About The Same Same 25 The Same Same 25 is an annual celebration of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians. They are publicly nominated, and chosen by a panel of community leaders. For the past two years, the announcement of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians has attracted widespread national media attention and focused on the achievements and influence of a varied and inspirational group of people. View the Same Same 25 for 2008 here. View the Same Same 25 for 2007 here. About Same Same
The Judges - The Same Same 25 judges are drawn from a wide cross-section of the community, representing a broad field of influence and experience in their chosen professions. Andrew Creagh (Editor, DNA Magazine), Cec Busby (Editor, LOTL Magazine), Rachel Cook (Editor, Cherrie Magazine), Christian Taylor (Editor, SameSame.com.au), David Wilkins (ACON), Kevin Golding (Business Analyst), Peter Walton (Publisher, Evolution), Libby Clark (Co-founder, Sound Alliance), Tim Duggan (Co-founder, SameSame.com.au)
The Process - The Same Same 25 is publicly nominated, and chosen by a panel of community leaders. Anyone in Australia can nominate someone for the Same Same 25.

Lisa Daniel

Film festival director

In the 12 years that Lisa Daniel has been director of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) she has helped mold it into the second largest film festival in Victoria, and amongst the top five biggest and most respected queer film festivals in the world.

MQFF is Australia’s longest running queer film festival and one of the oldest queer film festivals in the world. It began its life as a series of screenings at the iconic Melbourne gay bookshop Hares And Hyenas back in 1991. Australia’s undoubted guru of queer film, Lisa Daniel became director of the MQFF when it was only 9 years old, after being asked by a friend who was involved in it.

“Initially I said no,” said Daniel, “I mean… I didn’t even know what a festival director did! My friend asked me again a year later. I was working in desktop publishing at a point in my life where I was looking for a new challenge. I said to myself that I’d give it a shot for 12 months. Let me tell you I learned a lot in those first 12 months… but I also enjoyed it and got more involved. And now here I am!”

A modest and long time community leader, Daniel began her connection to queer cinema by teaching and lecturing in film, and writing essays on film for various publications. In 2005 she co-authored ‘Bent Lens’ – an encyclopedia of queer film that is nearly in its third edition, and has sold exceedingly well both locally and internationally.

Daniel’s careful and dedicated curation of MQFF each year is having a significant impact on our social and cultural landscape as the festival’s attendance numbers soar, and more people than ever are witnessing the best in queer film from Australia and the world. She has helped secure the financial and critical status of the festival through times when most community organisations were going under, and her excellent management has secured the festival’s survival for a long time to come.

Daniel has elevated the status and consideration of queer film and has supported queer film practitioners through initiatives like financial awards for best Australian and international films that feature in the program. She has also initiated a great deal of exchange between filmmakers locally and abroad through panel discussions and the visits of MQFF’s festival guests. Over the past few years, Daniel has been responsible for expanding the reach of queer film by creating a tour program of the best queer films of the festival, and taking it to an ever growing list of regional locations throughout Australia.

Self confessed workaholic, Daniel’s dedication to queer film and the MQFF is so strong that she says her biggest challenge she often faces is getting the work / life balance right.

“A job like being director of a festival comes with a lot of responsibility,” says Daniel. “I’m aware of the impact that the festival can have and I try to honour that. But I’ve also realised that it’s impossible to always please everyone. I balance risk taking with listening closely to the punters. I just try my best.”

Lisa Daniel lives in Melbourne with her long term partner Claire. On the weekends she can be found chilling out, feeding the chickens, riding a tractor or fixing a fence on their ten acre rural property.