VANCOUVER, BC (September 29, 2025) –  The Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) is pleased to announce the esteemed group of 2025 Award recipients. $62,350 CAD in cash and in-kind prizes will be distributed to 2SLGBTQIA+ filmmakers.

This year’s People’s Choice Awards winners include:

The Canadian Feature winner is REALLY HAPPY SOMEDAY directed by J Stevens, who will receive a $2,500 cash prize supported by Canada Media Fund (CMF).

The Canadian Short winner is ORGANZA’S REVENGE directed by Walter Scott, who will receive a $2,500 in-kind prize in post-production services from Elemental Post.

The International Feature winner is BETWEEN GOODBYES (USA) directed by Jota Mun.

The International Short winner is DIE BULLY DIE (Australia) directed by Nathan Lacey and Nick Lacey.

The winning team of the inaugural VQFF Pitch Competition are Peihwen J. Tai, Hannah Yang, and Ronald Lee for their short film pitch PRETTY BOY$ about a K-pop inspired boy band with two closeted members who fall for each other, forcing them to confront the exploitative machinery of the industry and their need for freedom. The judges were award-winning Indigenous (Cree-Métis) director and screenwriter Asia Youngman and Co-founder & Chief Content Officer for Revry TV Christopher J. Rodriguez. The winning project and team will receive a $17,000 in-kind prize package supported by Lark Productions, K & K Casting, Cracked Compass Media, as well as mentorship opportunities and a public screening as an official selection of a future VQFF.

As previously announced on Opening night of the Festival, the highest accolades this year include:

The inaugural Matriarch of the Year (MOTY) Award winner is Sonya Ballantyne (she/they), a Swampy Cree writer, filmmaker, and speaker based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The MOTY Award, introduced by new Artistic Director Mary Galloway, honors an Indigiqueer or Two Spirit (2S) Matriarchal leader in film and television across Turtle Island who has made a significant impact on Indigenous and 2SLGBTQIA+ storytelling. Nominated by community members and selected by a committee of Indigiqueer filmmakers, including Artistic Director Mary Galloway, Tristin Greyeyes, and Olivia Brooks, the winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and $2,500 in-kind publicity package from Pender PR to amplify their positive impact and support their work.

Galloway presented the award on Opening night on September 11, 2025 and said:

“Sonya has always dared to imagine beyond the limitations the world tried to place on her. She has grown into a creative force who writes Indigenous women and girls not as relics of the past, but as heroes of our present and our future. In doing so, she shows us all that not only do we exist—but that we thrive, we lead, and we belong in every story, every genre, every universe.”

The Narrative Change Award winner is director Rheanna Toy for her feature directorial debut A PLACE WHERE I BELONG, a local documentary spotlighting the challenges of queer and trans individuals with intellectual disabilities. This award comes with a $5,000 cash prize and was determined by an international jury, honouring a Canadian or International feature film that uses the power of cultural strategy to overturn outdated narratives, inspire change, and expand the audience’s perception of 2SLGBTQIA+ identities. This year’s jurors were actor-activist Rain Dove and festival programmer Lu Linares of Inside Out. A PLACE WHERE I BELONG is the first Canadian and local film to win the Narrative Change Award since its inception in 2023.

The jury also recognized BETWEEN GOODBYES with an honourable mention in this category.

Dove presented the award on Opening night on September 11, 2025 and said:

“Led by a director who, like the subjects of this outstanding documentary, never gave up, A PLACE WHERE I BELONG is a profound testament to resilience and community. At its core, it calls on all of us, within the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and beyond, to recognize the urgent work still needed to ensure that every single member of our communities are valued and supported. With care and deep understanding, Rheanna Toy introduces us to Amyn, Alison, Lyle, Noah, Peter, and Brian, members of Connecting Queer Communities (CQC), and takes us on an incredibly honest, tender, and at times eye-opening journey through their lives as they navigate belonging and connection.

“A PLACE WHERE I BELONG shines an essential light on the unique struggles at the intersection of disability and 2SLGBTQIA+ justice. Toy’s debut feature is both a moving portrait of the queer disabled community in Vancouver and the visual representation of our collective truth: all of us, or none of us.”

