Rainbow Popcorn: The Origins Series
Description
Rainbow Popcorn's Origins Series is our new filmmaker showcase, celebrating the stories of local queer creatives.
Each event features:
A screening of a local queer short film on the big screen.
A live interview and audience Q&A with the filmmaker.
A screening of the cult, classic or queer film that inspired their work.
It's an opportunity for audiences to discover exciting local talent while gaining a unique insight into the creative process. By pairing an original short with the film that helped shape it, we celebrate the rich lineage of cinema and the inspirations that continue to spark new queer stories.
Session 1: 6th September - Jake Neville. The Bacchae & Wicker Man (1973)
Session 2: 4th October - Saara Lamberg. Hush Darling, Camp Therapy Preview & Boys Don't Cry
Session 3: 8th November - Joshua Machuca. Love Locks & Cloud Atlas.
Session 4: 6th December - Gigi Lenon. Genevieve & To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar
Lineup
Jake Neville
Jake Neville is an Australian, queer filmmaker and writer. After growing up making short films in Cairns, Queensland, he moved to Melbourne, Victoria and completed a Bachelor of Fine Art in Film and Television at the Victorian College of the Arts. Jake has written, directed and produced a number of short films and documentaries since graduation.
Saara Lamberg
Saara Lamberg is a Finnish and Australian filmmaker, director, writer, producer and actor who currently calls Melbourne home. They are an award-winning writer, director and producer. Saara, as a one-person show, has created a number of short and feature-length films. At this screening we will see their short film Hush, Darling, a preview of their upcoming feature Camp Therapy and Kimberly Peirce's Boy's Dont Cry.
Joshua Machuca
Joshua Machuca is an Australian independent filmmaker living in Melbourne, Australia. He is the CEO of Libertorium Studios and is best known for directing the 2025 feature film Lucky Lacki and its sequel. He works across several filmmaking roles, including directing, producing, writing, editing and cinematography and is known for his ambitious improvisational storytelling and authentic direction. ‘Love Locks’ is Joshua’s first directed narrative and he hopes to develop the story further into a feature film in the coming years. Joshua has chosen to pair his screening with Cloud Atlas, The Wachowski's 2012 Sci-fi epic.
Lenon Wakuwa
Lenon Wakuwa is an Afro-New Zealand actress, model, and filmmaker. She studied onscreen acting and filmmaking at South Seas Film and Television School, appearing in projects like the short film The Fox (2022) as Makanaka, Project Runway New Zealand (2018), and writing/directing her own student short films centred on transgender stories. Their short film Genevieve tells the story of an immigrant trans woman trying to find love an acceptance while overcoming trauma and finding her place in a world stacked against her. This is paired with To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar the hilarious drag road comedy.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
