Tilde celebrates 11 years with three days of trans and gender diverse cinema across Footscray this November.
Trans-led international film festival Tilde returns for its 11th year with the theme Bites Back, centering trans and gender-expansive authored filmmaking from Friday, 31 October to Sunday, 2 November.
In a time of heightened visibility and backlash, Bites Back celebrates creative defiance, self-determination and the power of storytelling to challenge dominant norms and reclaim space.
This year Tilde proudly honours filmmaker Lilly Wachowski as the festival’s Aunty (Patron). As a writer, director, mentor and Executive Director, Wachowski is spearheading a powerful wave of trans-authored storytelling. More than an icon, she has reshaped pop culture through films that reflect trans experiences and use world-building to spark public dialogue. With a strong connection to Australia through The Matrix, Tilde is thrilled to celebrate her lasting impact on film, culture and the broader community.
Tilde 2025
- When: Friday, 31 October to Sunday, 2 November
- Where: Footscray Community Arts Centre and Footscray Drill Hall, Footscray
- Tickets: $10-15, get yours here
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
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Six sessions across three days will celebrate the work of established and emerging trans and gender diverse artists. Following their 10th birthday in 2024, opening night will feature a collaboration with Sapphic Flicks at Footscray Community Arts Centre. From conversation to connection, opening night will showcase groundbreaking films and performances, hold physical space for community and seed ideation for the 2026 commissions program.
Saturday features the second edition of OUR FUTURE, showcasing trans-authored shorts from Australia and New Zealand. Young filmmakers take audiences on journeys through the stories they want to tell, with no prescriptions and no ticked boxes. Highlights include the world premiere of Linus Tolliday’s Journey’s End and a new short by Luka Gracie and Mish Keating.
Saturday evening brings the Australian debut of Antonio D’Agostino’s 1980 trans softcore triumph EVA-MAN: THE LOVE MACHINE, presented by GAY24 Film Club and Tilde. Co-starring Eva Robbins and Ajita Wilson, the film follows characters fighting off a gang of spiteful heterosexual gangsters to live to love another day.
Sunday’s closing night moves to Footscray Drill Hall in collaboration with Snuff Puppets, where Tilde will create their very own cinema hideaway. The session features a screening of We Are Pat by filmmaker Ro Haber, which revisits the ’90s film It’s Pat through a 2025 lens, exploring trans visibility and Haber’s own conflicted memories of the controversial SNL character. Expect performances, puppets, fan readings and music, followed by a screening of the original ’90s feature film It’s Pat.
Half of all ticket sales will go to Pay The Rent.
For more information, head here.
