Out Takes

For this Out Takes, we turned our spotlight on to one of the retrospective highlights in a new Aussie focused cinema celebration screening right through May at Cinema Nova, plus we reviewed Jodie Foster’s latest film that is one for the Francophiles. First up, we took a look at ‘Going Down’ from the early 80’s, a film about four young women living in a share house in Sydney that after its initial release was deemed a cult classic but all but disappeared until a copy showed up in the US a few years ago which started a chain reaction that has lead to it being restored, resurrected and back in cinemas across Melbourne this May. This film is bold, brash and an incredible time capsule of the uncontrolled excess in inner-city Sydney for many young people during the early 1980s and who better to discuss it in-depth than its director Haydn Keenan who provided some great insight into the making of the film and the importance of preserving our local cinematic history. We also took the opportunity to review the latest film from Jodie Foster. ‘A Private Life’ (Vie Privée) premiered to great acclaim at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and is described as a frisky, feminine, film noir about psychoanalysis, sex and more.   The post ‘Going Down’ with special guest Haydn Keenan and ‘A Private Life’ review appeared first on Out Takes.

For this Out Takes, we turned the spotlight on to another great local film festival that is taking over the Northside this month plus we revisited one of our favourite interviews from earlier this year to celebrate its inclusion in a new Aussie focused cinema celebration coming to Cinema Nova this May. First up we took a deep dive into the Brunswick Underground Film Festival (a.k.a BUFF) with festival director Felix Hubble. When it was announced that BUFF was coming back from May 14 to 17, we knew we were in for a brilliant collection of local and international underground, independent, cult, trash and schlock films but we’re also pleased to report that there is a great selection of queer content in the mix too. Felix took us through many of the highlights in the lead up to the festival and also shared with us what makes the festival underground, Needless to say, we’re pumped for this program and looking forward to getting (into) BUFF this May! Another highlight for this May was the recently announced G’day May program from Cinema Nova which pays tribute to Australian cinema with a selection of curated anniversary classics, new features and special events celebrating Australia’s rich movie culture. One of the highlights in the program is ‘From All Sides’ which we reviewed in January and had the pleasure of speaking to its writer and director Bina Bhattacharya at the time so we thought this was the perfect time for an encore of that chat to encourage you all to get your tickets for this limited run before they sell out. The post BUFF aka Brunswick Underground Film Festival and Gday May appeared first on Out Takes.

With ‘Scream 7’ finally out in cinemas around the world after various delays and controversies, we took the opportunity for this Out Takes to review this latest instalment in the 30+ year franchise and also explore its queer legacy across this incredibly popular and at times very camp slasher film series. From those iconic early days of high-profile scream queens being killed off in the opening scenes of the films to the enduring and contentious relationship between Sidney and Gail across the years, we celebrate the queer connection between the films and its fans along with the impact it’s gay creator Kevin Williamson has had on the horror genre. We then took the program in a different direction by taking a look at the new Netflix docuseries that has everyone talking about Tyra. ‘America’s Next Top Model’ was created and hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks and began in 2006. It ran for 24 seasons and created spin offs around the world including here is Australia. The show featured up and coming models from across the USA vying to win the competition by competing in challenges, doing photo shoots and commercials and living in a shared house all while being filmed 24/7. The show was always controversial and with more contestants sharing their stories online it was only time before someone decided to take a look back at the people involved and what actually went on behind the scenes on this massively popular reality television juggernaut ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model’ packed a lot in to its three episodes and we were keen to join the conversation on this series too. Finally, with Award’s season nearing the finish line before the Academy Awards in mid-March, we took the time to reflect on the recent BAFTA Awards and see if there are any clear favourites or surprises coming through in the recent winners and to also provide an update on our picks for Oscar glory in 2026. The post Scream 7, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model and a 2026 Award Season update appeared first on Out Takes.

For this Out Takes Extra, we had the pleasure of speaking with Sophie Hyde and Aud Mason-Hyde at the JOY studios in the lead up to the Australian release of ‘Jimpa’ which is in cinemas now. Sophie Hyde is an acclaimed Adelaide-based film director, writer, and producer. Following on from her debut feature ’52 Tuesdays’, she has gone on to work on projects here and around the world including ‘Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’ with Emma Thompson and ‘Animals’ with Alia Shawkat. Her latest film ‘Jimpa’ is based on her own family story after her father, Jim Hyde, came out to his wife as gay when they were married with young children, and explores a fictionalised version of their unique path forward in keeping their family connected while also living their own lives. The film stars Olivia Colman, John Lithgow, and introduces us to the extraordinary acting abilities of Sophie’s very talented child, Aud Mason-Hyde.With Sophie and Aud at the JOY studio’s to discuss ‘Jimpa’, we took the opportunity to cover a wide range of topics from film-making to gender identity through to Jim Hyde’s connection to JOY and the experience of being in a bath with Olivia Colman on set! ‘Jimpa’ is in Australian cinemas now so visit your local cinema listings for details and also visit the Queerest Part of Us project to celebrate, recognise and remember our stories and connection to community. Also, keep up to date with everything Out Takes on Instagram, BlueSky and Facebook and thanks for listening to this Out Takes Extra. The post Out Takes Extra: Sophie Hyde and Aud Mason-Hyde for ‘Jimpa’ appeared first on Out Takes.