The Gerry Brunet Memorial Award: Best British Columbia Short winner is director Jess McLeod for their directorial debut DTF?, a comedy short about a struggling writer who ends up on a date with his former English professor. The Gerry Brunet Memorial Award was established in 1997 in recognition of Brunet, a lifelong contributor to the arts and an early board member of Out On Screen. The award includes a $2,850 cash prize and mentorship opportunities from the Directors Guild of Canada BC, a $20,000 camera package prize from Keslow Camera, and a $5,000 gear package prize from Cinelease. This award was determined by an expert jury of local filmmakers, Brianne Nord-Stewart, Jason Karman, and Kent Donguines.

Nord-Stewart presented the award on Opening night on September 11, 2025 and said:

“The jury was charmed by Jess McLeod’s DTF?, a film buzzing with youthful energy and a humour that felt both fresh and deeply connected to the moment. Comedy is no easy feat, yet this one balanced wit and heart while not shying away from an honest, playful depiction of intimacy.”

Out In Schools, VQFF’s award-winning sibling education program, has acquired six films that screened at VQFF 2025 to add to our Film Catalogue. These films will be available online to educators starting in the fall 2025 semester with lesson plans and other teaching tools. They will additionally be screened within Out In Schools presentations in schools and communities across BC in the 2025-2026 school year.

Loud and Cleo (Cléo se fait des films) (Belgium) dir. by Tallulah Farquhar
Embers of Queer Joy (Canada) dir. By Mary Galloway
With Love, Lottie (Australia) dir. by Lily Drummond
Immature (Taiwan, Netherlands) dir. by Eddy Wu
Becoming Ruby (Canada) dir. by Quan Luong
Wait, Wait, Now! (New Zealand) dir. by Ramon Te Wake

We expect to confirm the acquisition of additional films from VQFF 2025 for the Out In Schools film catalogue in the coming weeks.

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MORE INFORMATION:
Download our Media Kit
Photos from VQFF 2025 are now available on Flickr.
Browse the full program: www.queerfilmfestival.ca
Bios for all participating industry guests and visiting artists HERE and headshots HERE.

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For media inquiries or further information, please contact:
media@outonscreen.com

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About Out On Screen

Out On Screen illuminates, celebrates, and transforms 2SLGBTQIA+ lives through film, education, and dialogue. We pursue our mission with two core programs: The annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival celebrates and promotes authentic authorship and representation that uplifts, empowers, and furthers the liberty, culture, and justice of 2SLGBTQIA+ people. The award-winning Out In Schools program brings age-appropriate 2SLGBTQIA+ cinema into school classrooms and communities across BC to combat anti-trans and anti-gay sentiments and bullying, and to provide the language and tools for inclusion. Out On Screen works to create an equitable society where 2SLGBTQIA+ people are respected, valued, and protected across all our intersections of identity. www.outonscreen.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/queerfilmfest
Instagram: https://instagram.com/queerfilmfest

Vancouver, BC (September 9, 2025) – The Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) has announced over 150 artists and special guests who will be in attendance this year, including filmmakers, performers, panelists, hosts, award jurors, and pitch competition finalists. The 37th annual edition of VQFF will take place in person September 11-21, 2025, and online September 22-28, 2025, with screenings, parties, industry panels, Q&As, and networking socials.

Filmmakers, and Special Guests in Attendance:

Actor and multi-disciplinary artist Vico Ortiz (Our Flag Means Death, Sex Lives of College Girls) will be in attendance throughout as the Festival’s “Hosting Hottie Festival Darling”, hosting, moderating Q&As, and performing in their drag king persona. Other notable names in attendance include actor Lea Delaria (Orange is the New Black) for the world premiere of the short film OLD DYKES, alongside director-writer Ezra Rose; and actor Johnny Wu (Joy Ride) with director Jason Sakaki for the BC Premiere of short RAMEN BOYS.

