FUSE is absolutely thrilled to be this year’s media sponsor for the 2023 Mardi Gras Film Festival On Tour, which will be showing at the National Fim and Sound Archive in Acton.
This year’s film lineup will include In from the Side, a captivating drama exploring an illicit affair between two partnered members of a South London gay rugby club; The Venus Effect, which tells the story of Liv, who thinks she has everything figured out; Best of MGFF23 Shorts, which represent some of the best short films the 2023 festival has to offer and a special showing of Stephen Cummins Retrospective Gala.
MARDI GRAS FILM FESTIVAL ON TOUR
National Film & Sound Archive
24 – 25 March 2023
In from the Side
In from the Side is a captivating drama exploring an illicit affair between two partnered members of a South London gay rugby club.
During a drunken encounter, newbie Stags rugby player Mark sleeps with the seasoned A-squad hottie Warren, whilst Warren’s boyfriend is also on the team. What follows is a passionate concealed love affair that takes them from the locker room to the bedroom, testing the emotional resolve of both men. This sizzling crowd-pleaser from rugby player and coach turned filmmaker Matt Carter and Australian co-writer/producer Adam Silver faithfully captures the jealousies, camaraderie and team spirit within a local gay rugby club.
The Venus Effect
20-something Liv thinks she has everything figured out, until she’s swept off her feet by spontaneous free spirit Andrea in this feel good, award-winning Danish romantic dramedy.
Liv works in a garden centre with her father (Lars Mikkelsen) and her overly-invested mother (Sofie Gråbøl, The Killing), she’s close with her gay brother, and has a sweet but unexciting boyfriend. Everything shifts when a pink-haired, vulva-dress-wearing, Sapphic goddess comes crashing into her life. Andrea is everything Liv isn’t, and she’s completely infatuated. As the two women grow closer, their different lifestyles begin to clash, and Liv discovers that relationships, love and family can come in many forms.
TICKETS
Best of MGFF23 Shorts
FUSE Supporting Partner
Representing some of the best short films the 2023 festival has to offer, this collection will warm your heart and put a smile on your face.
The Bower
In 1991, Seb takes Terri to witness Derek Jarman’s camp canonisation. In 2021, Terri takes young Jude to the same spot amidst tough news.
First Date
Tina, a recently widowed farmer, doesn’t want to be left all alone when her adult daughter moves back to the city. So she intervenes.
A Fox in the Night
Whilst picking up something from a dealer before a night out, flamboyant and confident Lewis is confronted with an unexpected connection.
Lucky Fish
Two Asian-American teenagers meet in the bathroom of a Chinese restaurant while avoiding awkward dinners with their families.
Monsieur Le Butch
Jude wants top surgery. Mum wants an “old lady pass” on the whole pronouns thing. The two butt heads about gender, language and body image.
Unicorn
A bisexual man meets an attractive couple to explore the possibilities of life as a unicorn: a drama-free, emotionally non-threatening third.
Warsha
Mohammad is a crane operator working in Beirut. He volunteers to take on one of the most dangerous cranes to live out his secret passion.
Stephen Cummins Retrospective Gala
Stephen Cummins (1960-1994) was an Australian filmmaker, curator, artist and co-founder of Queer Screen who left an indelible mark on queer cinema.
Celebrate Stephen Cummins’ influential career with a retrospective gala presentation of his complete works, presented in partnership with the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) and Simon Hunt, Stephen’s estate executor. Featuring all nine short films that have been digitised, restored and remastered by the NFSA and Simon, including the award-winning Resonance, Elevation and Le Corps Image. Stephen died of HIV-related lymphoma in 1994, but his legacy continues to be felt to this day, not least through the support of the Stephen Cummins Film Trust.
Content warning: contains depictions of homophobic violence
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