Call for Entries to My Queer Career 2007
25 May 2006
What do directors Tony Ayres, Robert Luketic and Academy Award winner Adam Elliott have in common? The answer, all three have taken top honours at the biggest queer short film competition in Australia.
Now, all filmmakers across the country and New Zealand can join the talented winners list with entries for the 2007 My Queer Career now open. Screened at the gala opening night of the Mardi Gras Film Festival, the competition is the major showcase for films made by or about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in Australia.
Films can be made on any subject with a time limit of 30 minutes. An independent jury will view all submitted films and select a shortlist to screen at the film festival in February 2007. In the past judges have selected films with subject matter that has a strong relevance to the queer community.
Currently working on an animated feature film, Adam Elliot, who won My Queer Career in 1999 and 2000 and was a judge earlier this year, said the competition is ‘vital’ to emerging filmmakers and the GLBT community. He said the entries are becoming more sophisticated and focused on a more nuanced take on gay life.
"As filmmakers, we are self-appointed storytellers for our culture,” Elliott said. “My Queer Career is a supportive and crucial vehicle for filmmakers who choose to, or simply 'must', express Queerness. They have supported me over the last decade and given me the strength and confidence to keep telling stories that are honest and without compromise."
My Queer Career finalists compete for a $2500 cash prize from the Stephen Cummins Film Trust as well as a number of other great prizes awarded for best cinematography, screenplay, editing, direction, sound and development. The finalist films are also eligible to be included on the national My Queer Career tour and the compilation DVD.
This year’s winner Sotiris Dounoukos said he has completed a new short film and continues to work on two feature projects. “The support I received helped me to travel after the festival and meet with producers about future projects,” he said. “Mona Lisa has since been invited to another 10 international festivals as a direct result of My Queer Career."
My Queer Career has an international reputation as a source of high quality, contemporary local queer films. With entries closing on October 31, 2006, filmmakers are urged to submit their completed films now or to get into action prior to the deadline and be part of the biggest queer short film competition in Australia!
To enter or to find out more go to the Queer Screen website and click on My Queer Career.
Website: http://www.queerscreen.com.au