Local directors in attendance with feature films include: director-writer Panta Mosleh (Eternity, TIFF 2025) with the world premiere of PRIDE & PRAYER, a deeply personal documentary on Mosleh’s queerness and Muslim faith; filmmaker Rheanna Toy with the world premiere of documentary A PLACE WHERE I BELONG that follows people with intellectual disabilities connecting with each other and the broader queer community; and Anishnaabe filmmaker and theatre artist Corey Payette with the hometown premiere of musical-drama STARWALKER.

Additional local directors in attendance with World Premiere short films include: director and winner of the 2023 Gerry Brunet Memorial Award for Best BC Short, Lauren Marsden (THE PALACE); Ana AJ Jimenez (JEEZ LOUISE); Eva Grant (FOREST ECHOES), Lizzy DeVita and Marceline Hugot (I TURN GRILLS ON); also screening are local filmmakers King Louie Palomo (QUEEN MOTHER (INANG REYNA); Rosie Choo Pidcock (SORRY FOR YOUR COST); Charlene R Moore (CONFLUENCE); Jess McLeod (DTF?); Jackie Hoffart (The Reveal).

International artists in attendance include: Emmy-award-winning American producer Samantha Wender and documentary editor Sasha Perry of this year’s Centrepiece Presentation: JUST KIDS; German directors Isis Rampf and Juan Bermudez (WHERE YOU FIND ME (OBEN OHNE)); American documentary filmmaker Courtney Hermann (OUTLIERS AND OUTLAWS); Emmy-nominated filmmaker Jota Mun (BETWEEN GOODBYES). Special guest Debra K Madsen will be in attendance for the screening and Q&A of ROW OF LIFE about her late wife, Paralympian medalist Angela Madsen’s fatal attempt to row unassisted from Los Angeles to Hawai’i.

Awards Jurors:

The jurors for the Narrative Change Award are actor and model Rain Dove  and Toronto-based festival programmer Lu Linares (Inside Out Film Festival). This award comes with a $5,000 cash prize and honours a Canadian or International feature film that uses the power of cultural strategy to overturn outdated narratives, inspire change, and expand the audience’s perception of 2SLGBTQIA+ identities.

The jurors for the Gerry Brunet Memorial Award for Best British Columbia Short are three celebrated, award-winning local queer filmmakers: Jason Karman (Golden Delicious), Kent Donguines (This Ink Runs Deep,  Kalinga (Care)), and Brianne Nord-Stewart (The Dangers of Online Dating).

The newly introduced Matriarch of the Year (MOTY) Award will be selected from nominations by a committee of Indigiqueer filmmakers, including Artistic Director Mary Galloway, Tristin Greyeyes, and Olivia Brooks.

These three juried awards will be announced and presented at the Opening Presentation: Then. Now. Forever. on the evening of September 11, 2025, and are generously supported by Pender PR, Directors Guild of Canada – BC, Keslow Camera, and Cinelease. Additional Audience Choice Awards will be selected by audience vote and announced after the Festival.

Industry Panelists & Pitch Competition Finalists:

Funding Your Project panelists include representatives from major Canadian funding bodies: Mathew Parry (Creative BC), Shirley Vercruysse (National Film Board), Janine Steele (Canada Media Fund), Meghna Haldar (Telefilm), Christina Willings (Telus Storyhive), and Georgina Chaplin (Telus Storyhive). Selling Your Project panelists include the co-founders of queer streaming platform Revry TV: CEO and producer Damian Pelliccione and Chief Content Officer Christopher J. Rodriguez; and Cole Vandale, Métis filmmaker and executive of Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN).

The five finalist projects for the inaugural VQFF Pitch Competition are as follows. Each team will pitch their projects to a live audience and the judges, which include award-winning Indigenous (Cree-Métis) director and screenwriter Asia Youngman, and Co-founder & Chief Content Officer for Revry TV Christopher J. Rodriguez. The winning project and team will receive a prize package supported by Lark Productions, K & K Casting, Crack Compass Media, as well as mentorship opportunities and a public screening as an official selection of a future VQFF.

Pretty Boy$ (Peihwen J. Tai, Hannah Yang, Ronald Lee) – short film

Logline: In the glittering but suffocating world of a K-pop-inspired boy band, two closeted idols in their late 20s struggle between desire and survival when they fall for each other, forcing them to confront the exploitative machinery of the industry and their need for freedom.

