At the Cannes Film Festival in 1994, Australian film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert had its premiere.
Over the last 30 years, the film has become one of the most popular and enduring Australian films. After its May debut at the film festival in France, it opened in the United States in August, and Australian audiences’ love affair with the movie began in September.
Made with a low budget of just AUD$2.3 million, it went on to make more than AUD$18 million at the local box office.
The film tells the story of a transgender woman and two men who are drag performers, who leave the safe surroundings of inner-city Sydney to head to a cabaret booking in Alice Springs. They make their journey to the Red Centre on an old silver bus dubbed Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was director and writer Stephan Elliott’s second film after his 1993 debut Frauds.
He went on to create Welcome to Woop Woop, Eye of the Beholder, Easy Virtue, A Few Best Men, Rio, I Love You and Swinging Safari. None have echoed the success of his best-known film. It has since been announced that Elliott is working on a sequel, with all surviving stars of the original film interested in taking part.
The film created iconic roles for English actor Terence Stamp, who played transgender woman Bernadette Bassenger, Hugo Weaving, who played Anthony ‘Tick’ Belrose, also known as Mitzi Del Bra, and Guy Pearce, who portrayed the sassy Adam Whitely, aka Felicia Jollygoodfellow.
Elliot has announced work on a sequel is underway with Terrence Stamp filming scenes prior to his death in 2025.
