''Head On'' is a 1998 Australian LGBT-related romantic drama film directed by

Ana Kokkinos Ana Kokkinos is an Australian film and television director and screenwriter of Greek descent. She is known for her breakthrough feature film, '' Head On'' (1998), and has also directed television shows such as ''The Secret Life of Us'' and '' ...

, who wrote the screenplay with Andrew Bovell and Mira Robertson. The film is based on the 1995 novel '' Loaded'', and written by

Christos Tsiolkas Christos Tsiolkas is an Australian author, playwright, and screenwriter. He is especially known for '' The Slap'', which was both well-received critically and highly successful commercially. Several of his books have been adapted for film and t ...

. The film stars

Alex Dimitriades Alex Dimitriades (born 28 December 1973) is an Australian actor and DJ. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Nick Polides in the 1993 romantic comedy film '' The Heartbreak Kid'', and Nick Poulos in the 1994 television teen drama spin-off ' ...

Paul Capsis Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, Julian Garner and

Tony Nikolakopoulos Tony Nikolakopoulos is a Greek Australian film and television actor. He is best known for his work in the films of Nick Giannopoulos, '' The Wog Boy'' and ''The Wannabes'', and for his role as Attilio in the television series '' Scooter: Secret ...

. The film tells the story of Ari, a 19-year-old homosexual

Greek-Australian Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are Australians of Greeks, Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had ...

living in St. Kilda,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The film gained notoriety upon its release for its sexual explicitness, including a graphic masturbation scene performed by Dimitriades and numerous sex scenes. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with positive reviewers praising its stark realism, the lead performance by Dimitriades and the uncompromising subject matter.

Plot

Over a 24-hour period, 19-year-old Ari confronts his sexuality and his Greek background. Ari is obsessed with sex and has sexual encounters with multiple people, most of them gay, and attempts to fulfill the sister of one of his best friends. At the same time, he is facing problems with his traditional Greek parents, who have no clue about his sexual and drug taking activities.

Cast

as Ari *

as Johnny/Tula * Julian Garner as Sean *

as Dimitri * Elena Mandalis as Betty * Damien Fotiou as Joe * Eugenia Fragos as Sophia * María Mercedes as Tasia *

Alex Papps Alex Papps (born 11 February 1969) is an Australian actor, television host, writer and singer. Early life Papps, who is of Greek descent, was born in 1969, his parents where both amateur theatre directors. He attended Belgrave Kindergarten Up ...

as Peter * Dora Kaskanis as Dina * Vassili Zappa as Vassili * Andrea Mandalis as Alex

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has an approval rating of 63% based on reviews from 24 critics. ''Head On'' divided the Greek community in Australia, Kokkinos said in an interview with the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''. Kokkinos said "what it did is that it opened up a dialogue between younger Greeks and their parents. What the film has done is that it has broken down barriers."

Accolades

Australian Film Institute * Best Actor (

, nominated) * Best Costume Design (nominated) * Best Direction (

, nominated) * Best Editing (won) * Best Film (nominated) * Best Original Score (

Ollie Olsen Ollie Olsen is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound designer. He has performed, recorded and produced rock, electronic and experimental music since the mid-1970s. His post punk groups included Whirlywirld (1978–80), Orche ...

, nominated) * Best Screenplay - Adapted (

Andrew Bovell Andrew Bovell (born 23 November 1962) is an Australian writer for theatre, film and television. Life Bovell was born on 23 November 1962 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia and completed his secondary school education in Perth. He graduated from t ...

and Mira Robertson, nominated) * Best Sound (nominated) * Best Supporting Actor (

, 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)

References

External links

* * *
''Head On''
at Oz Movies *
Head On at the National Film and Sound Archive

1998 films 1998 LGBT-related films 1998 romantic drama films 1990s coming-of-age drama films 1990s teen drama films 1990s teen romance films Australian LGBT-related films Australian romantic drama films Australian teen drama films Coming-of-age romance films Films about death Films about drugs Films about friendship Films about race and ethnicity Films about racism Films based on Australian novels Films shot in Melbourne Films produced by Jane Scott Gay-related films 1990s Greek-language films Lesbian-related films LGBT-related coming-of-age films LGBT-related romantic drama films Teen LGBT-related films Transgender-related films 1990s Australian films {{LGBT-drama-film-stub