For this special Out Takes episode, we headed back in time then back to the future in honour of JOY 94.9’s 32nd on-air anniversary and World AIDs Day 2025. We started off by using the 1993 December 1st start date for JOY to reflect on what was happening in queer film and television during this period and also check in on where we were at on our specific queer journeys and what we were watching at the time. We then caught up with Cal Hawk from Thorne Harbour Health and one of the hosts of Well, Well, Well on JOY to discuss the importance of World AIDs Day, the history of HIV and AIDS activism in Melbourne, and some of the seminal films and TV programs that have shaped the discussion around HIV/AIDs over the years. We then finished up with some television and film recommendation’s that we have previously discussed focusing on HIV/AIDS that are available to listen to now in the Out Takes podcast archive.

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As is our way at Out Takes, we literally had something for everyone this week! The highly anticipated second film of the most talked about movie musical in years, the return of a fantastic local documentary to a local streaming service, a queer Christmas radio play from one of our own that is on around Melbourne for a limited run, and a review of a new psychological drama that is in Aussie cinemas from November 27.

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For this Out Takes, we welcomed the return of Melbourne’s very own queer film festival with a selection of reviews, took a look at a new local show that promises to be a feisty feminist murder mystery plus we checked in on Eclipse Cinema, the latest independent cinema to open in Melbourne’s Northside.

First up, with the 35th Melbourne Queer Film Festival under way, we let you know about a few of the films we’ve seen that you can check out in this year’s programs, including In Transit, She’s The He, Hot Milk and 300 Letters.

We then moved on to ‘He Had It Coming’, a new Aussie series coming to Stan on November 20 that bills itself as a feisty feminist murder mystery that has an impressive international cast set against the backdrop of a fictional university in Adelaide.

We finished up by turning the spotlight on to a new independent cinema that has opened up in the heart of Melbourne’s Northside. Eclipse Cinema is found in Collingwood’s former Sherrin factory and is now home to a single-screen cinema that’s pairing new and recent films with classic must-sees. We caught up with Mark Walker, the owner and operator of Eclipse Cinema, to find out more about his love of cinema, how he decides on what to screen each week and more.

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For this Out Takes, we kept it eclectic by discussing the latest all-star female focused series from Ryan Murphy that the internet cannot get enough of, a documentary about one of the most respected and queer friendly world leaders, and we welcome the return of Melbourne’s very own queer film festival.

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For this Out Takes the theme of the show was ‘eclectic’ with a delightful mix including our review of JLo’s latest film (and her first ever movie musical), an update from our London-based international correspondent on the latest releases coming our way soon and we catch up with two special guests to discuss the power and importance of queer music videos.

First up, we took a look at ‘Kiss of the Spiderwoman’. It started life as an award-winning novel. Then, a groundbreaking drama in the 1980s that won the late William Hurt a Best Actor Oscar. In the 90’s, it was transformed again – this time into a record-setting Broadway musical that bagged seven Tony awards. Now, nearly half a century on, the web’s being woven all over again with Jennifer Lopez taking one of the lead roles in this movie musical that is in cinemas now.

Next up we welcomed back Dion Blackler, our UK correspondent and one of the co-hosts of the ‘In The Mood For Film’ podcast, to discuss the recent BFI London Film Festival which highlighted some of the queer films coming down under soon including the much anticipated ‘Pillion’ and ‘The History of Sound’ plus some of the many highlights from this year’s festival.

To celebrate the launch of the 115th Issue of Senses of Cinema, we spoke with not one, but two doctors – Dr Patrick Kelly and Dr Stayci Taylor, who joined us to discuss their special event ‘My Formative Queers: Stories of the Music Videos that Made Us Queer’. Both will be on the panel for this free ticketed event so they gave us a taste of what to expect and explained what makes a classic queer music video.

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For this Out Takes, we went on a global cinematic trip looking at films and filmmakers from Britain, Iran, and the U.S.A.

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For this Out Takes, we reviewed two new films from gay directors that explore the queer experience in vastly different ways and environments, plus we celebrated the return of The Other Film Festival and MQFF who are collaborating on a special inclusive cinema event this November.

