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Books by Stuart Richards
This book examines the queer film festival and opens the discussion on social enterprises and sus... more This book examines the queer film festival and opens the discussion on social enterprises and sustainable lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) organisations. With over 220 events worldwide and some of the bigger budgets exceeding $1 million, the queer film festival has grown to become a staple event in all cosmopolitan cities’ arts calendars. While activism was instrumental in establishing these festivals, the pink dollar has been a deciding factor in its financial sustainability. Pretty gay boys with chiselled abs are a staple feature, rather than underground experimental faire. Community arts events, such as these, are now a creative industry. While clearly having a social purpose, they must also concern themselves with the bottom line. For all the contradictory elements of its organisational growth, this conflict makes the queer film festival an integral site for analysis. This book takes a multidisciplinary approach in examining the queer film festival as a representative snapshot of the current state of queer cinema and community based film festivals. The book looks at queer film festivals in San Francisco, Hong Kong and Melbourne to argue for the importance of these institutions remaining as community events.
Papers by Stuart Richards
Season 1 of ABC Australia television series Glitch applies Gothic themes to a modern, semi-rural ... more Season 1 of ABC Australia television series Glitch applies Gothic themes to a modern, semi-rural Australian context. Borrowing heavily from Australian gothic cinema, the series sees several characters returning from the dead in the fictional town of Yoorana. Each returnee is from a different time period in Australia’s history, returning from the time of colonial settlement through to the more recent past. Each returnee’s revelations play to Glitch’s Gothic narrative of violent memories, personal yet representative of Australia’s history, coming back to haunt the current residents of Yoorana. Much like seminal Australian Gothic films, such as Wake in Fright, the television show inverts clichéd notions of ‘Australian-ness’ and presents them as grotesque. In particular, the show represents a crisis of Australian masculinity
In the twenty-first century’s globalised screen landscape, it has become inevitable that popular ... more In the twenty-first century’s globalised screen landscape, it has become inevitable that popular television franchises are repurposed for a variety of markets across the world. But what is gained and what is lost when such (re)programming is carried out? Using Australian Survivor as a case study, Stuart Richards investigates the process of localisation in the contexts of reality television, media ecologies and the notion of ‘quality television’.
NECSUS: European Journal of Media Studies, 2017
This article argues that we are currently experiencing a renaissance of New Queer Cinema (NQC). T... more This article argues that we are currently experiencing a renaissance of New Queer Cinema (NQC). The original NQC occurred in the early 1990s, which saw a wave of queer films that were successful on the mainstream international film festival circuit, at venues such as Cannes and Sundance. Queer film scholars, such as Michele Aaron and B. Ruby Rich, have argued that films like Paris is Burning (Livingston, 1991), Poison (Haynes, 1991) and Swoon (Kalin, 1992) were united by their sense of defiance. They represented the marginalized within the contemporary LGBT communities. This article looks at recent films such as Weekend (Haigh, 2011), Stranger by the Lake (Guiraudie, 2013), Appropriate Behaviour (Akhavan, 2014), Pariah (Rees, 2011) and the work of Xavier Dolan as being successful queer-themed films that meet the criteria outlined by scholars of NQC. Their success will be determined by their representation in both queer and non-queer film festival circuits and beyond. They respond to the state of contemporary independent cinema and utilize film form to allow for the accessibility of their queer characters. In their own way, they are defiant against mainstream queer representations and demonstrate a resurgence of films that service a community that is in need of queer intellectual stimulation.
The Melbourne Queer Film Festival's (MQFF) growth makes it a key example of an arts organisation ... more The Melbourne Queer Film Festival's (MQFF) growth makes it a key example of an arts organisation embracing the creative industry. MQFF pursues corporate sponsorship to achieve economic sustainability and, in doing so, functions as an interesting case study for the conceptual shift from a traditional cultural policy framework – emphasising access, equity and grassroots representation – to a creative industries logic. The creative industries support a cultural policy that acknowledges the economic benefits of public participation. This development has seen a commodification of queer culture in order to add value to Melbourne's cultural identity. Queer film festivals are one of the main avenues for the distribution of queer cinema. This article will argue that the success of the festival is an outcome of its evolution and that it now occupies the middleground between community and neoliberal corporate interests. For such an organisation to be successful, financial and social values must be treated with equal importance. The queer film festival is an important and financially viable alternative to mainstream distribution of queer films. Film festivals that cater for a minority community represent a primary means of exhibition for many films that would otherwise struggle for distribution. This is evident in MQFF's support of three recent Australian queer feature films: 52 Tuesdays, Submerge and Monster Pies. MQFF is a socially legitimate avenue for distributing films that would not otherwise reach such a wide audience. MQFF moves underground queer content into a formal, commercial realm.
