Head On

A landmark of Australian queer cinema, Head On is a visceral portrait of multicultural Melbourne, driven by Alex Dimitriades’ commanding performance and Jill Bilcock’s award-winning editing.

Nineteen-year-old Ari (Alex Dimitriades) struggles against the expectations and traditions of his Greek Australian upbringing. Unable to reconcile his identity and confused by his experiences as a queer man, Ari throws himself into a night of sex, drugs and hedonistic excess across Melbourne’s inner suburbs. Ana Kokkinos’ unflinching adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas’ debut novel Loaded is raw, frenetic and deeply felt.

Curator’s note
Premiering in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival in 1998, Head On marked the first collaboration between director Ana Kokkinos and editor Jill Bilcock, who later reunited on Blessed (2009).

Nominated for nine Australian Film Institute Awards including Best Film, Best Director & Best Actor, with Bilcock winning Best Editing, Head On remains a defining work of Australian queer cinema. Bilcock’s editing is restless, rhythmic and emotionally immediate, using rapid pacing and fragmented montage to mirror Ari’s psychological turmoil and sense of alienation. More than twenty-five years after its release, Head On is a vital portrait of multicultural Melbourne and queer identity, capturing a version of the city and its communities rarely seen on Australian screens.