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For this show, we take the phrase ‘mixed-bag’ and make it a reality by celebrating the return of one of our favourite local film festivals, review two television shows that highlight two gay men’s experience of dealing with two very different battlefields – one being the US Marine’s boot camp and the other being the hellscape known as the American High School campus, and we revisit a queer highlight from the ‘Black Mirror’ anthology.

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It’s no secret that we love a film festival at Out Takes so for this program we let you know what’s the craic with the return of the Irish Film Festival. Now in its 11th year, the 2025 Festival will showcase sixteen films and documentaries from Ireland, including 14 Australian premieres, and will take place in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, and Perth, alongside a nationwide online program from October 9 to November 9.

We had the opportunity to review three films, starting with ‘Never Stop the Action’, which is described as a kaleidoscopic journey through time and space. We begin the film in The Bronx, catching a 5am D-Train with our guides Teshi and Casey, two old friends recently reunited at an all-night dance party. On their long subway ride through the awakening city, the two share stories that take us out of the train on surreal swerves into vivid imaginary universes.

We then looked at ‘Ten Years of Yes’, a wonderful short film that follows Sydney Queer Irish, a social group for Irish expats and their friends of all identities and nationalities in Sydney. For the last 15 years, they have held regular meetups and annual events, participated in the Mardi Gras festival, and created a home away from home for Ireland’s LGBTQ+ diaspora down under. This short documentary follows Sydney Queer Irish in their preparation for the 2025 Mardi Gras parade, where they unveiled a sensational wedding party upon Sydney’s Oxford Street, honouring ten years of marriage equality in Ireland. ‘Ten Years of Yes’ captures a moment of both reflection and celebration amongst a community in their adopted city, thousands of kilometres from where history was made. We spoke with Alan Fitzgerald, the film’s director and member of Sydney Queer Irish, about how he got involved in the group, the importance of capturing this moment on film and also how he became an ‘accidental’ filmmaker.

Our final review was the feature documentary ‘Mrs Robinson’, which tells the impressive life story of change-maker Mary Robinson: Ireland’s first female President, a pioneering UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the successor of Nelson Mandela as Chair of The Elders. This intimate portrait takes viewers from Mary Robinson’s childhood in the rural west of Ireland to the world stage working with Bishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama. Unfettered access for the first time allows the viewer to hear Mary’s commentary on a changing Ireland, her legal wins decriminalising homosexuality, legalising divorce and contraception and her triumphant Presidential victory.

We finished by speaking with Dr Enda Murray, an award-winning filmmaker who has lived and worked in Ireland, England, USA, and Australia. His academic and filmmaking practice focuses on community, social justice, and popular culture. He is also the founder and creative director of the Irish Film Festival, and we spoke with him to find out more about the history of the festival, the importance of sharing Irish stories on our screens and more.

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For this program, we looked at two films that explore the queer experience through very different perspectives; one being a documentary on the creative team behind many loved films from the past 50 years including the queer classic ‘Maurice’; and the second, a queer coming-of-age comedy about coming out of the closet that is screening at the VPC and Thornbury Picture House in Melbourne this October.

First up we reviewed the delightful ‘Egghead & Twinkie’ which explores the aftermath of Vivian a.k.a. Twinkie, a teenage girl who has just come out to her conservative parents who then takes off on a road trip to meet her online crush with the help of her nerdy best friend Egghead. This film is heart-warming and very a sweet tale about embracing your identity and the ups and downs of best friendship. It’s written and directed by Sarah Kambe Holland who joined us to discuss the film, the importance of representation and more.

Next up, we ran an encore of our interview from November 2024 with writer, producer and film director Stephen Soucy who was the driving force behind this insightful and educational documentary ‘Merchant Ivory’ that explores the legendary creative team behind Merchant Ivory Productions who became synonymous with prestige arthouse cinema. Check out this fantastic film at the ‘Meet the Filmmaker’ screening at Cinema Nova with Stephen Soucy for a post-screening Zoom Q&A.

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