The Melbourne Queer Film Festival is the oldest, largest and most successful queer film festival in Australia. Our main festival screens over 100 sessions of LGBTQIA+ films over 10 days running through November.

The 2025 Melbourne Queer Film Festival will run from 13 Nov to 23 Nov.

Awards & Prizes

MQFF supports local and international filmmaking talent through our various jury and audience choice awards. In total, MQFF offers more than AUD $15,000 in prize money. This includes the AUD $5,000 City of Melbourne Award for Best Australian Short, which automatically qualifies the recipient for our nomination in the Iris Prize - the largest prize for a LGBTQIA+ short film in the world.

Rules & Terms

Films submitted for the annual Melbourne Queer Film Festival should be of interest to the LGBTQIA+ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual/aromantic).

Films submitted, if selected, may be programmed at the festival's discretion not only as part of MQFF's extensive in-cinema program, but also as part of its on-demand streaming offering, MQFF+.

MQFF+ will only be accessible to Australian audiences.
23 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Jorge Luis Cruzado Padilla

    MQFF is an incredible event — the team is kind, communication is always clear and timely, and the film selection is exceptionally well curated. Our film Dance with Pride – A Journey of Identity Through Movement was honoured to receive the Best Australian Documentary Short (Shaun Miller Award) in 2024. We are deeply grateful for this recognition and thrilled to see festivals like MQFF supporting documentaries that bring our stories to wider audiences.

    May 2025
    Helpful
  • Beau Low

    Had my Animated Short Film ‘Monologue’ screened for the first time at the 2024 MQFF festival, and it was such a memorable experience! I can’t wait to submit my film for this year’s 2025 MQFF, and get the opportunity to meet like-minded creatives at MQFF’s future events.

    April 2025
    Helpful
  • Krit Komkrichwarakool

    It's always a pleasure to be part of a queer festival, and the Melbourne Queer Film Festival certainly didn't disappoint! From the incredible lineup to excellent communication, I'm truly honored to be involved in this year's festival.

    December 2024
    Helpful
  • Festival Formula

    We LOVE being able to send our LGBTQIA+ films to Melbourne Queer Film Festival. Strong programming, a good audience turnout, and support all round. We had two clients screen in 2024:

    🏳️‍🌈 Auganic
    🏳️‍🌈 Demons

    December 2024
    Helpful
  • Lesley Le Luo

    Absolutely incredible film festival for queer production representation. Amazing experience with MQFF. Thanks for having our short doco Outpicker!

    December 2024
    Helpful