New Australian queer drama Of An Age has opened the Melbourne International Film Festival, and the movie is getting glowing reviews.
Australian-Macedonian director Goran Stolevski’s film follows a short but lingering romance between two young men – played by Elias Anton (Barracuda) and Thom Green (Dance Academy) – on a summer’s day in Melbourne in 1999.
Sensitive, Serbian-born Nikola (Anton) is a ballroom dancer preparing for a major competition when he gets a distressing phone call.
On the big day, Nikola gets a distressed call from his dance partner Ebony (Hattie Hook). Hungover, she’s just woken up and needs to be rescued from a mystery town, kilometres from home.
Nikola must ask Ebony’s older brother Adam (Green), who has a car, to take him there to pick her up.
Thrown together for the first time on the drive across Melbourne suburbia, the two young men discover a mutual spark and realise they’ve got a lot more in common than they thought.
Unfortunately, Adam is leaving the country in 24 hours.
Of An Age opened Melbourne International Film Festival
Of An Age opened the Melbourne International Film Festival, and is getting favourable comparisons to 2011 gay classic Weekend.
The film is playing in cinemas across Victoria as part of MIFF until August 20.
Writer-director Goran Stolevski said Of An Age started as a simple writing exercise during Covid lockdown, but became a fully-fledged screenplay inspired by his own memories of the location and era.
“It’s not specifically an autobiographical script, because the events in the film didn’t happen to me,” Goran Stolevski told ScreenHub.
“But it is very much based on my mindset at the time, especially when it comes to love, relationships and friendships.
“I also liked the idea of making a romance in the least-romantic place in the world, which for me is suburban Melbourne in 1999.”
A general release of Of An Age is yet to be announced.
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