In what has become an annual event, the Out Takes crew once again plunged head first into this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), which runs from August 2 to 19.

MIFF is the leading film festival in Australia and on of the world’s oldest film festivals. It presents a curated global program of innovative screen experiences and the world’s largest showcase of exceptional Australian filmmaking.

We spoke with incoming MIFF Artistic Director, Al Cossar, about this year’s formidable line up, which features over 360 films! We also turned our attention to some of the more notable LGBT themed films screening at this year’s Festival, and some of our top picks.

One of those picks is director Sue Thomson’s The Coming Back Out Ball, which screens as the closing film of this year’s Festival. We spoke with Thompson about her important new documentary.  The Coming Back Out Ball follows a group of older LGBTI+ people, who have been invited to attend a ball celebrating their gender and sexual identity.