Global Networks-Global Divides: Bridging New and Traditional Communication Challenges
Now in its 37 th year, the San Francisco Frameline International LGBT Film Festival is the oldest... more Now in its 37 th year, the San Francisco Frameline International LGBT Film Festival is the oldest and largest queer film festival worldwide. A new venture, Frameline Voices, showcases films by, for and about marginalised identities in the LGBT community. By streaming films for free on YouTube and Vimeo, Frameline Voices allows for a global queer community to have access to films currently unavailable. This paper outlines the differences between the marketable films of gay Indiewood, films distributed by speciality divisions of major companies, and popular gay titles that receive circulation outside of the queer film festival circuit. It should be noted that while a distinction is made between the deliberately labelled popular gay films and the queer films of Frameline Voices, an in--depth discussion on identity politics and queer theory is beyond the scope of this paper.
LGBT Film Festival appears to be a product of the pink dollar, this socially conservative image i... more LGBT Film Festival appears to be a product of the pink dollar, this socially conservative image is a fraudulent one, as the festival provides a space for social empowerment.
Book Chapters by Stuart Richards
Queer/Adaptation: A Collection of Critical Essays, 2019
This chapter examines four critically acclaimed films that have been adapted from earlier shorts—... more This chapter examines four critically acclaimed films that have been adapted from earlier shorts—Were the World Mine (Tom Gustafson, 2008), Dare (Adam Salky, 2009), Pariah (Dee Rees, 2011), and The Way He Looks (Daniel Ribeiro, 2014)—to pose key questions for queer adaptation studies: How does this process of adaptation impact the representation of LGBTQ/queer lives and identities on screen? What are the implications of elongating the queer short film into the more conventional feature-length format? While it might be tempting to argue that feature films are longer and therefore more complex, or queerer, we aim to highlight the queer potential of each form. The cases studied here suggest one conclusion: it’s not the size that matters, it’s what you do with it.
Film Reviews by Stuart Richards
The theme of this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival was to “explore new worlds”, which... more The theme of this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival was to “explore new worlds”, which saw matters of social justice, empathy and connection examined in many films. Between us, we saw 34 films this year. These are our highlights.
This book examines the queer film festival and opens the discussion on social enterprises and sus... more This book examines the queer film festival and opens the discussion on social enterprises and sustainable lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) organisations. With over 220 events worldwide and some of the bigger budgets exceeding $1 million, the queer film festival has grown to become a staple event in all cosmopolitan cities’ arts calendars. While activism was instrumental in establishing these festivals, the pink dollar has been a deciding factor in its financial sustainability. Pretty gay boys with chiselled abs are a staple feature, rather than underground experimental faire. Community arts events, such as these, are now a creative industry. While clearly having a social purpose, they must also concern themselves with the bottom line. For all the contradictory elements of its organisational growth, this conflict makes the queer film festival an integral site for analysis. This book takes a multidisciplinary approach in examining the queer film festival as a representative snapshot of the current state of queer cinema and community based film festivals. The book looks at queer film festivals in San Francisco, Hong Kong and Melbourne to argue for the importance of these institutions remaining as community events.
Season 1 of ABC Australia television series Glitch applies Gothic themes to a modern, semi-rural ... more Season 1 of ABC Australia television series Glitch applies Gothic themes to a modern, semi-rural Australian context. Borrowing heavily from Australian gothic cinema, the series sees several characters returning from the dead in the fictional town of Yoorana. Each returnee is from a different time period in Australia’s history, returning from the time of colonial settlement through to the more recent past. Each returnee’s revelations play to Glitch’s Gothic narrative of violent memories, personal yet representative of Australia’s history, coming back to haunt the current residents of Yoorana. Much like seminal Australian Gothic films, such as Wake in Fright, the television show inverts clichéd notions of ‘Australian-ness’ and presents them as grotesque. In particular, the show represents a crisis of Australian masculinity
In the twenty-first century’s globalised screen landscape, it has become inevitable that popular ... more In the twenty-first century’s globalised screen landscape, it has become inevitable that popular television franchises are repurposed for a variety of markets across the world. But what is gained and what is lost when such (re)programming is carried out? Using Australian Survivor as a case study, Stuart Richards investigates the process of localisation in the contexts of reality television, media ecologies and the notion of ‘quality television’.