Astronomical Bodies (Melanie Jones, Kristyn Stilling) – short film

Logline: Nonbinary passenger Petra is adrift in an escape pod with no propulsion capabilities. As time passes and ship rations start to run out, Petra must convince the onboard AI to ignore its programming in order to die peacefully.

Orpheus (Helen Shen, Xintong Hong) – short film

Logline: Orpheus is an experimental sci-fi surrounding a young physicist in a future world, embarking on a journey to bring her late wife back from death through cross-dimensional travel.

Vigil (Lora Campbell) – proof of concept for a feature film

Logline: Vigil is an intimate, naturalistic short film exploring grief, chosen family, and the painful transition into orphanhood as a transgender child estranged from bio fam.

Aking Parol (My Lantern) (King Louie Palomo, Paean “Yap” Sabangan) – short film

Logline: In 1994, in a close-knit Filipino-Canadian community, a young boy’s painstakingly crafted Christmas parol transforms from a beacon of welcome into a ritual of release when the father he awaits fails, once again, to return home.

Performers:

Two Indigenous ensembles, the Indigenous women musical ensemble M’Girl and the award-winning all-Indigenous burlesque troupe Virago Nation Burlesque, will kick off the Opening night program with live performances at the Vancouver Playhouse on Thursday, September 11th.

Canada’s Drag Race S4 star and legendary local Two-Spirit drag queen Jaylene Tyme will perform alongside fellow drag artists Whore-ia Estefan and Amanda Peters at the world premiere of A PLACE WHERE I BELONG on Sunday, September 14th, the latter–who goes by Peter out of drag–is also a subject of the film.

The Opening Weekend Party: FUEGO/FOGO at The Birdhouse on Saturday, September 13th, co-presented with the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival will feature performances from Vico Ortiz, Salseo Queer Dance, additional drag and vogueing performances, and DJ sets from DJ Millie Wissar and DJ Sopresa. The Closing Weekend Party at the Birdhouse on Saturday, September 20th will feature a live music performance from Tahltan and Tlingit musician Edzi’u, drag performances from Velvet Ryder and Vico Ortiz, and DJ sets from DJ O Show and Binky. Ortiz will also be hosting.

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MORE INFORMATION:
Download our Media Kit
Browse the full program: www.queerfilmfestival.ca
All individual tickets are sliding scale from $7-$21.
Passes and tickets are on sale now. Festival Pass is available at $100 (accessible pricing) or $195 (regular price). Select films will be available to stream online within BC.

Bios for all participating industry guests and visiting artists HERE and headshots HERE.

Digital Pass is $100

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For media inquiries or further information, please contact:
media@outonscreen.com
Apply for Media Accreditation 

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About Out On Screen

Out On Screen illuminates, celebrates, and transforms 2SLGBTQIA+ lives through film, education, and dialogue. We pursue our mission with two core programs: The annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival celebrates and promotes authentic authorship and representation that uplifts, empowers, and furthers the liberty, culture, and justice of 2SLGBTQIA+ people. The award-winning Out In Schools program brings age-appropriate 2SLGBTQIA+ cinema into school classrooms and communities across BC to combat anti-trans and anti-gay sentiments and bullying, and to provide the language and tools for inclusion. Out On Screen works to create an equitable society where 2SLGBTQIA+ people are respected, valued, and protected across all our intersections of identity. www.outonscreen.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/queerfilmfest
Instagram: https://instagram.com/queerfilmfest

VANCOUVER, BC August 14, 2025 — The Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) has announced the entire lineup for their 37th annual edition, which will take place in person September 11-21, 2025 and online September 22-28, 2025. The program features 100 films from 25 countries centering 2SLGBTQIA+ creators and stories, including 12 world premieres, 6 international premieres, 7 North American premieres, and 21 Canadian premieres across 26 features and 74 short films. The Festival will also feature parties, performances, post-screening Q&As with filmmakers and special guests, and an exciting new slate of industry events. 

