For this program, we celebrated the upcoming release of ‘STOP! THAT! TRAIN!’, arguably the queerest, campiest, and silliest film you’ll see in cinemas this year that brings together a cast of some of your favourite RuPaul Drag Race queens fighting for their lives on a runaway train with a range of celebrity cameos that will leave you running to the movie theatre to make sure you don’t miss this wild ride. Obviously, we jumped at the chance to review the film and also speak with Drag Race icons Ginger Minj and Jujubee and director Adam Shankman. This hilarious and OTT cinematic tribute to disaster-parody films sees them faced with a catastrophic “Stormaganza” threatening to derail their train. With RuPaul as President Gagwell and celebrity cameos by Lisa Rinna, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and many more, ‘STOP! THAT! TRAIN!’ is a camp and crazy cinematic experience not to be missed. In speaking with the two lead queens of the film and its director, we discussed all the behind-the-scenes tea from their time on the film, plus we find out if we can get the ‘STOP! THAT! TRAIN’ sequel (a.k.a. the she-quel) filmed down under.

We also continued on with our coverage of this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival, which is on right through August, by looking at some of the great queer films on offer. From a sweeping Spanish melodrama to documentaries about a young North American man’s transition to rodeo riding in the Australian outback, we literally found a selection of features and short films that are guaranteed to keep you engaged and entertained this winter.

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One of the queerest, campiest and funniest films of 2026 is about to land in Australian cinemas and we jumped at the chance to speak with its director Adam Shankman and two lead stars Jujubee and Ginger Minj in the lead up to its release. From the producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race comes STOP! THAT! TRAIN!, a cinematic experience not to be missed that celebrates the kitsch, glamour and tongue-in-cheek humour of drag queens. Drag Race icons Ginger Minj and Jujubee star as train stewardesses faced with a catastrophic “Stormaganza” threatening to derail their train, leading them to join forces with RuPaul as President Gagwell. Celebrity cameos abound in this camp comedy, such as gay icons Lisa Rinna, Sarah Michelle Gellar and many, many more. For this Out Takes Extra, we discussed how they got involved with this project, their favourite cameos in the film, whether the sequel could be made in Australia and much more.

STOP! THAT! TRAIN! will be released in Australian cinemas on August 13, 2026.

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For this Out Takes, Out Takes, we featured two films that delve into the world of experimental filmmaking from a queer perspective. First up, ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ has been one of the most anticipated films of 2026 and it is finally coming to Aussie cinemas from August 6. Described as a new kind of horror remake from Jane Schoenbrun starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson, the film picks up on the Camp Miasma slasher film franchise after years of slapdash sequels where it has been handed over to an enthusiastic young director for resurrection. But when she visits the original’s star, a now-reclusive actress shrouded in mystery, the two women fall into a blood-soaked world of desire, fear, and delirium. We confirm if this film lived up to the hype and whether or not it received the Out Takes Recommends seal of approval (spoiler alert – it did!).

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In this episode of Out Takes we speak with Kate Jinx, senior programmer at Melbourne International Film Festival about the retrospective of German avant-garde filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger, titled Radical Travels. We hear from Screen Australia COO Grainne Brunsdon about their new innovation the Private Investment Toolkit to encourage more investment in Australian film. We also encore our interview with Bina Battacharya, the writer and director of From All Sides, which is now streaming on SBS On Demand.

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For this Out Takes, we speak with Jill Bilcock, the acclaimed editor of some of the most iconic films of Australian cinema, including Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, Muriel’s Wedding and Head On, which are all currently screening at ACMI.

We follow that up with our review of Heartstopper Forever, the final instalment of the much loved YA series, we talk Obsession and why it’s this year’s phenomenal box office hit, and we make a first attempt at highlighting some of the queer- themed films in this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival.

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For this Out Takes, we were very excited to welcome back MIFF a.k.a the Melbourne International Film Festival which is back in cinemas and online this August. Our special guest was Al Cossar, the Artistic Director of the Melbourne International Film Festival, who discussed with us many of the queer highlights and special events on offer for this year’s festival. We also heard from Dr Patrick Kelly who has curated two films, My Own Private Idaho’ and ‘Scorpio Rising’, that are coming to the Capitol Theatre on Tuesday July 21 for ‘The Best Films You’ve Never Seen: Queer Edition’.

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For this Out Takes, we were excited to feature an up-and-coming queer filmmaker whose first feature film will be in Aussie cinemas soon plus we acknowledged NAIDOC week by spotlighting an award-winning short film that celebrates the queer First Nation’s experience on country.

