An anxious and introverted space princess Saira, who has thus far led a sheltered life, launches into a galactic quest to save her ex-girlfriend Kiki, a bounty hunter, from the "Straight White Maliens". A runaway gay-pop idol named Willow joins her as she encounters dangerous maniacs wielding blades, "gloom goo", and other hazards, as well as – "the scariest thing of all" – her own self-doubt.[1][2][3]
The film was greenlit for production under the South Australian Film Corporation and Adelaide Film Festival's Film Lab: New Voices mentoring and funding initiative,[1] following the inaugural round of the scheme in 2021, which led to sci-fi thriller Monolith premiering at the 2022 Adelaide Film Festival and enjoying international success. The Lesbian Space Princess team were eligible for up to A$600,000 in screen production grant funding for their script.[2]
Lesbian Space Princess is the debut feature film for Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, who wrote and directed the film.[4] Hough Hobbs is an artist, and writer/director Varghese a former award-winner at Tropfest.[1] The film was produced by Tom Phillips of We Made A Thing Studios.[4][5][1]
In May 2024, Adelaide Film Festival launched its "Adelaide Film Festival Goes to Cannes" program,[6] partnering with Cannes Film Festival's film market, the Marché du Film, to showcase five local projects in an official presentation; Lesbian Space Princess was one of the five chosen, and Leela Varghese joined nine other emerging filmmakers at Cannes.[7][8]
The graphic artists who worked on the film used Toon Boom Harmony, VFX, and high-end compositing. The production team worked at Artisan Post Group's space at Lot Fourteen, Adelaide, who worked on post-production of the Netflix series Stateless and ABC series Aftertaste, among others.[1]
Music was composed by Michael Darren and Matthew Hadley, and Ben Fernandez did the editing.[4]
Hough Hobbs and Fernandez are both graduates of Flinders University's Creative Arts degrees.[9]
Themes
The story, inspired by the filmmakers' own lives, includes themes that relate to LGBTQI people, and themes include the importance of self-worth and self-love, feeling free to take up space, and being comfortable with your own company.[1]
The film is scheduled for commercial release on 11 September 2025, in Australian theaters by Umbrella Entertainment.[14][3] The film also sold to the United States (Fandor), Canada (Renaissance Media), Germany (Salzgeber), Spain (Selecta Visión[es]), Singapore (Anticipate Pictures), Ukraine (KyivMusicFilm), and the United Kingdom and Ireland (Peccadillo Pictures).[15][16]
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