Out Takes
Exploring queer film against a broader cultural, political and cinematic backdrop
Episodes
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, ...
We know that ‘Best of’ lists can be problematic but with the end of the year fast approaching we wanted to share with you some of our favourite queer films and television shows for 2025. In no particular order, we offered up three picks each that reflected some of the best shows and movies this year that showcased representation from a LGBTQIA+ perspective on our big and small screens or was just something that brought ...
The year was 2016 and two weeks out from Christmas, a new show started on JOY that promised to bring you the best in queer film and television every week… and on Monday December 15, Out Takes celebrated 10 years on air and on podcast and everyone was invited! For this very special live show from the JOY studios at the Victorian Pride Centre, we were joined by some very special guests, including Cinema Nova CEO and friend of t...
For this Out Takes, we decided to get into the festive season by looking at two new Christmas themed films that explore queer stories within the family dynamic that is often overlooked in these genre.
First up we took a look at ‘The Christmas Writer’ from Tello Films which is the first network dedicated to telling stories featuring and about lesbian/queer women and is the world’s longest running LGBTQ+ streaming platfor...
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...
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.
First up, we dis...
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 ...
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.
We started off with ‘All’s Fair’, the new TV series that has received some of the worst reviews in recent history...
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&...
For this Out Takes, we went on a global cinematic trip looking at films and filmmakers from Britain, Iran, and the U.S.A.
First up, we looked at ‘Hedda’, the latest provocative drama from writer-director Nia DaCosta which is a modern reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic. This time around, the action has been transposed from 19th-century Oslo to 1950’s Britain, where former bohemian free-spirit Hedda has moved int...
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.
First up, we reviewed ‘Twinless’, a truly original and entertaining film that is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking. After meeting in a t...
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 ‘Blac...
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 Novemb...
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.
For this Out Takes, we bring you a spring edition of Out Takes Recommends looking at a selection of films, TV shows and more that we’re enjoying as it is warming up down under and we struggle through hay-fever season a.k.a springtime in Melbourne!
We started off with a review of Wayward which is streaming now on Netflix and is from Mae Martin, the queer comedian and actor whose previous show ‘Feel Good’ was a big hit in...
Disclaimer: the two films discussed on this episode deal with the topic of suicide and domestic violence and our commentary may contain content that could be distressing to some people so listener discretion is advised.
For this Out Takes we’re saying Bentornato to the St Ali Italian Film Festival which is back this spring in Palace Cinemas across Australia from September 17, delivering a Bellissimo selection of box office hits and...
For this episode we turned the spotlight on two local female directors in line with a special cinema event coming to the Victorian Pride Centre for one and the latest release for the other which is coming to a cinema near you soon. First up we took a look at ‘Revolt She Said’, a feature documentary that interrogates ideas about contemporary feminism and gender from an Australian and New Zealand lens. The film is from di...
For this episode, we took a deep dive into ‘Went Up the Hill’, the latest film from Samuel Van Grinsven that stars Vicky Krieps and Dacre Montgomery which has been appearing at festivals around the world and will be in Aussie cinemas from September 11. This haunting, original tale of grief and possession set in remote New Zealand. The film follows Jack who has arrived at a distinctly unwelcoming funeral of Elizabeth, th...
For this Out Takes, we welcomed the return of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne that promises ‘More Cinema, More Culture, More Celebration’ featuring an inclusive Pride event this August. We began by reviewing ‘We Are Faheem and Karun’, the latest film from celebrated gay Indian filmmaker Onir. This beautiful and unique tale is the first ever queer Kashmiri love story, set in Kashmir itself, and in the K...
The Melbourne International Film Festival not only allows us to explore over 250 films during its run but we also get to meet some of the people behind them who have travelled from around the world to come to Australia to present their films to local audiences. One of these special guests in 2025 was Addison Heimann, a California based queer filmmaker who was down under at MIFF this August to promote his latest film ‘Touch Me...
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