If theres a single thread running through the dozens of films screening at this years Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF), its probably this: feel something.
It might be laughing, sobbing, empathy, contemplation or discomfort, but whatever the reaction, each of the festivals 79 films is bound to whisk you away on some kind of emotional adventure.
That journey is the hallmark of the VQFF, which began in 1989 as Out On Screen: Vancouvers Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and was one of the first film festivals in the world to adopt the more inclusive term queer. Today, the VQFF is the second largest film festival in the city and the largest queer arts festival in the country.
In a year where gay marriage has been a hot-button issue in America, and the Russian LGBT community is fighting back against ghastly violence and anti-gay legislation, the 25th edition of the VQFF presents a wide array of thought-provoking films (from more than 20 countries) that celebrate and advance queer issues.
For the first time in its history, the festival will shine a spotlight on queer cinema from India. The three Canadian premieres include the Bollywood epic Queens: Destiny of Dance, about dancers in a transwomen sanctuary; In-between Days, a documentary about two transgendered friends in Kolkata who are edged into the sex trade; and Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish, a startling film about transformation and gender identity that was the final work of acclaimed actor/director Rituparno Ghosh.
Comedy lovers will want to check out G.B.F. (short for Gay Best Friend), a Mean Girls-esque teen laugh-fest starring Will & Graces Megan Mullally and Orange Is the New Blacks Natasha Lyonne, and The Outs, a wildly popular, Kickstarter-funded web series about urban gay life.
Vancouver filmmakers will be represented by way of two documentaries: Lace Bite, about 40 women from Metro Vancouver who play a Guinness World Record-breaking hockey game to fulfill a promise made to a friend with Cystic Fibrosis; and My Other Me, Josh Laners look into the Cosplay (short for costume play) community.
And if you crave a side of competition with your film festival experience, cheer on 12 BC directors as their short films battle for the top prize at the Coast in Queer event.
The 25th edition of the Vancouver Queer Film Festival runs August 15-25 at venues around Vancouver. For the full schedule of screenings, galas, workshops, and parties, visit QueerFilmFestival.ca.
