Once upon a time there were no gay movies, and lesbians didn't even exist. Once upon a time queer ideas were delivered secretly,like dead letters, through veiled and coded messages known as‘overtones'.

In 2008, gay and lesbian Australians experienced the most significant, liberating legislation changes since the decriminalisation of homosexuality. The elusive idea of ‘equality' seems now almost within reach.

While we need and welcome law reform, it is the appreciation of diversity, individuality and personal freedom in our cultural values and national identity that really matters the most. Laws don't change the way people treat each other, people change the way they treat each other.

It is our ideas about ourselves and each other that will ultimately bring us equality. And only by sharing those ideas do we begin to see social change.

More than just law reform, we need folklore reform.

We need to see representations of ourselves, our community, our families. Most importantly, we need others to see them too. We need to continue to throw a queer light on the archetypal characters and themes that populate our storytelling. Let's see some fairies in our fairytales!

The Mardi Gras Film Festival is a collection of stories from around the world that offer a queer view on universal themes - our dreams, our destiny. These are just some of our legends, our mythology, our folklore.

Our thanks goes to the companies, government agencies, and community groups that invest in Queer Screen and the idea of sharing queer stories. Our thanks to the filmmakers who continue to write and rewrite our tales; and to the people, our folk, in their thousands, who join us in the making of lore.

Lex Lindsay, Festival Director
on behalf of the Queer Screen Team

• Website: www.queerscreen.com.au
• Phone: [get phone number]
• Address: PO Box 1081, Darlinghurst, New South Wales,
• [Email Mardi Gras Film Festival]