There are a handful of queer-themed gems among the hundreds of films on offer at the 2008 Melbourne Film Festival. The pick of the bunch is undoubtedly Bastardy, reviewed in last week's edition of bnews.

Burlesque babe
Queen of Cabaret Bizarre, Moira Finucane is back with another wild show, The Burlesque Hour...She's Back! The show includes performances by Moira, Japanese butoh dancer and shock cabaret artiste Yumi Umiumare, circus and burlesque star Azaria Universe, legendary iconoclast Maude Davey (with the infamous Strawberry Act that won her the title of 'Ms Wicked' in the 1990s) and the notorious Town Bikes.
fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane Melbourne
August 7 - September 14
www.fortyfivedownstairs.com

"I've lived my life my back-to-front," confesses former Everything But The Girl member Ben Watt, when quizzed about turning to DJing after a decade as a pop star.  "I actually became a DJ at the ripe old age of 35, and never looked back!" 

This October's Melbourne International Arts Festival will be the last for Festival director Kristy Edmunds, who has ensured that she goes out with a bang - this program is a cracker.

Gay artist Scott Redford is exhibiting his works at the upcoming Melbourne Art Fair. He chats to Nick Bond.

Using Melbourne Central as the venue for the Australian premiere of Mamma Mia! seemed an odd choice - a red carpet that snaked its way past a newsagent, a juice stand and up three flights of escalators didn't exactly scream 'Hollywood glamour'.

Intelligent Queers
This Saturday (July 19) is the House of IQ at Abode (374 St Kilda Road, St Kilda). Styled to suit an intelligent queer crowd, House of IQ has a relaxed dress code, giving you the comfort you need to dance your arse off. Special guest DJ is Sydney's Beaker. Your IQ hosts are Theo Saurarse and Antonio Bandanas. From 11pm - late (enter before 2am).
Details: 0412 510 424 ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Sydney-based Alex Taylor and Italy's J Nitti reunite for Vinyl Pusher's second installment in their House Music series. It's All About House Music mixes Euro-savvy with some hot homegrown talent.

Daddy call
Lucrezia and De Sade have put out the call for contestants for the Sircuit Leatherman 08 competition. First prize is $1500 leather outfit and $500 cash. The date to put in the diary is Saturday August 2 (8pm). Contestants apply to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
www.lucreziasade.com.au

Fabric art
Gareth Blaha is exhibiting at Abode's Mezzanine throughout July. Across a range of mediums (including fabric and leather), his work explores the natural world and the creatures inhabiting it. Gareth is a graduate student of the Victorian College of the Arts and is currently the head of costumes at ABC TV. His TV credits include Summer Heights High and Spicks and Specks.

Having a half-decent day job is a rarity for an actor or performer. Venture out to see a show, and you can pretty much guarantee that the people you're watching on stage spend their days waiting tables, temping in offices or trapped in retail hell. So it's with some surprise that I call Sarah Ward for a chat while she's toiling away in her day job - at the Women's Circus.

Michael Dalley's cabaret work is designed to be provocative. With characteristic razor sharp wit and a devil-may-care attitude, Dalley is the man behind award-winning performances in Vaudeville X and Death in White Linen, which premiered at La Mama earlier this year.

Brother-sister duo Angus and Julia Stone are Aussie folk-pop heroes, with a top-five debut album to their name. The spaced-out siblings chat to Megan Smith.

Black and pink
Outblack are celebrating NAIDOC (National Aboriginal Islander Day Observance Committee) at the Glasshouse this year. The headline performer at this event is Lou Bennett of Tiddas fame. Also on the bill are Miss Yukeye, Nikki Ashby and Deena Deadly.

Male art

Anonymous, a photographic exhibition by Marcus Mok, opens at Hares and Hyenas this month. Mok's work celebrates the vulnerability of the human form in relation to the harsh environment in which he must survive - rocks, concrete, timber, water. This exhibition features some of Mok's best images of the male form from the last five years and includes several photographs from his 2006 Sydney show, Men of Silk.
Hares and Hyenas bookshop
63 Johnston Street, Fitzroy
www.marcusart.net
www.hares-hyenas.com.au

In the 1970s, Italian drag troupe Le Sorelle Bandiera (The Flag Sisters) had a weekly television audience of 20 million. They were the toast of the entertainment elite, with stars like Sophia Loren and Isabella Rossellini beating a path to their dressing room door. But it wasn't all frocks and frivolity - The Flag Sisters are credited for spearheading the social change of an era.

Australia's longest-running - and quite possibly only - ongoing gay theatre company is leaving our shores. Outcast Theatre plan to take Steven Dawson's play, Adventures of Butt Boy & Tigger, to Edinburgh for the 2008 Fringe Festival.

Gay comic Toby Sullivan gives KAYE SERA all the goss on his new show Not Quite Right.