An unprecedented level of local content in this year's Out Takes gay and lesbian film festival is a sign of New Zealand's burgeoning gay film scene, says programmer Simon Fulton. Two features and eight shorts from New Zealand grace the festival's programme this year, which begins in Auckland later this month before moving onto Wellington and Christchurch. Fulton says the local entries are diverse in their subject matter, locations, and genders. "In fact the whole festival is this year," he says. "We've pretty much got fifty-fifty boys and girls films. It's been a while since we've had one local feature in the festival, let alone two. I hope it's a sign that people are getting more into film as an expression and learning about it." One of the local features is Stuart Main's long-awaited Fifty Ways Of Saying Fabulous, which will have its world premiere at Out Takes. Fulton acknowledges this is something of a coup. “When we originally contacted the NZ Film Commission, they told us it was still in post-production and would be unlikely to be ready in time for our festival. Then they rang me about a month ago to say post had finished and it would definitely be available.” Set in Central Otago in the 1970's, Fifty Ways is a coming-of-age fantasy about 12-year-old Billy, a farmer's son out of step with the other boys at school who dreams about an imaginary life in outer space. Director Stuart Main will be attending screenings all three cities to answer questions, and will be joined in Christchurch by Graeme Aitken, who wrote the book which the film is based on. A surprise entry from Wellington came in the form of Sleeping On The Floor, a feature-length story of a summer love affair between two young twenty-something women facing the trials and tribulations of working and flatting in the city. "It popped up out of nowhere," says Fulton. "The director [Ross Bevan] just rang me and said he'd made this film, he'd shown it to some friends of his, and they suggested that he submit it to our festival. It was filmed here in Wellington." Low attendance figures last year scuppered a Dunedin leg of the festival for 2005, but Fulton says audiences in Christchurch have, by contrast, been going from strength to strength. "This year, we're back in the central city. We're at the Regent on Worcester, which is right on Cathedral Square. We have a committed team there who have helped grow the festival really well."