EVOLUTION OF QUEER CINEMA
Fairy Tales takes centre stage
James Demers says he is on the lookout for a specific type of film. Very specific, in fact.
“I always say I want to see the gay Die Hard,” says Demers, executive director of Calgary Queer Arts Society and director of Fairy Tales: Calgary’s Queer Film Festival. “But no one has the budget for that. I would love to see an action movie, with a self-confident, swaggering queer character. I don’t even care what identity. Where they are still the hero and they don’t have to apologize for that. Yeah, blow some sh-t up while you’re at it, why not?”
It hasn’t happened yet. But while those attending Fairy Tales may not see a queer action hero leaping off skyscrapers and muttering catchphrases, they will see the continued evolution of what is considered queer cinema.
The festival, which runs from
I would love to see an action movie, with a self-confident, swaggering queer character. I don’t even care what identity.
May 25 to June 2 at the Plaza Theatre, features films of multiple genres, nationalities, budgets, tones and length. That includes examples of what Demers refers to as the genrefication of queer film. For instance, this year’s lineup includes Signature Move (Sunday, May 27 at 9 p.m.), a quirky American rom-com about a Pakistani Muslim lesbian in Chicago who falls into the colourful world of Mexican wrestling after falling for female grappler.
Thelma is a NorwegianFrench-Danish co-production about a religious girl whose suppressed love for a woman gives rise to terrifying psychokinetic powers.
“It’s a psychological-thrillerlesbian-sci-fi film,” says Demers with a laugh. “It’s a lot of things. It’s very good. I’d highly recommend it.”
Now entering its 20th year, Fairy Tales will offer a few offsite activities, including festival favourite The Kink Party on Friday, June 1 at 10 p.m. at the The Centre for Sex Positive Culture; and Naked Guys Reading, which is exactly what it sounds like and will be held Saturday, June 2 at Twisted Element Night Club.
But for the most part, the festival is about film and the discussions the films spark. A quick glance at the lineup shows that issues of social justice remain high priority in queer cinema. Friday’s opening film, Outliers: Calgary’s Queer History (Friday, May 15 at 7 p.m.), is a documentary that follows queer activism in the city from the 1960s onward. Bones of Contention (Wednesday, May 30 at 7 p.m.) is a documentary by Andrea Weiss exploring the oppression of gays and lesbians under Spain’s Franco regime. Visible (Wednesday, May 30 at 9 p.m.) is Max-Arthur Mantle’s non-fiction examination of growing up gay amid the intense homophobia of his Jamaican homeland.
Among the visiting filmmakers this year will be Faraz Arif Ansari from Mumbai, who will be bringing his 16-minute short Sisak to Calgary (as part of Date Night Shorts, Saturday, May 26 at 5 p.m.). It’s been described as the first LGBTQ silent love story.
“The Indian parliament in 2009 legalized homosexuality and then re-criminalized it in 2013,” says Demers. “So he’s had a real challenge in his career getting this kind of work made and
distributed. So we’re really happy that he will be here for the whole festival, all 10 days. We’ll be talking about his work.”
It’s not just filmmakers who will be special guests of the festival.
On May 27, Fairy Tales will present Gender Warriors Double Feature, which will actually include four films, two shorts and two feature-length. Woman on Fire is a documentary about Brooke Guinan, the first transgender firefighter in New York City. Transformer is a documentary about world-record weightlifter Matt (Kroc) Kroczaleski. Now known as Janae Marie Kroc, she faced prejudice from the weightlifting world and her own family after being outed as transgender. The 12-minute short Angela is about Angela Reid, a roller derby athlete and coach and transgender rights activist in Alberta.
The five-minute short Bathroom Rules by Charlie Hidalgo is about a non-conforming 10-yearold searching for a safe bathroom at school.
Guinan, Kroc and Reid will all be in attendance on Sunday.
“We thought it would be really powerful, given that these individuals have similarities and differences in their stories but are all fighting from the same angle that we get them all together,” Demers says. “You often don’t get to meet activists that do the work you do in other places and we thought it would be a powerful way to talk about the context of the films.”