Mandahla Rose, Julia Billington, Brett Rogers and Simon Bolton star in the lesbian romantic romp All About E, premiering at Chicago's Reeling 2015 LGBT Film Festival.
The Chicago screening will reunite Australian writer/director Louise Wadley with the evening's co-presenting partner, Pride Films & Plays. Wadley previously won a screenplay writing contest that Pride Films & Plays' David Zak sponsored.
All About E is a picturesque-heavy production that follows an Arab-Australian DJ on the run with her gay best friend. When she lands on a pile of cash, she goes for the goldand the girl.
Actress Julia Billington plays the proverbial ex-girlfriend to Rose's sassy, street-smart Elmirawho goes effortlessly by the name "E." When E realizes she has burned too many bridges to find a safe spot to land, she bunkers down with the woman who once stole her heartand you can imagine what happens next. All About E is a love storyone that encompasses the lessons of self-acceptance, perseverance and finding strength in the most unexpected places.
"The message [of the story], to me at least, is that when you are truly yourself, and not hiding parts of you to anyone, then life starts to work for you," Billington said. "Then you'll find real happiness. How could that kind of message not be important?"
Important as the storyline itself is the Outback backdrop. Filmed in native Australia, All About E aligns the senses in a masterfully provocative and, yet, charismatic way. Whether you've been tethered to an old lover or have never felt the touch of a woman's hand, the cinematography is seductive and relentless in its endeavor to pull an audience in for a quick feelor two.
"I loved the experience of going out into the country with the crew for two weeks, and just shooting every day," Billington remembered. "It was tough, don't get me wrong, but that family camaraderie that's created when you're away, in a strange place, needing to band together to get the impossible done, that's going to stay with me for the rest of my life!"
In somewhat of an ironic twist, All About E has been referenced as a lesbian Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
"I don't really know why," Billington laughed. "There isn't even lip-syncing in our film! But it's a pretty cool statement!"
Perhaps the correlation is the result of the adventure and free-styling spirit harnessed between the two celluloid worlds.
"I guess it's looking at the dramas in the lesbian world, and [how] those adventures take [the characters] out into the country side...similar to the Aussie desert," Billington said. "I mean, content-wise, there are certainly parallels."
One would be remiss to overlook the impact Priscilla Queen of the Desert had on the gay film genre.
"Priscilla became a landmark film that made new ground in gay cinema," Billington thought. "It's completely humbling and slightly overwhelming that our 'little-film-that-could' might actually be seen in the same way in the decades to come."
Girls' Own Pictures was formed in 2009 to develop and produce original stories with distinctive and exciting female lead characters. All About E marks the production company's first full-length feature endeavor.
All About E was the recipient of the Jury Award, Best International Women's Feature at the North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Will E take home additional prizes at Reeling? If its current trajectory is any indication, it appears that this chick's on a roll.
Wolfe Releasing will distribute All About E via online and DVD at a later date.
All About E makes its Chicago premiere at Reeling 2015 LGBT Film Festival Saturday, Sept. 19, at 9 p.m. at Landmark's Century Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark St.. For more information, visit reelingfilmfestival.org/2015/films/all-about-e .