Rainbow Shorts – Flickerfest 

Craig Boreham is the curator of Flickerfest’s queer themed Rainbow Shorts program which is now in its fifth year. In that brief life-span, Boreham has witnessed an impressive growth in the production quality and range of subject matter tackled by directors.  

“Directors are playing with bold imagery, exploring genre more and finding new and exciting ways to talk about the LGBTQI+ experience on screen in compelling ways,” says Boreham. 

It’s his unenviable task to whittle down the vast field of entries to a shorts short list. 

“It’s a tricky puzzle for sure. There isn’t an easy selection checklist because the way ideas are presented can be so broad. There may be a film with a powerful important message or another that is just pure fun, but they may both be brilliant short films,” says Boreham.  

“Our community is broad, and our stories are as well, so we try to make sure we are hearing as many voices as we can. Primarily we are looking for strong directorial voices. Stories that are well told and jump out with a unique point of view or a fresh take.”

Here’s a very quick run down of this year’s exciting program.

There’s the genre defying lip-synch extravaganza from the US, Starfuckers. The Pass is an edge of your seat thriller, also from the US. French/Syrian production, Warsha tells the story of a Syrian migrant working as a crane operator in Beirut who finds freedom in an unexpected way. Work dives into a world of Chicana queer sex-workers. Yannis is the promising first film from Sydney based James Elazzi who is a celebrated playwright. Beautifully shot Swiss film, Heartbeat  follows a group of young women on a camping trip where friendships are tested. Scaring Women at Night unpacks perceptions of gender between a cis woman and a trans-masculine character. 

 And from Taiwan comes the joyous Tank Fairy featuring the propane-toting fairy godmother every LGBTQI+ kid wishes they had.

January 27, 6:30pm

Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach 

 flickerfest.com.au