Film Lab: New Voices – Lesbian Space Princess Screening #1 + Q&A
Description
South Australia’s flagship low-budget feature film development initiative Film Lab: New Voices is back for a fourth intake, with applications open now for the development of bold, authentic and original feature film projects from first-time SA filmmakers.
Film Lab: New Voices offers three up-and-coming SA filmmaking teams the chance to develop their first low-budget feature film through a 12-month development program funded by the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) with financial assistance from Screen Australia. At the completion of the Lab one team will be selected to receive $600,000 in screen production grant funding for their film.
To help potential applicants learn more about the program, and the principles of low-budget film methodology, the SAFC is hosting a series of free screenings of Film Lab: New Voices films Monolith and Lesbian Space Princess in February, featuring filmmaker Q&A sessions.
This screening of Lesbian Space Princess will be followed by a Q&A with co-writer/director Leela Varghese and producer Tom Phillips.
Lineup
Leela Varghese
Leela Varghese (she/her) is a writer and director known for telling joyful and impactful stories. She co-wrote and directed her debut feature, Lesbian Space Princess, which was selected for the Panorama section of Berlinale 2025, where it won the 39th Teddy Award and placed second for the Panorama Audience Award. The film was developed through the South Australian Film Corporation's Film Lab: New Voices initiative, with funding from SAFC, Screen Australia, and the Adelaide Film Festival. Leela’s short film I’m the Most Racist Person I Know premiered in the Narrative Short Competition at SXSW Austin 2025, where it won the Special Jury Award and was selected for the Redbreast Unhidden campaign curated by actor Andrew Scott.
Tom Phillips
Thomas Phillips (he/him) is an award winning writer, director and producer. Most recently produced 2025's animated comedy 'Lesbian Space Princess', premiering at the Berlinale (Panorama Programme) in 2025, and winning an audience award for an early WIP screening at Adelaide Film Festival 2024. In 2019, he wrote and produced the online series Lucy And DiC, which has more than 4 million views across YouTube and Facebook, won multiple awards and was nominated for Best Online Series at the 2019 SPA Awards. He was announced as one of Screen Producers Australia’s Ones to Watch in 2018.
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