Led by new Artistic Director Mary Galloway, the Festival will kick off with the Opening Presentation: Then. Now. Forever., an electrifying collection of 7 short films from across 2SLGBTQIA+ communities that celebrate queer past, present, and futures.

“Stories are medicine,” says Galloway. “This year’s program honours our past and makes space for the queer and trans voices rising now. It’s about who we are, how we got here, and where we are going.”

This year signals a pivotal shift in leadership with Galloway, a Cowichan filmmaker, at the helm as the Festival’s first Indigenous and Indigiqueer Artistic Director. Under Galloway’s direction, VQFF shifts to an Indigenized vision that highlights Two Spirit and Indigiqueer stories and artists. The 2025 Festival artwork is designed by Vancouver-based Cowichan artist Charlene Johnny, blending traditional Coast Salish art with contemporary queer and Indigenous symbolism. Galloway introduces the new Matriarch of the Year Award (MOTY Award) honouring an Indigiqueer or Two Spirit (2S) Matriarchal leader in the film and television industry across Turtle Island who has made a significant impact on Indigenous and 2SLGBTQIA+ storytelling with a $5,000 cash prize. VQFF also proudly presents the hometown premiere of the Indigenous feature-length musical drama STARWALKER directed by Corey Payette, about an Indigiqueer Two Spirit call boy finding family and identity through drag. VQFF’s commitments to uplifting and championing Indigenous stories and voices are woven throughout the Festival experience, which takes place on the unceded, ancestral lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

This year’s Centrepiece Presentation: JUST KIDS is a timely and powerful documentary about three families living in states that have banned gender-affirming care. Directed by documentarian and journalist Gianna Toboni and featuring Jacklyn Toboni (The L Word: Generation Q), JUST KIDS exposes the inhumane politicization of trans healthcare and its devastating impacts on trans youth and their families.

This year’s program includes 4 feature film world premieres: local documentary A PLACE WHERE I BELONG about a group of people fighting for queer disabled rights directed by Rheanna Toy; queer Muslim filmmaker and actor Pantah Mosleh’s (Eternity) deeply personal documentary PRIDE & PRAYER; sapphic French drama AMANTES directed by Caroline Fournier; and of LA filmmaker Maritza Navarro’s ANOTHER TAKE which exposes a broken film industry. Eight short films will also world premiere, including two films in annual local shorts program The Coast is Queer: Lauren Marsden’s THE PALACE and Ana AJ Jimenez’s JEEZ LOUISE. 

The Festival’s Closing Presentation: FOUR MOTHERS from Darren Thornton, is a heartwarming and moving Irish comedy and the Winner of the Audience Award at the BFI London Film Festival, about a gay novelist who is saddled with the care of his friends’ eccentric, strong-willed mothers over Pride weekend.

Actor and activist Vico Ortiz (Our Flag Means Death, The Sex Lives of College Girls) will be in attendance throughout the festival, moderating several post-screening Q&As with filmmakers and special guests, as well as performing as their drag king persona. Other familiar faces in this year’s program include Elliot Page and Laverne Cox in documentary HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY about trans civil rights attorney Chase Strangio’s fight for gender-affirming care at the Supreme Court; Lea DeLaria (Orange Is the New Black) in feature drama OUTERLANDS and the short OLD DYKES; Asia Kate Dillon (Billions, Orange Is the New Black) in OUTERLANDS; comedians Murray Hill, James Tom, Roz Hernandez and others in WE ARE PAT; comedian Vic Michaelis (Dropout TV) in the opening narrative short DANDELION; and beloved local stars including artist Phranc and business owner Burcu in their respective short documentaries PHRANC: THE BUTCH CLOSET and BURCU’S ANGELS.

This year’s Festival boasts an array of exciting new Industry programs and initiatives, including the inaugural VQFF Pitch Competition, which is accepting applicants now until August 17, 2025. Special guests from the hit sapphic horror show Yellowjackets will feature in the panel “Eat You(r Heart) Out: Queer Horror with Yellowjackets”. VQFF will also offer 1:1 Industry Speed-Dating; panels with major Canadian film funding bodies (“Funding Your Project”) and Canada’s largest networks, broadcasters, and streaming platforms (“Selling Your Project”); and several industry networking socials. VQFF is once again offering a limited number of free all-access industry passes to equity-deserving and emerging 2SLGBTQIA+ filmmakers and students, as well as free ticketing for self-identified Indigenous folks.

