《Lesbian Space Princess》is the debut film from Lila Vaggs and Emma Hough-Hobbs, and the title was decided right from the start. Emma came up with the name suddenly while in the shower, just like that. She excitedly stated, "I ran out soaking wet and yelled, 'Baby, I've got it!'"
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02-22, 2025Lila initially thought it was a joke, especially since her girlfriend was "still wrapped in a towel." But the couple quickly turned this "very tongue-in-cheek, absurd, and straightforward title" into an adult animated film full of laughter, excitement, and "rich emotion and meaning." Now, this film, produced by Adelaide's We Made A Thing Studios, has been selected for the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, and is the only Australian feature film to be included in the festival, alongside the premiere of Bong Joon-ho's highly anticipated new work, 《Mickey 17》.
It is reported that 《Lesbian Space Princess》is also South Australia's first fully animated feature film, boasting an impressive voice cast including Richard Roxburgh (《Ratched》), Kween Kong (《RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under》), Shabana Azmi (《The Bird Catcher》), Gemma Chan (《Heartbreak High》), and Madeleine Sami (《Deadloch》). We interviewed the pair from Kaurna/Adelaide to learn more about how they, as a queer couple, made a full-length animated film on a limited budget in a male-dominated industry.
As the title suggests, 《Lesbian Space Princess》tells the story of an introverted lesbian space princess who embarks on an "intergalactic gay adventure" to save her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend, opposed by "straight white aliens" (voiced by members of Aunty Donna). Along the way, she realizes she might not need her ex-girlfriend as much as she thought. Lila, 33, says the film is about "self-love, and trying to find yourself and accepting who you are, unrelated to relationships and other people." She explained, "Initially, the story was more centered around the bounty hunter character." But they realized it was a story they had seen before, especially from male creators. "We thought, 'Let's be true to ourselves'... so we tried to create a character who is sad, anxious, and has difficulty pursuing girls (laughs)."
《Lesbian Space Princess》blends Emma's background as an animator with Lila's experience in comedy, both fields where they feel women are underrepresented. Emma, 27, stated, "(Animation) is very much a boys' club." She mentioned the allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior against 《Adventure Time》 voice actor and 《Rick and Morty》 creator Justin Roiland. "He was an executive producer on almost every animated TV project, (while women) are few and far between." Lila feels the same way about comedy, adding that tonally, they wanted to break away from the crass, masculine humor we've come to associate with adult animation—think 《Family Guy》, 《South Park》—and create something unique. Lila said, "We've become accustomed to thinking adult animation has to be a certain way because those voices have shaped it." "Our film still has crudeness and swearing, but somehow everything I do ends up feeling wholesome." They specifically hired female animators for the project, a process Emma called "awkward." "I had to ask men working at these big studios. I said, 'We can't have you, sorry. But who have you worked with recently (that's female)?'" Through some "crazy calculations," they figured they could complete the film within budget by having Emma work with two full-time animators and two part-time background artists. For reference, approximately 200 people are listed as animators for 《Inside Out 2》.
Lila said, "We call it our own 'Suicide Squad.'" "A lot of people thought this film was going to crash, burn, and fail because it was such a bold attempt." Lila and Emma had never argued as a couple... until this film came along. Lila said, "I wish I could fabricate some dreamy story about it being a fun and amazing journey, but it was very, very hard." The couple met through "gay people in the film industry" and had only been together for a year when they started the project. While writing together was easy, co-directing the film as self-described "stubborn control freaks," balancing budget and time constraints with wanting to make the best film possible, was a different story. Lila joked, "Sometimes it's hard not to resent the film because it's what caused all the drama." Now, five years later, they've made it through and even adopted an energetic kitten, affectionately named after actress and comedian Ayo Edebiri.
《Lesbian Space Princess》will have its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, also known as the Berlinale, one of the "Big Five" film festivals in the film industry. The film has already received numerous awards: the South Australian Film Corporation's "New Voices" grant, which made the project possible; the Adelaide Film Festival's Audience Award; and the recent Queer Screen Completion Fund. At the Berlinale, the film will compete with other international works for the "Panorama Audience Award" and will vie for the prestigious Teddy Award, the highest honor for LGBTQIA+ films and reputedly the oldest and most important queer film award in the world. Previous Teddy Award winners include 《Paris is Burning》, 《Hedwig and the Angry Inch》, and the Australian film 《52 Tuesdays》. Lila said, "(Berlin) opens so many doors and gives you recognition as a filmmaker, it's crazy." "When the email came through, it felt like: 'Oh my god'... yeah, it's incredible."
