Vancouver Queer Film Festival
Queer-Friendly Independent Cinema Comes to Canada’s West Coast
Aug 13, 2009
Organized by Out on Screen, the annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival showcases leading independent queer cinema, as well as hosting workshops, panels and an array of parties.
Now in its 21st year, the festival will screen 71 films over 11 days. Kicking off on August 13, the program includes a mix of feature films, documentaries and shorts, which embrace everything from first lesbian love and gay detectives to AIDs activism and ongoing discrimination.
I Can’t Think Straight
The Opening Gala features the aptly named film I Can’t Think Straight (2008). Directed, written, produced and financed entirely by women, this romantic drama is not only about two women from different backgrounds falling in love. It is also a wry look at intercultural relationships, societal expectations and coming out in a traditional family.
Focus on Asian Voices
One of the film festival’s central themes this year is queer and queer-friendly Asian cinema. The theme was selected in an effort to counter the lack of Asian representation on screen. Films in this section cover a range of genres and explore queer culture both in Asia and the Asian diaspora.
The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela (2007), winner of the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival, blends reality and fantasy to tell the story of Raquela, a ‘lady boy’ in Cebu City, Philippines with a Parisian dream.
Another film in this section that mixes styles is the sci-fi docu-drama Half-Life (2008). Set in a Californian suburb, Half-Life focuses on the dysfunctional Wu family. Dad has walked out, mum is self-destructive, daughter Pam has a crush on her gay best friend Scott, who in turn is struggling to be accepted by his religious parents. Throw in a son who creates an imaginary world in order to escape reality and the threat of global warming and you have a compellingly inventive story of decay and survival.
Focus on Hope
Harvey Milk said over two decades ago, “I know you cannot live on hope alone. But without it life is not worth living”, and so the Focus on Hope section of the film festival celebrates queer champions from around the world. City of Borders and Kanako: Challenging the System both document gays who have been elected to public office in Israel and Japan respectively; while For My Wife tells the true story of how personal tragedy turned Charlene Strong into an activist for marriage equality.
Focus on Parties
For the duration of the fest, there is at least one party on most nights. With cheeky names (the Coast is Queer) and themes (the private dick party - that’s a detective, by the way), the focus is firmly on having fun and mingling. However, there are also opportunities for less hedonistic pursuits at the For My Wife Post-Film Salon discussion and for chilling to (queer) folk favorites in the Listening Lounge.
The Vancouver Queer Film Festival runs August 13 to 23, 2009.
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