NECSUS: European Journal of Media Studies, 2017
This article argues that we are currently experiencing a renaissance of New Queer Cinema (NQC). T... more This article argues that we are currently experiencing a renaissance of New Queer Cinema (NQC). The original NQC occurred in the early 1990s, which saw a wave of queer films that were successful on the mainstream international film festival circuit, at venues such as Cannes and Sundance. Queer film scholars, such as Michele Aaron and B. Ruby Rich, have argued that films like Paris is Burning (Livingston, 1991), Poison (Haynes, 1991) and Swoon (Kalin, 1992) were united by their sense of defiance. They represented the marginalized within the contemporary LGBT communities. This article looks at recent films such as Weekend (Haigh, 2011), Stranger by the Lake (Guiraudie, 2013), Appropriate Behaviour (Akhavan, 2014), Pariah (Rees, 2011) and the work of Xavier Dolan as being successful queer-themed films that meet the criteria outlined by scholars of NQC. Their success will be determined by their representation in both queer and non-queer film festival circuits and beyond. They respond to the state of contemporary independent cinema and utilize film form to allow for the accessibility of their queer characters. In their own way, they are defiant against mainstream queer representations and demonstrate a resurgence of films that service a community that is in need of queer intellectual stimulation.
The Melbourne Queer Film Festival's (MQFF) growth makes it a key example of an arts organisation ... more The Melbourne Queer Film Festival's (MQFF) growth makes it a key example of an arts organisation embracing the creative industry. MQFF pursues corporate sponsorship to achieve economic sustainability and, in doing so, functions as an interesting case study for the conceptual shift from a traditional cultural policy framework – emphasising access, equity and grassroots representation – to a creative industries logic. The creative industries support a cultural policy that acknowledges the economic benefits of public participation. This development has seen a commodification of queer culture in order to add value to Melbourne's cultural identity. Queer film festivals are one of the main avenues for the distribution of queer cinema. This article will argue that the success of the festival is an outcome of its evolution and that it now occupies the middleground between community and neoliberal corporate interests. For such an organisation to be successful, financial and social values must be treated with equal importance. The queer film festival is an important and financially viable alternative to mainstream distribution of queer films. Film festivals that cater for a minority community represent a primary means of exhibition for many films that would otherwise struggle for distribution. This is evident in MQFF's support of three recent Australian queer feature films: 52 Tuesdays, Submerge and Monster Pies. MQFF is a socially legitimate avenue for distributing films that would not otherwise reach such a wide audience. MQFF moves underground queer content into a formal, commercial realm.
Global Networks-Global Divides: Bridging New and Traditional Communication Challenges
Now in its 37 th year, the San Francisco Frameline International LGBT Film Festival is the oldest... more Now in its 37 th year, the San Francisco Frameline International LGBT Film Festival is the oldest and largest queer film festival worldwide. A new venture, Frameline Voices, showcases films by, for and about marginalised identities in the LGBT community. By streaming films for free on YouTube and Vimeo, Frameline Voices allows for a global queer community to have access to films currently unavailable. This paper outlines the differences between the marketable films of gay Indiewood, films distributed by speciality divisions of major companies, and popular gay titles that receive circulation outside of the queer film festival circuit. It should be noted that while a distinction is made between the deliberately labelled popular gay films and the queer films of Frameline Voices, an in--depth discussion on identity politics and queer theory is beyond the scope of this paper.
LGBT Film Festival appears to be a product of the pink dollar, this socially conservative image i... more LGBT Film Festival appears to be a product of the pink dollar, this socially conservative image is a fraudulent one, as the festival provides a space for social empowerment.
Queer/Adaptation: A Collection of Critical Essays, 2019
This chapter examines four critically acclaimed films that have been adapted from earlier shorts—... more This chapter examines four critically acclaimed films that have been adapted from earlier shorts—Were the World Mine (Tom Gustafson, 2008), Dare (Adam Salky, 2009), Pariah (Dee Rees, 2011), and The Way He Looks (Daniel Ribeiro, 2014)—to pose key questions for queer adaptation studies: How does this process of adaptation impact the representation of LGBTQ/queer lives and identities on screen? What are the implications of elongating the queer short film into the more conventional feature-length format? While it might be tempting to argue that feature films are longer and therefore more complex, or queerer, we aim to highlight the queer potential of each form. The cases studied here suggest one conclusion: it’s not the size that matters, it’s what you do with it.
The theme of this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival was to “explore new worlds”, which... more The theme of this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival was to “explore new worlds”, which saw matters of social justice, empathy and connection examined in many films. Between us, we saw 34 films this year. These are our highlights.