For this Out Takes, we celebrated the recent success of Leela Varghese at the 2026 AACTA Awards for ‘Lesbian Space Princess’ and ‘I’m The Most Racist Person I Know’ (which were two of our favourite queer films of 2025) by revisiting our interview with her from last year along with our review of LSP which is available to watch locally on Netflix now. We also reviewed ‘Christy’, the latest film from Aussie director David Michôd that stars Sydney Sweeney in the lead role that chronicles the rise of former professional boxer Christy Martin and her incredibly tumultuous life in and outside of the ring, including accepting her sexuality, along with her abusive and coercive relationship with her coach that led to an attempted murder on her life. We also had an encore presentation of an excerpt from our interview from March 2025 with actor Arka Das and the founder of the Indian Film Festival and film producer Mitu Bhowmick Lange to discuss ‘My Melbourne’ which features four unique stories that celebrate diverse voices and talents from four Indian filmmakers who worked with emerging creatives from underrepresented backgrounds to create a multicultural Australian film about identity and belonging based on authentic migrant experiences and is available to watch now on SBS on Demand. The post Christy, Lesbian Space Princess, I’m the Most Racist Person I Know and My Melbourne appeared first on Out Takes.

For this Out Takes, we were excited to introduce you to ‘From All Sides’, a new Australian feature film that is having a special Q&A screening at the Sun Theatre in Yarraville on Friday January 30 that is described as a subversive, sexually frank drama about a seemingly average suburban middle-class, multiracial family that features a strikingly original fusion of steamy bisexual orgies, extramarital hookups, and dazzling classical Indian dance sequences. We wanted to know more about this exciting local queer film so we went straight to the source and spoke to its writer and director Bina Bhattacharya. This wonderful interview covered many important topics including her journey as a filmmaker, her passion for Western Sydney and importance of using it as a backdrop to tell modern Australian stories, the impact of racism on her storytelling and more. We concluded the show by looking at ‘Blue Moon’, the latest from award-winning director Richard Linklater that stars Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale and Andrew Scott and is set in New York City in 1943. It follows the gay and closeted musical genius Lorenz Hart as he reflects on himself on the opening night of Oklahoma!, a new musical by his former colleague Richard Rodgers. We thoroughly enjoyed watching Ethan Hawke in this transformative role which has seen him nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award. The post ‘From All Sides’ featuring special guest Bina Bhattacharya, plus ‘Blue Moon’ review appeared first on Out Takes.

With Melbourne’s premiere queer arts and culture festival a.k.a. Midsumma 2026, kicking off on January 18, we dedicated this program to celebrating two fantastic LGBTQIA+ film related events that are coming your way that will leave you entertained and engaged. First up, we always know that the Melbourne Queer Film Festival brings a great selection of films for Midsumma and 2026 is no exception. One of our favourite returning guests, MQFF’s Program Director Ro Bright, joined us to take us through the great line up of films on offer for their 2026 MQFF Midsumma series. Then we turned our attention to a workshop that will help to nurture and inspire the next generation of local queer filmmakers forward with their own projects. Lead by Melbourne based Kiwi born independent filmmaker Lousie Lever, ‘There’s a story in you: a Queer filmmaking workshop’ is on January 24 – 25 with a goal to empower participants to connect with likeminded creatives and learn more about the process of filmmaking. Show your support for these fantastic events and have a very safe, happy, and queer Midsumma! The post Midsumma 2026 – MQFF with Ro Bright, and There’s a story in you: a Queer filmmaking workshop with Louise Lever appeared first on Out Takes.

With 2025 coming to a close, we thought it would be a good time to revisit some of our favourite interviews from the past 12 months. We’ve been fortunate to speak to so many great filmmakers, actors and industry creatives over the year and quite honestly, we could do another 5 of these interview highlight shows and still have more leftover. For this special, we revisited our interviews with Tracie Laymon, Karan Soni, Roshan Sethi, Andrew Ahn and Kate Woods to discuss their respective projects, careers and more. If you enjoy these interviews and want more then you’re in luck – check out more from the past 10 years of the show on our podcast feed and also find us on social media to see what’s coming up on the show too. Happy New Year, we’re looking forward to bringing you more of the best in queer film and television in 2026! The post Out Takes 2025 Interview Highlights appeared first on Out Takes.