Monday 6 February
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
9:25pm, SBS VICELAND
M
Australia, 1994
Genre: Comedy, Drama, LGBTQI, Music
Language: English
Director: Stephan Elliott
Starring: Hugo Weaving, Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce, Bill Hunter
What's it about?
Shake your groove thing with this national treasure, as two drag queens and a trans woman take their King Cross cabaret act on an outback road trip to Alice Springs. In their silver bus 'Priscilla', the three performers travel across the Australian desert performing for a mixed audience of enthusiastic locals and outspoken homophobes. "Thoroughly captivating and utterly disarming," according to David Stratton - and keep your eyes peeled for a cameo from Margaret.
[link title="The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert review: You'd have to be very straight laced not to like it" url="node/46841"]
Watch Patrick Abboud's interview with drag queen Prada Clutch and 'Priscilla' costume designer Tim Chappel:
Tangerine
11:20pm, SBS VICELANDWatch now at SBS On Demand
MA15+
USA, 2015
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: English
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, James Ransone
What's it about?
Famously shot on an iPhone 5S, this dramedy by Sean Baker (produced by the Duplass brothers), was a hit when it premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It follows two transgender sex workers, Sin-Dee and Alexandra (played by Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor, both perfect), who walk through LA on Christmas Eve looking for the pimp who cheated on Sin-Dee. Their odyssey leads them through the little-seen subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own repercussions of infidelity.
Watch: Director Sean Baker talks about his love of collaborating on subjects unfamiliar to him
Monday 13 February
52 Tuesdays
9:25pm, SBS VICELANDWatch now at SBS On Demand
MA15+
Australia, 2014
Genre: Drama, Family
Language: English
Director: Sophie Hyde
Starring: Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Del Herbert-Jane, Danica Moors
What's it about?This award-winning debut feature by South Australian director Sophie Hyde, follows teenager Billie (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), as she adapts to her mother (Del Herbert-Jane)'s gender transition, over the course of weekly visits. The 16-year-old reluctantly finds her path towards independence is greatly accelerated. 52 Tuesdays refers to both the film's title and a summary of its production process, as it was shot once a week for a year, gathering the performers on the same terms as the characters in the story.
[link title="52 Tuesdays: Sophie Hyde interview" url="node/14298"]
[link title="The extraordinary story behind 52 Tuesdays" url="node/16409"]
[link title="52 Tuesdays Review" url="node/13809"]Watch Marc Fennell's interview of cast & crew on The Feed
Watch Patrick Abboud's interview with '52 Tuesdays' director Sophie Hyde
The Chambermaid Lynn
11:30pm, SBS VICELANDWatch now at SBS On Demand
MA15+
Germany, 2015
Genre: Drama
Language: German
Director: Ingo Haeb
Starring: Vicky Krieps, Lena Lauzemis, Steffen Münster
What's it about?
In this beautiful and surprising German movie, a hotel chambermaid, Lynn, has a deathly fear of human interaction, yet she craves intimacy. In order to experience human contact while keeping her distance, she sometimes hides under the beds of the hotel guests and observe them. One day, her interest is piqued by witnessing a BDSM sex worker, Chiara, work with a client, and decides to hire her to visit her at home. As Chiara initiates Lynn to sex, their physical relationship soon morphs into something deeper, and ever so slowly, Lynn emerges from her cocoon.
Monday 20 February
Head On
9:25pm, SBS VICELANDWatch now at SBS On Demand
MA15+
Australia, 1998
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Ana Kokkinos
Starring: Alex Dimitriades, Paul Capsis, Tony Nikolakopoulos
What's it about?
This ballsy film is adapted from Christos Tsiolkas' 1995 novel Loaded, and tackles multicultural tensions in Melbourne, within the story of a teen's burgeoning sexuality. Alex Dimitriades (The Heartbreak Kid) is unforgettable as Ari, who rails against his family, friends and his own sexuality. Ari jams all his energy and defiance, pain and joy into one high velocity night of dancing, sex and drugs.
[link title="Head On review: Shocking, confronting and dazzling" url="node/3998"]
Watch Patrick Abboud's interview with Paul Capsis, who played 'Toula' in 'Head On':
54
11:20pm, SBS VICELAND
M
USA, 1998
Genre: History, Drama
Language: English
Director: Christopher Mark
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Mike Myers, Neve Campbell
What's it about?
A bored 19-year-old joins the ranks of bare-chested busboys working under the strobe lights of the famous Studio 54 and throws himself into the hedonist lifestyle. Christopher Mark's ode to legendary '70s disco club has earned a rightful status as a cult gay classic thanks to its recent resurrection (read the fascinating full story in the link below).
[link title="54 Bombed in 1998. Now It's Been Resurrected as a Cult Gay Classic" url="node/32974"]
Monday 27 February
Teenage Kicks
*PREMIERE* 9:20pm, SBS VICELANDWatch now at SBS On Demand
MA15+
Australia, 2016
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Craig Boreham
Starring: Miles Szanto, Daniel Webber, Anni Finsterer, Shari Sebbens
What's it about?
Adapted from short film Drowning, the coming-of-age story Teenage Kicks set in Sydney follows Miklós 'Mik' Varga, a 17 year-old whose plans to head north, come out and start a life with his best friend Dan are disrupted by his brother Tomi's sudden death. Only Mik knows the events that led to this tragedy, and he is suddenly forced to navigate his guilt and explosive sexuality to find the man he can become. A moving, evocative exploration of grief, family, friendships and sexuality.
[link title="Multicultural love drama 'Teenage Kicks' starts shoot in Sydney" url="node/18596"]
Watch Patrick Abboud's interview of 'Teenage Kicks' director Craig Boreham:
Gerontophilia
11:15pm, SBS VICELANDWatch now at SBS On Demand
MA15+
Canada, France, 2013
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Language: English
Director: Bruce LaBruce
Starring: Pier-Gabriel Lajoie, Walter Borden, Katie Boland
What's it about?
In this provocative, darkly humourous and perverse rom-com, 18-year-old Lake gets a job in a nursing home and develops an attraction for the elderly Mr Peabody. Discovering that the patients are being over-medicated to make them easier to manage, Lake decides to help Mr Peabody escape, and they hit the road on an unforgettable road trip.
