Based on photographer William Yang’s one man stage show, “Sadness” chronicles two diverging narratives through the use of slide photography, oral history and stylised recreation. One story follows Yang’s pilgrimage into the heart of the North Queensland sugar cane fields as he investigates the murder of his uncle Fang Yuen. The other is a series of moving portraits of the many friends and lovers Yang has lost to AIDS. Director Tony Ayres skillfully weaves these two separate stories together creating a powerful testament to family, friends, love and loss.

…But I Was a Girl: The Story of Frieda Belinfante tells the story of Frieda Belinfante (1905–1995), a remarkable woman who was the first female conductor to have her own symphony orchestra, first in Holland and later in OrangeCounty, California. Controversial, because of her sexuality, she showed a remarkably strong and positive will in everything she did. Born in a family of musicians in Amsterdam, she joined the resistance during World War II, then later fled to Switzerland. After the war she moved to the US where she resumed her musical career in the Hollywood studios, and formed her own symphony orchestra with Hollywood musicians. The story of Frieda’s lifeis told by herself, her older sister Renee, old students and friends, and illustrated by the places she lived, archive materials of her orchestras and some of her music.

Laurie, a professional downhill racer gets fired because of her slight overindulgence in irresponsibility. She returns to Montreal where she is welcomed by her geeky but cute brother. She meets Lorenzo, a cranky, ex-racer who owns a bike shop. The two become friends. Laurie gets a job with a local bicycle courier company, but a member of the group is intent on shutting her out of their circles, making her life difficult and sad. After a bonding truth-revealing discussion between Laurie and Lorenzo, Laurie begins to see what she has to do to make things better for herself.