Out Takes

20 Jan 2026

Mardi Gras Film Festival 2026

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It’s no secret we love a film festival and with the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival returning this February, we took the opportunity for this show to spotlight the fantastic Mardi Gras Film Festival and many of the top tier queer films on offer in this year’s program. Queer Screen’s 33rd Mardi Gras Film Festival runs from 12-26 February 2026, presenting outstanding LGBTQIA+ cinema from around the world. Alongside film premieres, audiences can enjoy panel discussions and networking events celebrating global queer storytelling and connection. We wanted to know more about this incredible line up, so we went straight to the source and heard from Andrew Wilkie, the Queer Screen Programming and Industry Manager, about many of the highlights in this year’s program and more.

We also revisited our interview from August last year with the director of one of the highlights in this year’s MGFF program. ‘We Are Faheem and Karun’ is the latest film from Onir, the gay Indian writer, film and television director, editor, screenwriter and producer who is best known for his film My Brother…Nikhil which at the time was one of the first mainstream Hindi films to deal with AIDS and same-sex relationships. He also won the National Award for his film I Am and with his latest film ‘We Are Faheem and Karun’, he creates the first ever queer Kashmiri love story, set in Kashmir itself, and in the Kashmiri language, with local actors. He’ll be a guest at this year’s Mardi Gras Film Festival for a special Q&A screening and as part of the Industry Panel & Networking event so book your tickets now as this session and screening not to be missed.