Head On (1998 film)

Head On
Directed by	Ana Kokkinos
Written by	Christos Tsiolkas (novel), Ana Kokkinos
Produced by	Jane Scott
Starring	Alex Dimitriades, Paul Capsis, Julian Garner
Edited by	Jill Bilcock
Distributed by	Strand Releasing
Release date	13 August 1998 (Australia)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	Australia
Languages	English, Greek

Head On is a 1998 award-winning Australian film directed by Ana Kokkinos. Based on the acclaimed novel Loaded written by Christos Tsiolkas, it stars Alex Dimitriades as a young gay man of Greek descent living in the inner city of Melbourne. The film gained notoriety upon its release for its sexual explicitness, including a graphic masturbation scene performed by Dimitriades. The film also features a transgender character played by Paul Capsis.

Awards and nominations

Australian Film Institute

• Best Actor (Alex Dimitriades, nominated)
• Best Costume Design (nominated)
• Best Direction (Ana Kokkinos, nominated)
• Best Editing (won)
• Best Film (nominated)
• Best Original Score (Ollie Olsen, nominated)
• Best Screenplay - Adapted (Andrew Bovell, Ana Kokkinos and Mira Robertson, nominated)
• Best Sound (nominated)
• Best Supporting Actor (Paul Capsis, nominated)

L.A. Outfest

• Grand Jury Award: Outstanding Foreign Narrative Feature (Ana Kokkinos, won)

San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival

• Best First Feature (Ana Kokkinos, won)

Cast

• Alex Dimitriades as Ari
• Paul Capsis as Johnny
• Julian Garner as Sean
• Tony Nikolakopoulos as Dimitri
• Elena Mandalis as Betty
• Damien Fotiou as Joe
• Eugenia Fragos as Sophia
• María Mercedes as Tasia
• Alex Papps as Peter
• Dora Kaskanis as Dina
• Vassili Zappa as Vassili
• Andrea Mandalis as Alex

External links

• Head On at IMDb
• Head On at the National Film and Sound Archive
• "Surprising Results at Awards" by Joshua Smith.