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National Film and Sound Archive of AustraliaNational Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
National Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
National Film and Sound Archive

LGBTQIA+ Pride Collection at the NFSA

The National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) houses an abundant collection of LGBTQIA+ stories, celebrating its creatives, champions, crusaders and allies.

Revisit news footage from the Eyewitness News: Gay rights protests - extended footage, July 19781978

1978 gay rights protests that ignited the annual Mardi Gras Parade. Tune into Gaywaves first broadcast, 19801980Gaywaves, Sydney's pioneering gay and lesbian radio show and discover the groundbreaking Elevation1989short films of Stephen Cummins.

Delve into the heyday of 1990s queer cinema and journey back to the taboo-shattering TV series of the '70s and '80s. Encounter documentary portraits of The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone2022

remarkable individuals and meet new online storytellers. Plus, there's more Mardi Gras to keep the celebration going.

Please be advised that this page contains names, images and voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Read: The pride in looking back

Film and television trace how LGBTQIA+ communities challenged and changed Australian attitudes.

The first Mardi Gras

The first Mardi Gras was a bold demonstration that ended in police attacks and arrests. The winter 1978 protest campaign that followed helped change NSW legislation, laying the groundwork for the month-long, inclusive celebration that the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is today.

Eyewitness News: News file footage of first Mardi Gras

Eyewitness News: Protesting the 1978 Mardi Gras arrests

Eyewitness News: Gay rights protests, July 1978

Witches and Faggots, Dykes and Poofters: Night arrest

Gaywaves

Gaywaves debuted in 1979 as Sydney’s first gay and lesbian radio program. Susan Hawkewood and Greg Reading recount the program's beginnings in this clip. 

Listen to more clips from Gaywaves in this curated collection, read an interview with Prue Borthwick, and learn about preserving Gaywaves and LGBTQIA+ radio at the NFSA. Finally, hear about the broadcasting of trans and queer voices in episode 5 of Who Listens to the Radio?, an NFSA podcast.

At a time when mainstream media rarely covered LGBTQIA+ issues positively, and homosexual acts between men were illegal in NSW, Gaywaves provided a crucial point of connection and information for the community.

Listen to more clips from Gaywaves in this curated collection, read an interview with Prue Borthwick, and learn about preserving Gaywaves and LGBTQIA+ radio at the NFSA. Finally, hear about the broadcasting of trans and queer voices in episode 5 of Who Listens to the Radio?, an NFSA podcast.

1990s queer cinema

The 1990s saw a surge in local LGBTQIA+ stories on the big screen, with international successes offering a nuanced portrayal of contemporary Australia.

Read: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp cross the outback in this Oscar-winning Australian classic.

Deep Dives

Head On (1998)

Love and Other Catastrophes (1996)

New storytellers

Queer filmmakers and performers have thrived with short-form storytelling, reaching diverse audiences globally.

Joyce Maynge: Dancing on my own

Sydney drag queen Joyce Maynge delivers a 'Stay Home, Stay Safe' musical message from her apartment roof during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. One YouTube commentator describes Joyce as 'a beautiful tropical fish that fell out of the tank'. Joyce Maynge appropriately performs Robyn's 2010 sad banger, 'Dancing On My Own'.

Starting From Now

Sparkles (2020)

Me & Her(pes)

The short films of Stephen Cummins

Sydney filmmaker Stephen Cummins' haunting short films depict gay men in the 1980s and early 1990s. The NFSA digitised and restored nine of his shorts for Sydney WorldPride in 2023.

Resonance

Stephen Cummins restored films

Stephen Cummins’ short films – created between 1984 and 1995 – map the changing politics of representation of the human body during that decade.
Simon Hunt

Portraits

Explore documentary excerpts highlighting the lives of remarkable individuals, including transgender teen Georgie Stone, photographer William Yang, Aussie cowboy Adam Sutton and former Catholic nun Monica Hingston.

The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone

From award-winning director Maya Newell (In My Blood It Runs) and acclaimed producer Sophie Hyde (52 Tuesdays) comes a documentary short 19 years in the making.

Transgender teen Georgie Stone tackles legislative change and public opinion while affirming her gender and finding her voice.

The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone not only generated a Federal Parliament screening and panel event, but has also streamed in over 90 languages in 190 countries via Netflix.

Chrissy

William Yang

Monica Hingston

Gay social life in 1960s Sydney

Ken Garrahy's Super8 films are the most substantial known collection of Australian gay home movies to have survived from the 1960s and 1970s. In this clip from the series Homemade History (2008), broadcast on SBS, Garrahy offers commentary on excerpts from his films and discusses the underground gay social clubs of the era.

Read: Ken Garrahy home movies

Super8 films from the 1960s and 70s document Australian gay life and underground social clubs.

Ken Garrahy home movies: documenting gay social life in 1960s Sydney
Curator Nick Henderson shares excerpts from the home movies of Ken Garrahy, which are unique for documenting gay social life in Sydney in the 1960s.

First Nations representation

Steven Oliver

Casey Donovan

TV taboos

Thanks to groundbreaking adult soaps like Number 96 and Prisoner – Australia led the way in representing queer characters on TV in the 1970s.

Prisoner

Number 96

The Box

Sweat

Stephen Cummins' student films already displayed his signature relationship with dance and gesture as forms of storytelling.
Simon Hunt. Image from 'Blue Movie' (Stephen Cummins, 1984)

2018 and 2019 Mardi Gras celebrations

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has evolved since the 1978 winter gay rights protests, continuing as a celebration of love, protest, diversity, activism, creativity and pride for LGBTQIA+ communities.

Pride: JOY 94.9 Mardi Gras coverage 2018

Kylie's surprise appearance at Mardi Gras 2019

Rewind and rediscover.

Enjoy surprising and moving moments from Australia’s screen and sound history with In Focus – delivered straight to your inbox every month.

More highlights

Discover more LGBTQIA+ stories, celebrating its creatives, champions, crusaders and allies.
National Film and Sound Archive668EZA7S
Video
Sexy Herpes
2017

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