VQFF has once again partnered with the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (September 4-14, 2025) to co-present a queer Latine shorts program (“Through Our Kaleidoscope”) and the Opening Weekend Party: Fuego Fogo on September 13, 2025. VQFF is also bringing back The Future is Queer: Youth Programs co-presented by our sibling program Out In Schools and The Cinematheque, which includes two days of FREE youth programs and school-group screenings aimed at increasing young people’s access to transformative 2SLGBTQIA+ stories.

The 2025 Festival program was curated by Artistic Director Mary Galloway; programmers Cole Forrest, Kathleen Mullen, Layla Cameron, and Syriah Bailey; VQFF Program Coordinator Maiya Dexel. The Future is Queer: Youth Programs at VQFF was curated with additional support from outgoing Education Director Gavin K Somers, Out In Schools Program Manager Danny Lybbert, and Chelsea Birk (Learning and Outreach Director at The Cinematheque).

MORE INFORMATION:
Download our Media Kit
Browse the full program: www.queerfilmfestival.ca
All individual tickets are sliding scale from $7-$21.
Passes and tickets are on sale now.
Festival Pass is available at $100 (accessible pricing) or $195 (regular price). Select films will be available to stream online within BC.
Digital Pass is $100

–

For media inquiries or further information, please contact:
media@outonscreen.com
Apply for Media Accreditation

–

About Out On Screen

Out On Screen illuminates, celebrates, and transforms 2SLGBTQIA+ lives through film, education, and dialogue. We pursue our mission with two core programs: The annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival celebrates and promotes authentic authorship and representation that uplifts, empowers, and furthers the liberty, culture, and justice of 2SLGBTQIA+ people. The award-winning Out In Schools program brings age-appropriate 2SLGBTQIA+ cinema into school classrooms and communities across BC to combat anti-trans and anti-gay sentiments and bullying, and to provide the language and tools for inclusion. Out On Screen works to create an equitable society where 2SLGBTQIA+ people are respected, valued, and protected across all our intersections of identity. www.outonscreen.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/queerfilmfest
Instagram: https://instagram.com/queerfilmfest

The 37th annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival takes place September 11-21, 2025 (online Sept 22-28) and will feature 100 bold, beautiful films from 25 countries. Led by new Artistic Director Mary Galloway (she/they), this year’s programme is a vibrant celebration of 2SLGBTQIA+ presence and ways of being—past, present, and future. Our lineup proudly affirms: we have always existed–then, now, forever.

“As a Cowichan woman and the first Indigenous Artistic Director at Out On Screen, it is my honour to lead with an Indigenized vision—one that centres Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer, and matriarchal voices; uplifts our communities; and acknowledges the unceded lands on which we gather. From our Festival artwork by Charlene Johnny, to a new Matriarch Of The Year Award, to the many Indigenous stories and films highlighted across the entire programme: these commitments are woven throughout the Festival experience.” – Mary Galloway, Artistic Director

VQFF 2025’s creative artwork was conceptualized and illustrated by Charlene Johnny (she/her), a Coast Salish artist based in Vancouver, from the Quw’utsun Tribes. Her interdisciplinary practice spans graphic design, murals, traditional jewelry, and weaving. She blends ancestral teachings with contemporary expression. Through public art and community projects, she creates spaces for cultural connection, resistance, and storytelling.

Artist Statement

“This piece brings together traditional Coast Salish art forms with contemporary symbolism to honour Indigiqueer, queer, and Two-Spirit identities. A central raven carries sweetgrass, a medicine of connection, ceremony, and healing, while a yellow sun radiates warmth and life. Below, a canoe of paddlers reflects the strength of community and introspection. Figures with varied silhouettes represent the fluidity and diversity of our stories. Cedar and sage frame the image, grounding it in our medicines and mirroring the spirit of reflection central to both cinema and cultural resurgence. Layered with Pride-inspired colour and meaning, the artwork is a celebration of transformation, kinship, and joy.” – Charlene Johnny

Out On Screen would additionally like to thank Chase Gray who consulted on this project, and our designers at CoEffect Creative who assisted with art direction and adapted Charlene’s work across numerous formats.