We started off by reviewing ‘First Light’, a new Australian-Filipino co-production that is in cinemas from July 9. It is the debut feature film from acclaimed Melbourne filmmaker and photographer James J. Robinson. The film centres around Sister Yolanda who has spent her life as a servant to God and the people in her community working as a nurse at the local hospital and living at an old convent in the mountains, Yolanda’s grace and selflessness make her a quiet but valued figure in her town. When Yolanda is called to perform last rites on a young construction worker on his deathbed, suddenly things aren’t so simple. The unusual circumstances surrounding the boy’s death begin to weigh on her conscience. Swept up in the lives of the people around her, including a young novice nun Sister Arlene, the affluent Linda Dela Cruz, and the father of the construction worker, an unavoidable question in the back of Yolanda’s mind begins to resonate louder and louder: Has she spent her life dutiful to the wrong thing?

The films writer and director then joined us while he was in Tokyo. James J. Robinson is a 29-year-old Filipino/Australian artist based in Los Angeles. With a successful career in photography and filmmaking, he is published regularly by the likes of The New York Times and Vogue, shooting the world’s biggest names including Kylie Jenner and Rihanna, while directing campaigns for brands like Apple and Maison Valentino. Despite a successful career in this world, James is also a talented filmmaker whose work has covered music videos, short films and now ‘First Light’ which is his feature film. Our long form discussion covered his career and how he got into filmmaking along with a great chat about what constitutes a queer film.

We ended this program by highlighting NAIDOC Week 2026 which takes place from July 5 to 12. This year’s theme, “50 Years of Deadly,” celebrates five decades of the NAIDOC movement, honouring the Elders, activists, artists, and leaders who have proudly shaped Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history. In February 2024, we featured the beautiful documentary ‘Marungka tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black)’ that deservedly garnered well deserved praise and accolades around the world including being the first ever film to win the Silver Bear Jury Prize (Short Film) and the Teddy Award for best queer short film at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival and will finally be available to stream from July 9 thanks to DocPlay. This short documentary tells the story of Aboriginal man Derik Lynch who leaves behind the oppression of white city life in Adelaide and embarks on a road trip back to Country for spiritual healing, as memories from his childhood return. Both Derik and his co-director / collaborator Matthew Thorne joined us in February 2024 when the film was screening as part of the AIDC to discuss the film, their professional and personal relationship and more.

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For this Out Takes, we dedicated it to the return of MDFF aka Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, which is celebrating its 10th year this July in bringing quality films online and in cinema for Melbourne cinephiles that amplify marginalised voices and share stories from here and around the world.

One of the LGBTQIA+ documentary’s on offer this year is ‘Out Laws’ which follows three queer activist-litigants – Friedel from Namibia, Rosanna from Sri Lanka and Raven from Barbados – as they take their governments to court over the colonial-era laws that still criminalise same-sex intimacy across 60+ countries. The film premiered at BFI Flare in March to a standing ovation and five-star reviews in Screen Daily and will be screening with a selection of queer short films on Sunday July 12 from 5.15pm at Cinema Nova. Our special guest was James Lewis online from London who is the codirector of ‘Out Laws’ and the co-founder of The Good Side and Head of Productions, where he steers the agency’s film work. James has 20 years of experience as a producer in TV news, branded content and impact documentary filmmaking. ‘Out Laws’ is James’ first feature documentary and is a result of a decade working to support the decriminalisation movement and provided excellent insight and context into this must-see documentary.

We followed that up with reviews of two fantastic short films that are also on offer at this year’s MDFF; “Sheesh, A Taylor Love Story” that documents Filipino Taylor Swift impersonator Taylor Sheesh and explores how her drag performances have transformed Swiftie fandom into a movement of joy, empowerment, and belonging; and ‘The Last Closet’ which is directed by Reese Leigh and explores why the AFL remained the last major sports league without an openly queer male player, and examines inclusion within Australian sports.

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For this Out Takes, we were very excited to bring you our review and interview with Adrian Chiarella, the writer and director of ‘Leviticus’, a new gay horror-supernatural film that is in cinemas now and is already being hailed as one of the best Australian films of the year. Set within a Christian community in regional Victoria, it takes the already-terrifying reality of conversion therapy and magnifies it into something supernatural: a haunting demon, visible only to its victims, which takes the shape of the person they most deeply desire. With a fantastic cast and an excellent premise that is explored specifically from a queer lens, Leviticus is one to definitely see on the big screen this Pride Month. Adrian Chiarella is a local award-winning screenwriter and director who has made his mark in television and delivered highly acclaimed short films at festivals around the world. We caught up with him recently on the promo trail for ‘Leviticus’ to discuss all aspects of the film including the development of his original idea into a feature film, his cinematic inspirations, the casting process and more.

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JOY 94.9’s Radiothon maybe officially over but you can still relive the magic of the 2nd annual ‘Geeks-Out-Out-Takes’ two hour crossover quiz extravaganza which was broadcast live from the JOY studios and proudly supported by FOMO Cinemas. You can also continue to support JOY by making a donation and becoming a member which keeps this incredible independent LGBTQIA+ media organisation growing and thriving.

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