Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) is calling on queer filmmakers to submit their short film proposals for the 2025 Pitch, Pleez! competition, with a $10,000 cash funding prize for the winning pitch.
Now in its seventh year, Pitch, Pleez! has provided Australian LGBTQIA+ filmmakers the opportunity to create original content by assisting the production of a short fiction, documentary or web series pilot.
Applications are now open and close on Monday 7 April 2025. Entries need to address MQFF’s core values of celebrating and showcasing the lives of LGBTQIA+ communities, and successful applicants will be shortlisted and invited to pitch their project in front of a live audience and a panel of judges in Melbourne.
The winning pitch will receive a $10,000 cash prize to help fund the project and an All-In-Pass to the annual Melbourne Queer Film Festival. Furthermore, the winning Pitch, Pleez! film will premiere at the MQFF’s Opening Night in November 2025.
“Pitch, Pleez! has supported some of Australia’s best queer directors to launch their work onto the silver screen, and we’re so proud to be continuing this program again in 2025,” said Chief Executive Officer of MQFF, David Martin Harris.
“We welcome all short form film concepts from anywhere in Australia – documentary, comedy, drama, experimental – all are welcome to compete. We’re looking for films that reflect the contemporary diversity of Australian queer life, and stories that need telling.”
To date, Pitch, Pleez! has awarded a total of $60,000 in cash and prizes to Australian queer filmmakers. The prize has supported a diverse range of stories, from coming-of-age romances to a historical queer biopic, animation, and a personal documentary – with filmmakers receiving acclaim, awards, and nominations after having their premiere at MQFF’s opening night.
The short documentary from 2024’s winning pitch, While We Still Have Time (Ava Grimshaw-Hall & Jasper Caverly) is also set to appear in Melbourne Women in Film Festival this March.
MQFF encourages and welcomes First Nations, trans and gender diverse filmmakers and those of other intersectional identities to apply.
Applications for Pitch, Pleez! are open now and close Monday 7 April 2025 (6.00pm, AEST). For more information and application criteria, visit: www.mqff.com.au for details.
Image: MQFF Opening Night at ACMI – photo by Matto Lucas