About Us

The end of the last millennium saw the worldwide release of one of the most significant gay pieces of television ever screened, "Queer as Folk" (the original British version). This autobiographical inspired work by Russel T Davis was responsible for, amongst other things, introducing rimming to a shocked British audience. At the time the Australian Broadcasting Authority declared that it would not be screened on free-to-air television because of the controversial nature of the program. Something needed to be done to ensure the Canberra community could gain access to the landmark work.

Negotiations with the Australian National University film group failed to secure a public screening of Queer as Folk but did lead to a week-long queer film festival. This inaugural Canberra festival featured works that had previously been in commercial release. When Queer as Folk was finally screened in Canberra, thanks to the efforts of the girls from "Plush Lounge", it played to a packed audience.

It was obvious from this experience that Canberra needed a permanent and proactive body to source and screen film for the queer community. In response "Bent Lenses" was formed in 1999.

In 2003, Bent Lenses commenced regular screenings on Sunday afternoons at the Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG). A small grant was secured from the Australian Film Commission to help fund the 2003 Capital Queer Film Festival (CQFF).

Since 2003 Bent Lenses has continued with screenings at CMAG, with screenings gradually shifting from Sunday afternoons to Friday nights, as this has proved to be most popular with our members and supporters.

Bent Lenses is a non-profit, community organisation. All our work is undertaken by volunteers and we are generously assisted by a number of sponsors and supporters. We will aim to continue bringing quality queer screen culture to Canberra in 2006 and beyond.