This film is part of Rentals

Holding the Man
A sweepingly romantic adaptation of Timothy Conigrave’s best-selling memoir, an impassioned love letter to his partner, John Caleo.
Director: Neil Armfield
Overview
First published in 1995, Timothy Conigrave’s bestselling memoir was an impassioned love letter to his partner, John Caleo. Following a hugely successful stage adaptation, director Neil Armfield has brought Conigrave’s tale to the screen, with heartrending results. When drama enthusiast Timothy meets rugby player John at the tender age of 15, it’s love at first sight. Battling prejudices both at home and at their local high school, the pair quickly form a bond, embarking on a relationship that forever changes their lives. Navigating their way through the good times and celebrations, the breakups and breakdowns, the couple face their biggest challenge yet when illness unexpectedly threatens to tear them apart.
Ryan Corr and Craig Stott give arresting performances as the iconic lovers, with excellent support provided by a bevvy of acting luminaries, including Guy Pearce, Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush and Kerry Fox. Sweeping in its scope, yet devastatingly effective in its intimate details, Holding The Man is a heart-rending account of a relationship that lasted nearly two decades and a tender, romantic testament to the enduring and redemptive powers of love.
Related

Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story
Documentary 2025 100 mins Director: Sinéad O'Shea
A candid portrait of a literary sensation that’s as enchanting as O’Brien’s wonderful novels.

Mr. Burton Mr. Burton
Biopic 2024 124 mins Director: Marc Evans
Toby Jones is terrific as the inspirational mentor who helped propel Richard Burton from the poor son of a Welsh miner to acting legend.

Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other
Documentary 2024 100 mins Director: Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter
A creative artist couple navigate love and ageing in this brave, fascinating documentary.

William Tell William Tell
Action and Adventure 2024 133 mins
A peaceful huntsman is thrust into the heart of the resistance following an Austrian Empire invasion, in this gripping retelling of a timeless legend.

A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things
Documentary 2024 88 mins Director: Mark Cousins
A striking portrait of an artist deserving of greater recognition, directed by Mark Cousins (A Story of Film).

Jackie Jackie
Biopic 2017 100 mins Director: Pablo Larraín
Natalie Portman is exceptional as the iconic First Lady who has to quickly adjust to the world-shaking trauma of her husband’s assassination.

Carol Carol
Drama 2015 119 mins Director: Todd Haynes
Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara illuminate Todd Haynes’ intoxicating adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s beloved novel.

Tangerine Tangerine
Drama 2015 88 mins Director: Sean Baker
A big-hearted film shot on a small phone, this LA tale of two transgender working girls out for vengeance fizzes with wild energy.

Théo and Hugo Théo and Hugo
Romance 2016 97 mins Director: Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau
A brief encounter at a naked sex club in Paris seems to be going well for Theo and Hugo, but a sudden realisation changes everything.

Departure Departure
Drama 2016 108 mins Director: Andrew Steggall
Andrew Steggall’s deft and delicate drama about a teenage dreamer who falls for the rough beauty of a local boy while staying in France.

The Chambermaid Lynn The Chambermaid Lynn
2014 90 mins Director: Ingo Haeb
An obsessive-compulsive hotel cleaner (Vicky Krieps) who harbours a fetishistic fascination with her hotel's guests meets an enigmatic dominatrix who changes her world.

Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures
Documentary 2016 109 mins Director: Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato
An unflinching and sometimes graphic account of the life, art and legacy of the legendary photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Bogancloch Bogancloch
Documentary 2025 86 mins Director: Ben Rivers
The life and environment of a solitary man is gently observed in Ben Rivers' intimate, experimental documentary.

When Autumn Falls When Autumn Falls
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: François Ozon
The ever-inventive François Ozon offers a bittersweet tale with a twist or two, about age, youth, the past and the art of breaking the rules.

Gholam Gholam
Drama 2017 95 mins Director: Mitra Tabrizian
An Iranian exile in London, who is haunted by his past, gets involved in the conflicts of a total stranger and has to see it through until the end, in this mesmerising slow-burn thriller.

When the Light Breaks When the Light Breaks
Drama 2024 77 mins Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson
A young woman is forced to reframe the future she’d hoped for, in Rúnar Rúnarsson’s quietly breathtaking elegy of love, loss and acceptance.

Words of War Words of War
Drama 2025 117 mins Director: James Strong
Maxine Peake leads an excellent cast in this true story of journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s fight to expose corruption and abuse in Putin’s Russia.

The Return The Return
Drama 2024 116 mins Director: Uberto Pasolini
Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche are superb in this moody and poignant adaptation of the final sections of Homer's Odyssey.