Out Takes

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. Also, with the recent announcement of the return of John Cameron Mitchell for the 2026 Melbourne International Film Festival for a special 25th anniversary celebration of ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’, we revisited our 2018 interview with the queer auteur to discuss the ongoing impact of this defiant and uncategorisable cult classic. The post ‘Leviticus’ with special guest Adrian Chiarella and John Cameron Mitchell for MIFF 2026 appeared first on Out Takes.

With the Australian cinema release finally here, we were delighted to speak with ‘Leviticus’ director Adrian Chiarella about this homegrown queer horror feature film that caused a stir at Sundance and is about to be unleashed here and around the world. Set within a Christian community in regional Victoria, ‘Leviticus’ takes the already-terrifying reality of conversion therapy and magnifies it into something supernatural: a haunting demon, visible only to its victims, that takes the shape of the person they most deeply desire. Led by incredible performances by Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen, this film is also a celebration of local gay talent courtesy of its very talented writer / director and definitely one of the must-see Australian films of this year. For this Out Takes Extra exclusive, we spoke with Adrian about his career and the film, including finding out more about his inspirations, how his sexuality and experiences growing up shaped the story and much more. The post Out Takes Extra: Adrian Chiarella for ‘Leviticus’ appeared first on Out Takes.

For this Out Takes, we welcomed the return of the Melbourne Women in Film Festival. Running from March 19–23 across ACMI and Fed Square, this year’s program continues to bring together bold works from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and Pasifika. Over four days, audiences can look forward to premiere screenings, restorations, creator conversations and hands-on workshops—an immersive celebration of diverse perspectives and the homegrown visionaries shaping the screen industry’s future. The Melbourne Women in Film Festival recently unveiled its landmark tenth-year program, marking a decade of championing women and gender-diverse filmmakers from Australia and beyond. We caught up with Festival Director Dr Sian Mitchell to discuss this year’s program and much more. We also reviewed ‘The Moment’, a new film that turns the spotlight on Charli XCX as we go behind the scenes for a hilarious look at the life of a popstar as she navigates the complexities of fame and industry pressure while preparing for her arena tour debut. Finally, we took a look at ‘A Friend of Dorothy’, a new short film that is delightfully queer and in the running to win an Oscar too. The post Melbourne Women in Film Festival 2026, The Moment and A Friend of Dorothy appeared first on Out Takes.

For this Out Takes, we celebrated the release of two highly anticipated queer films for February that celebrate the diversity of our community, the importance of representation and the ability for LGBTQIA+ folks to tell our own stories in an authentic way while still been given the opportunity to have them out in the mainstream. First up was ‘Jimpa’, the latest film from Adelaide based writer, producer and director Sophie Hyde. Inspired by Hyde’s own life with a direct link to her gay activist father Jim, this film is a multi-generational queer family story starring award-winning favourites Olivia Colman and John Lithgow plus it introduces us to the extraordinary talents of Aud Mason-Hyde. Along with our review of ‘Jimpa’, we were delighted to be joined in the JOY studios by Sophie and Hyde where we covered a wide range of topics and themes including how this very personal story developed into a feature film, how audiences have responded to the performances and characters, plus we discuss the connection that their father and grandfather Jim Hyde had to JOY and his impact in the queer community. We then reviewed ‘Pillion’, the debut feature film from British director Harry Lighton that tells the story of Colin (Harry Melling) who lives a small, carefully ordered life with his parents until Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), the charismatic leader of a gay biker gang, claims him as his submissive. Drawn into Ray’s world of leather, ritual, and unspoken codes, Colin awakens to intoxicating new dimensions of desire and belonging and the film traces the ecstatic and uncomfortable contours of a dom-sub relationship that evolves into something far deeper – a meditation on identity, control, and the unsettling shapes devotion takes when boundaries dissolve. The post ‘Jimpa’ with special guests Sophie Hyde and Aud Mason Hyde plus ‘Pillion’ appeared first on Out Takes.

For this Out Takes, we had a stack of reviews to cover some of the films on offer in cinemas and online this February. We started off by saying bon retour to the 37th Alliance Française French Film Festival which kicks off again across Australia from March 3rd. One of the queer highlights in this year’s program is ‘The Little Sister’ which tells the story of Fatima (played by Nadia Melliti), who is the youngest daughter of a Franco-Algerian family living in the suburbs of Paris. Surrounded by her sisters, she grows up in a warm, loving household shaped by strong traditions and Muslim faith. A gifted student, she graduates high school and enrols in a philosophy program in Paris, where she is suddenly exposed to a world far removed from everything she knows. In the capital, new encounters and ideas unsettle her certainties, specifically her exploration of her sexuality and connection with the queer community. This beautiful film was selected for the Official Competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where Nadia Melliti won the Best Actress award and the film received the Queer Palm and is a must-see. We then took a look at ‘Cashing Out’, a new documentary that is streaming now online for free from The New Yorker that tells a little heard story about an insurance scheme that had a huge impact in the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. ‘Cashing Out’ was shortlisted for this year’s Best Documentary Short Film and was executive produced by Matt Bomer and RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni Angeria Paris Van Michaels and is another incredible story of the resilience of our community in the face of an epidemic. We then moved on to ‘Wuthering Heights’, the latest film from celebrated writer and director Emerald Fennell who brought together Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi and a Charli XCX soundtrack for her ‘horny’ interpretation of the classic novel by Emily Bronte. Everyone has a lot to say about this new version, so we jumped on the bandwagon to give you the Out Takes take on this one. We ended the program by spotlighting ‘She’s The He’, the closing night film at this year’s Mardi Gras Film festival, plus we paid tribute to two wonderful talents and LGBTQ allies, Catherine O’Hara and James Van Der Beek, who both sadly passed away recently. The post The Little Sister, Cashing Out and Wuthering Heights appeared first on Out Takes.