvellous time warp back to swinging ’60s New York City, this glittering extravaganza of a doco by filmmaker Frank Simon captures the Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant in full technicolour glory. It’s incredible to see a battalion of drag queens do their thing with brazen gusto back when the world was considerably less open to queer joy. Flawless Sabrina is both the magnificent MC of this contest and our truly fabulous narrator. She’s as divine as this film.
The Queen is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Aligarh
If you’re in the mood for a true story that will leave you uncontrollably sobbing, this heart-rending gem from director Hansal Mehta is it. Following on from Shahid, his similarly devastating biopic about an assassinated human rights lawyer, we’re introduced to respected lecturer Professor Siras (Manoj Bajpayee). His career and life were destroyed by a shocking abuse of privacy in which TV reporters barged into his private quarters while he was with another man. Our way into his story is through a more scrupulous reporter (Rajkumar Rao) who helps spark a national debate over LGBTIQA+ rights in India.
Aligarh is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
SBS On Demand is a Major Media Partner of . #MGFF23’s electrifying program, running 15 February to 2 March, celebrates queer film excellence, featuring gripping gay romances, comedies, insightful docos, sapphic tales, trans champions and so much more. With 166 films screening over more than 100 sessions, #MGFF23 will be one of the biggest yet. Highlights include opening night’s Of an Age, documentary centrepiece All the Beauty and the Bloodshed and closing film The Venus Effect. Full program and tickets .
