Film Categories: Politics + Policy

  • Holding Hands

    Craig and Shane were holding hands when they fell victim to a brutal hate crime. Through speaking out about the lack of police investigation, their courage led to important changes at their local police station. ‘Holding Hands’ follows a challenging year in this inspiring couples’ life: triumphantly leading the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade as community heroes, struggling to recover from the physical, financial and psychological costs of a hate crime, and ultimately revealing the healing power of love. At its heart, Craig and Shane’s story reveals that even in the worst circumstances, we can all create positive change.

  • LEFT

    “LEFT” is a self-reflective video diary based on Keith Cole’s successful Mayoral Campaign in 2010 for The City of Toronto’s top job-Keith Cole for Mayor!

  • little prayer (H-E-L-P), a

    “Images of Houdini bound in chains flicker and spin amid laceration marks created through hand-processing.” – Vanessa O’Neill, San Francisco Int. Film Festival The images of Houdini chained and attempting to free himself: the stop-and-start (interruption-repetition) of his actions; the high-contrast of the images; the stroboscopic effect created by the rhythm of the shutter; the gashes in the emulsion from the hand-processing – combined with the layers of sound, all evoke the violence of a tortured soul in search of escape. NB: View in total darkness to appreciate full flicker effect. Image description: A grainy, sepia-tinted image of Houdini hanging…

  • An Act of God..lf

    Or if you don’t have money eat tuna. A golf ball finally gets Mike Harris, cost-cutting conservative head of government in Ontario.

  • Change

    Jamie is an African-American teenager grappling with his sexual identity on the night Barrack Obama is elected president and Proposition 8 – the voter initiative to eliminate same-sex marriage – is passed. When one of his gang initiates the bullying of an openly gay classmate, Jamie uses his wits to try and prevent it, but when things don’t go the way he predicted, he is forced to face his fears head on. Winner Audience Award, Inside Out LGBT Film & Video Festival (Toronto)

  • Price of Flowers, The

    In post-Katrina New Orleans, street hustler Red sells carnations to support himself and his disabled lover, Sal. Living in a crowded halfway house, Red struggles to earn enough money to get Sal and himself a little place where they can be together. One fateful night Red is forced to weigh his desire for a home of his own against the realities of urban life.

  • Bouquets 11-20

    Comprised of ten one-minute films, shot at ecological sites in Italy, Switzerland and France, “Bouquets 11-20”, continues the work begun with the series “Bouquets 1-10” and “21-30.” Each bouquet of flowers is also a bouquet of film frames, woven together using in-camera techniques. “Bouquets 11-20”, filmed in Italy, Switzerland and France, was delayed by the weather and a series of related technical/aesthetic incidents. The ten little films (1 minute or 1440 frames each, with the exception of 23 frames or nearly a second more for n°16), continue the work begun with the series “Bouquets 1-10” and “21-30.” This consists of…

  • Out on the Street

    This short film explores LGBTQ youth homelessness in Toronto and the lack of support available. Several people’s lived experiences are shared.

  • Seeking Single White Male

    Become absorbed in this study of a brown body in (queer) white spaces.

  • Difficult Love

    “Difficult Love” is an intimate, thought-provoking portrait of internationally celebrated South African lesbian photographer, Zanele Muholi, and her highly personal take on the challenges facing black lesbians in South Africa today. The film features interviews with Muholi as well as with her friends, colleagues and peers, and provides a compelling overview of the artist, her life and her work. This poignant documentary takes us behind the façade of art making and shares with us the highly political environment Muholi must navigate in order to bring her lush photographs to light. Winner Best Short Film – Audience Award, Africa in the…