Film Categories: Abuse

  • I Want To Kill Myself

    Contemplating suicide: a biography.

  • The Royal Women Association

    THE ROYAL WOMEN ASSOCIATION tells the story of a group of South Asian women in Calgary who have banded together to overcome the isolation and loneliness so common among older members of their community. The women break out of their shells and overcome their demons by sharing songs, poetry, food, and laughter at the group’s monthly meetings. As they plan an event that calls attention to domestic violence in the community, one member, Sarbjit, tries to come to terms with the trauma of her own past.

  • Schèmes Arbitraires

    Four choreographies in a continuous narrative working through themes of struggle and beginning within conformity and control. Five Dancers as part of a larger group of dancers, and then exploring freely in the past before being moved into the conformity space, finally they are allowed periods for competition and then play both of which inevitably reinforce, and lead them back towards, the conformity space. This project is very much a collaboration between most notably Gelymar Sanchez, a montreal choreographer, Sebastien Lavoie, an Oxford experimental musician, and Sean C Dwyer, an actor and filmmaker. Each of them have had interesting, exciting…

  • Arvind

    After his mentally ill mother is released from prison, Arvind, a 16 year-old biracial queer teenager in Austin, Texas, revisits old family wounds when he writes and produces a play written from his mother’s perspective. When his relationship with the actress who portrays his mother on stage deepens, it sets Arvind on a course that will change his perception of his past.

  • Without Consent

    “Without Consent” weaves a young woman’s personal account of forced adoption in Australia in the late 1960s. It recounts the legal climate that outcast young unmarried women who were pregnant during these years, the systemized abuse they endured in the name of God as well as the stories they hid.

  • Sophie’s Letter

    During the composition of the letter to her abusive father, Sophie identifies with her inner wounded child (Little Sophie) and gradually finds what she needs to grow beyond the limits and boundaries that were burned into her psyche so many years earlier.

  • Midnight at the Continental

    Toronto, 1955. In the heart of Chinatown, a new bar opens: The Continental. It’s dark, grimy, and attracts an unusual clientele. Local tabloids scream in 20-point font: “Sapphos overflow Chinatown!” The bar becomes the meeting place for two of Toronto’s marginalized communities: Chinese-Canadian men and lesbians living “the life” full time. Recounting this forgotten piece of Toronto queer history, artists Hortie and Reynolds tell the story of Toronto’s first long-standing lesbian bar using original shadow puppets, overhead projector animation and archival images. Pull a stool up to the bar and watch lesbians and Chinese men stand side by side, battling…

  • Trans Lives Matter! Justice for Islan Nettles

    A powerful and intensely moving document of a community vigil for Islan Nettles, a transgender Womyn of Colour, concerning her spirit and life. Because the personal is political. Because the brutal and increasing attacks on Trans Womyn of Color are outrageous and their victimization causes outrage. Because healing and action tighten our fists and boom our voices. Islan’s murder was a hate crime, she was only 21. Her vigil was held at Jackie Robinson Park in Harlem, steps away from where she was murdered. This endeavour captured the love and support that the community brought to sustain each other and…

  • Cold Hands

    In an effort to make friends in high school, Lucas finds himself in a position that compromises his safety. In the aftermath, he realizes that the support he seeks is not guaranteed.

  • Daily Bread

    In a WWII internment camp in Indonesia, Jeanne and a group of Dutch women and children face a daily struggle against abuse, disease, and starvation. Meanwhile, the Camp Commandant’s beloved white fluffy cat is fed fresh juicy meat….