Audiences in Melbourne experienced the magic of Scented Cinema as part of the Midsumma Festival – Australia’s premier queer arts and culture festival, showcasing LGBTQIA+ talent and celebrating diverse voices through events, performances, and experiences.

Scented Storytelling and Snivure partnered with Brimbank City Council presenting workshops with young people in order to explore the power of scent in cinema and co-design the experience. This was followed by free sensory and participatory screenings at the Bowery Theatre. 🌈✨

🎬 On January 24th the audience was invited to step back into the vibrant 1960s with a spiffy new sensory screening of John Waters’ cult classic, Hairspray (1988).

Enthusiastic fans followed instructions from our young hosts and smelled along with Tracy Turnblad, a big-hearted teen with even bigger hair, as she danced her way onto the Corny Collins Show. Big dreams, big dances, and even bigger hair!

🎥 On February 7th event goers entered the world of Inky Pinky Ponky (2023), a heartfelt New Zealand and Tongan film directed by Damon Fepulea’i and Ramon TeWake. Featuring scents including Lynx Africa, Coco Chanel and a beautiful bespoke souvenir scratch and sniff card designed by Jas Brooks, the audience were invited to join Lisa, a young fakaleiti, as she navigates intolerance and bigotry at St. Valentine’s High School while discovering love and happiness.

A wonderful experience. Let’s do that again!