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The 37th annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival takes place September 11-21, 2025 in person (online Sept 22-28) with film screenings, industry events, parties, and more. The full programme and ticket sales launch on August 14, 2025.

Sign up to receive Festival Updates directly in your inbox!

MEDIA RELEASE

July 12, 2022

2022 LINEUP FOR VANCOUVER QUEER FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCED

FULL FESTIVAL PROGRAMME GUIDE RELEASED

ALONGSIDE MORE THAN 90 FILMS

FESTIVAL PASSES AND TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW AT WWW.QUEERFILMFESTIVAL.CA

DOWNLOAD MEDIA IMAGES

DOWNLOAD PRESS RELEASE

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) released today its complete lineup for the 11-day online and in-person film festival taking place August 11–21, which includes the best in queer film from local and international artists. 97 films from 20 countries are featured at this 34th Festival presented by RBC, along with in-person celebrations featuring local performing artists, post-screening Q&As with filmmakers, and industry and community workshops. Purchase all-access Festival Passes, online-only Digital Passes, or individual tickets at queerfilmfestival.ca. Browse the full programme online or in the PDF of the print Festival guide. 

“In the early days of Out On Screen, the act of 2SLGBTQIA+ people unapologetically taking up physical space and putting our films on the big screen was revolutionary. This year’s theme “Make It Yours” is not just an echo of the DIY spirit this Festival was founded upon, but also a roar for our collective future. Our shared experiences and collective dreams are returning to our screens—big and small—again in this year’s wonderful program. I hope you find something you need in these beautiful films.” – Executive Director, Brandon Yan.

The Festival’s Opening Gala screening is the local premiere of Dave Rodden-Shortt’s feature documentary The Empress of Vancouver, an ode to local drag icon Oliv Howe, crowned the 10th Empress of the Vancouver Dogwood Monarchist Society in 1981. In the 80s, Oliv’s punk rock energy, gender-bending performances and DIY glam aesthetic spoke to a political and artistic shift in Vancouver’s drag community. This proudly local documentary brings to light queer artistic legacies and histories that have previously been unseen. This film will be available exclusively in person on opening night, with a fabulous queer royalty-themed Opening Night Party to follow the screening.

Our local shorts program The Coast Is Queer returns for its 25th anniversary year, available in person and online. Also returning are shorts programs: Obidian: Black Queer Cinema, subtitled AS I AM, and Two Spirit and Indigiqueer Cinema, which has been expanded into two shorts programs this year, A Brave and Tender Lineage and Sovereign Bodies.

This Festival proudly presents the Canadian premiere of French film Besties (Les Meilleures), a beautifully shot coming-of-age drama about two young women from opposing groups in suburban Paris navigating womanhood and queer identity. Other prominent feature film programs include local documentary Emergence: Out of the Shadows on navigating queer identity in South Asian families; ground-breaking Filipinx drama Metamorphosis on intersex identity; the delightfully absurdist, queer body-swap comedy Homebody; our Youth Gala film Being Thunder about a Two Spirit teen of the Narragansett tribe; Afrofuturist sci-fi musical Neptune Frost; and Lebanese documentary Sirens about the first and only all-women Middle Eastern thrash metal band.

VQFF’s closing feature is Dramarama, a heartfelt comedy and instant classic about a group of graduating theatre kids in 1994 spending one last slumber party together where tensions and true identities come to light. This in-person only screening is the perfect theatre-going experience to close out the Festival.

In addition to in-person and video-on-demand screenings, VQFF will be hosting its first in-person celebrations in three years, the Opening Night Party and The Coast is Queer 25th Anniversary Celebration, and three workshops on queer arts practice and community-building: Queer Collective: VQFF Programers Talk; We’re Here We’re Queer, Let’s Activate!; and Out In Schools: Beyond SOGI.

