Film Categories: LGBTQ

  • Preslee

    Jo seeks consolation at a costume party after coming out as bi-sexual to her family during Elvis karaoke.

  • Whatever Happened to Jackie Shane?

    Toronto, 1963. Jackie Shane – a black, queer, soul-singing, flamboyant Nashville-born, Toronto-based musician – had a hit song on the charts. The song was a sensation, and with the lyrics “Tell her that I’m happy, tell her that’s I’m gay; tell her I wouldn’t have it any other way”, it was also an underground gay anthem. But before being able to fully enjoy the fruits of this success, Jackie suddenly disappeared. Uncovering this forgotten piece of Toronto queer music history, artists Hortie and Reynolds recreate Jackie’s story using original shadow puppets, overhead animation and stop motion techniques. Follow Jackie through…

  • 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…

  • Meet Me Under the Clock

    “Meet Me Under the Clock” explores a little-known time in Toronto’s LGBTQ history when an underground Halloween tradition became an annual confrontation between an invisible gay community and a fascinated, often hateful public. “Meet Me Under the Clock” tells the story of Halloween at the St Charles Tavern, a Yonge Street gay bar, throughout the 1970s. Each year, thousands of straight spectators would gather to throw eggs and jeer at the men attending the bar’s annual drag party. This unknown Toronto history highlights the role that LGBTQ spaces play in providing sanctuary and community, the complicated relationship between the LGBTQ…

  • First Comes Love

    “First Comes Love” is somewhat like an extended musical number, with perfectly choreographed scenes of four traditional wedding ceremonies accompanied by a schizophrenic but amusing medley of popular love songs. The celebratory atmosphere is interrupted midway through to remind us that there are still a few countries in the world that refuse to legitimize homosexual unions. The film doesn’t attempt to defend – or discredit – the institution of marriage. Instead, it reveals many subtle emotions surrounding the events and raises questions about how the double standard regarding marriage affects both gay and straight couples.

  • Outcognito

    Fear meets gay desire against an audio background of sitcom homophobia and jarring personal testimonies. Textured layers of figures, rotoscoped and real, move in and out of difficult scenarios, resolving into knowing acceptance.

  • The Shiva Callers

    When a closeted woman’s girlfriend shows up unexpectedly to her grandfather’s shiva, she must do anything in her power to stop her family from finding out.

  • REBIRTH

    “A dance ritual which turns into recreation of the self.” Transformation is a dance ritual. With every move you are born again. With every little step, you cut the umbilical cord. With every turn, you create a new shell.

  • Royal Jelly

    The film begins in abstraction, then we are greeted by a drag queen that we follow down the rabbit hole to meet the menagerie of people that have become her community.

  • Vertical Lines

    Dave and Andrew reach a new level of closeness in their relationship when they share their personal experiences with self-harm. Best Screenplay, Future of Film Showcase (Toronto, ON), 2019