This week on Out Takes we turned the spotlight on two iconic Melbourne film festivals and looked at the the importance of local film festivals that tell stories by us, for us and about us. Our guests were the newly appointed program director of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival Cerise Howard and St Kilda Film Festival director Richard Sowada.  St Kilda Film Festival is back in person and online from June 1 – 12  and supports the Australian film industry by turning the spotlight on exceptional films by both emerging talent and short works by accomplished industry professionals. Accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the St Kilda Film Festival is an Academy Awards® qualifying event. Award-winning films from the Festival are eligible for consideration in the Short Film Awards and Documentary Short sections of the Oscars®. The Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) is the biggest/oldest queer film festival in Australia and will run from Nov 9 – Nov 19 this year and as always, aims to engage the community with the best LGBTI+ content in order to educate, entertain and celebrate diversity.