Brisbane’s New Farm Queer Film Festival is marking its fifth anniversary with its most ambitious programme yet, bringing together acclaimed international premieres, boundary-pushing independent cinema, and landmark queer classics for a ten-day celebration of LGBTQIA+ storytelling. Running from July 30th to August 8th at New Farm Cinemas, the festival once again positions itself as one of Australia’s most exciting showcases of queer film culture.
Leading the charge is the Queensland Premiere of Jane Schoenbrun‘s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which arrives direct from Cannes after winning the prestigious Queer Palm. Such has been the anticipation surrounding the filmmaker’s follow-up to I Saw the TV Glow that the festival’s Opening Night event has already sold out, prompting screenings across three cinemas simultaneously. Starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson, the psychosexual slasher deconstruction sets the tone for a programme unafraid to embrace the strange, the provocative, and the deeply personal.
Among the headline attractions is Kristen Stewart‘s highly anticipated directorial debut The Chronology of Water, which premiered at Cannes to considerable attention. Featuring a powerful lead performance from Imogen Poots, the adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch‘s memoir explores trauma, addiction and artistic rebirth through an intensely subjective lens. Elsewhere, acclaimed actress Sandra Hüller headlines Rose, a striking historical drama that earned her the Berlinale Silver Bear for Best Actress and examines gender identity through the story of a seventeenth-century soldier whose past refuses to remain hidden.
The festival’s international scope extends from Poland to Mexico and beyond. Charli xcx makes an intriguing turn as an actor in Erupcja, a relationship drama shot during the height of “Brat summer”, while On the Road blends cartel crime thriller, road movie and queer romance into one of the year’s most acclaimed festival successes, taking both Best Film in Venice’s Orizzonti section and the Queer Lion award.
For audiences drawn to star power, Karim Aïnouz‘s Rosebush Pruning boasts a formidable ensemble including Jamie Bell, Elle Fanning, Pamela Anderson, Riley Keough and Callum Turner. Described as a savage satire of privilege and family dysfunction, the Berlinale selection promises the kind of darkly comic chaos that has become a hallmark of Aïnouz’s work.
NFQFF also continues its tradition of championing challenging independent cinema. The Australian Premiere of Blue Film arrives with controversy already attached, having reportedly been rejected from numerous international festivals despite widespread critical acclaim. Equally provocative is Castration Movie iii. Junior Ghosts…, an audacious work that has drawn praise from critics for its refusal to conform to conventional expectations of queer storytelling. Australian audiences will also have the chance to catch Body Blow, a Sydney-set erotic thriller fresh from the Sydney Film Festival that plunges into the city’s neon-soaked gay nightlife.
Alongside its premieres, the festival pays tribute to queer cinema history through a carefully curated retrospective strand. Alain Guiraudie‘s modern classic Stranger by the Lake returns to the big screen, while Frank Ripploh‘s groundbreaking Taxi zum Klo screens in a new 4K restoration. Catherine Breillat‘s notoriously provocative Anatomy of Hell rounds out the retrospective programme, reaffirming the festival’s commitment to films that continue to challenge audiences and spark conversation decades after their release.
As the New Farm Queer Film Festival celebrates five years, its 2026 programme reflects both the diversity and evolution of queer cinema itself: deeply personal stories sit alongside outrageous comedies, genre-bending thrillers share space with historical dramas, and emerging voices screen alongside established auteurs. It’s a line-up that embraces queer storytelling in all its complexity, proving that the most exciting films often come from those willing to push boundaries.
For session times, tickets and more information, head to the official site here.
