Ari Conrad Birch, Michal Heuston
Canada
2023
97 min
English
Vancouver Premiere
Community Partner
International South Asian Film FestivalCommunity Partner
Indian Summer FestivalBlending zine-inspired animation, spoken word, and poetry with insightful interview footage, this lo-fi documentary collage follows four queer people from different religious backgrounds as they explore the intersections of faith and queerness. We meet Summeiya, the genderfluid founder of Queer Muslim Network Toronto; Juliana, a bisexual teacher and former Baptist Christian; Vaibhav, a gay Hindu dancer; and Ari, a trans Christian Orthodox drag artist. Each person talks openly about their own spiritual journey, and their testimonies collectively open up possibilities for faith and queerness to connect rather than exist in opposition.
Recognizing the complexity and pain of individual queer faith journeys, directors Ari Conrad Birch and Michal Heuston have crafted an intimate work that prioritizes beauty over conflict and demonstrates that the process of reconciliation does not have to be tackled alone.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the artists.
ASL interpretation will be provided during the Q&A, and live captioning on screen will be used during the pre-screening announcements.
Total event runtime: 97 min