Thursday August 9
It’s the opening gala, so there’s only one movie. A poignant drama set in the height of the AIDS crisis? Yep, I’ll take it.
Final choice: 1985
Friday August 10
1985 is playing again at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts that night, so let’s look at International Village. A creepy-weird family drama and a creepy-weird story of stalking and obsession? Yeah, why not.
Final choice: Octavio is Dead! and The Year I Lost My Mind.
Saturday August 11
I have other plans that night, so no movies. *sadface*
Sunday August 12
EITHER a documentary about Canada’s not-very-long-ago gay witch hunt which I’ll probably miss because of volleyball, a dramedy about dreams and drag in small-town Alaska, and an all-women’s comedy about crappy jobs and tech startups (International Village),
OR a showcase of Indigenous music on the theme of family, and local story tellers talking about their creative roots and inspirations (SFU GoldCorp).
The GoldCorp shows may be happening too soon anyway, so let’s go for International Village!
Final choice: The Fruit Machine, Alaska is a Drag, and Freelancers Anonymous
Monday August 13
EITHER two movies about avant-garde queer art scenes in NY and LA,
OR a showcase of local LGBTQ2S+ filmmakers and activists, and a documentary on San Francisco’s Imperial Council.
Hmm… I think I’m in the mood for some uplifting present and inspirational history.
Final choice: Troublemakers 3.0 and 50 Years of Fabulous.
Tuesday August 14
EITHER two erotic gay romance movies,
OR a two-part documentary on two young West Bengali girls who committed suicide, their past and never-to-happen future.
Final choice: tentatively, Al Berto and A Moment in the Reeds.
Wednesday August 15
EITHER the centrepiece gala, a romantic lesbian dramedy with themes of art, activism and racism,
OR another showing of A Moment in the Reeds followed by a documentary on a Black trans Brazilian singer.
Final choice: the centrepiece show, White Rabbit.
Thursday August 16
EITHER a documentary on Jennifer Laude, a Filipina trans woman killed by a US Marine in 2014, and what looks like a musical about queer / trans youth in New York,
OR a retrospective on dyke cinema followed by a repeat of White Rabbit.
I mean, no point in repeating myself, right?
Final choice: Call Her Ganda and Saturday Church.
Friday August 17
EITHER a brand new showcase of trans, genderqueer and nonbinary stories, then a series of shorts centring trans women, then a lesbian romantic comedy (SFU GoldCorp)
OR a history of the Vancouver Men’s Chorus (yay!) followed The Coast Is Queer (York Theatre).
Now, I never miss The Coast Is Queer, so unfortunately I’ll have to miss The Coast is Genderqueer. Boo.
Final choice: We Are The Vancouver Men’s Chorus and The Coast Is Queer.
Saturday August 18
EITHER a documentary on the genderfluid Leitis of Tonga; the award-winning and atmospheric story of an Armenian trans man; and a gay Buddhist love story,
OR a showcase of Indigiqueer shorts and a look at life and love in Toronto’s indigenous communities.
For some reason I’m drawn to the moody, spiritual Buddhist love story. Also, the first documentary is done by the same people behind Kumu Hina, which I very much enjoyed.
Final choice: tentatively, Leitis in Waiting, Apricot Groves and Malila: The Farewell Flower.
Sunday August 19
Just the Closing Gala, which is absolutely not a happy-happy feel-good story.
Final choice: The Miseducation of Cameron Post