For ticketing details, including pricing, and the complete Festival lineup, along with screening dates and times, please visit www.queerfilmfestival.ca.

For interview requests and additional images, please contact Michael Ianni at michael@praid.ca

For more information, please visit the following platforms:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/queerfilmfest 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/VancouverQFF 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/queerfilmfest 

#VQFF2022

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Media Contact

Michael Ianni | Festival Publicist | michael@praid.ca | 604.345.7689

About Out On Screen

Out On Screen is a charitable organization that illuminates, celebrates, and advances queer lives through film, education, and dialogue. The Vancouver Queer Film Festival creates a dynamic platform for queer cinema that reflects a diversity of experiences while connecting and strengthening our communities. The award-winning Out In Schools program brings age-appropriate queer cinema into school classrooms to combat homophobia, transphobia, and bullying, and to provide the language and tools for inclusion. Out On Screen is proud to be among the leaders in Canada working to create an equitable society where sexual and gender diversity are embraced. www.outonscreen.com 

An interview with Volunteer Ryan Lim

Volunteers are an integral part of Out On Screen and the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. Volunteers have taken on a variety of roles over the past 33 years, from being the first friendly face to scan your ticket as you enter a venue, to preparing packages behind the scenes, to representing the Festival at the Pride Parade, to even providing tech support during our first digital Festival last year. Our Board is also all volunteer – helping to steward the organization as we work to fulfill our mission

As a past volunteer at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, I have experienced firsthand how the festival fosters a sense of community and friendship. Not to mention, I learned a lot about myself and gained valuable skills through volunteering. For many folks, the Festival is their celebration of Pride. Recently, I sat down (virtually) with longtime VQFF volunteer and recipient of the 2020 Volunteer Service Award, Ryan Lim (he/him), to discuss what volunteering means for him, and what has him coming back to join us at VQFF every summer.

Hey Ryan, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Ryan. I go by the pronouns he/him. I’ve been a volunteer with Out On Screen and VQFF for seven years now, going onto my eighth. Outside of the Festival, I’m in marketing and communications work. I’ve done a lot of work (and volunteering) within the film and the entertainment industry, so this whole festival is definitely in my wheelhouse.

Do you remember when you first discovered the Vancouver Queer Film Festival and Out On Screen? How did you first get involved with volunteering?

I didn’t actually come out until I was in my early 30’s, so it was definitely a bit later in life. I’ve always been into film, but my experiences with queer cinema were very limited. Back in the day, as I started to come to terms with identity and became more comfortable with it, I think that’s when I started to be more open to it. One particular year—I don’t remember the exact age, but it definitely would have been a year or two before I actually came out—I noticed the Festival and decided to go see a film. I had a really good experience, and then a couple years later when I finally was out, I thought, oh, now what do I do? I thought back to when I saw that film at the Festival, and I thought volunteering for this Festival would be a great idea because I had volunteered at other film festivals before and had really enjoyed the experience.

Do you have a favourite memory from volunteering?

So many throughout the years—it’s hard to pinpoint one! Maybe it’s not one specific memory, but I’ve just met so many great people at the Festival over the years. There have been some years where I’ve met people that I’ve maintained good friendships with still to this day. That’s a big thing for me that has kind of come out of the Festival; sometimes you participate in these things and you meet people, but maybe you don’t keep in touch with them, or maybe you just see them at the Festival the next year. But it’s nice that I’ve actually kept in touch and become good friends with some of the people that I’ve met at the Festival.

Do you have a favorite film or program from your years of volunteering?

I always remember this one film that I saw really early on, it was called Jongens (Boys). I believe it was one of the first films that I saw. I think it was even maybe the first year that I volunteered, or if it wasn’t the first year, one of the very early years. It was this coming of age film about two teenage relay race runners and their journey to self discovery with one another. I just remember seeing it and it was really impactful. It was a really well made film, and also I hadn’t seen a lot of these coming of age films at the time. Seeing it in the theatre with all these people, in this atmosphere where you’re surrounded by people that you feel really safe and comfortable with, it was just this amazing experience that I always remember. 

In your own words, why do you volunteer with Out On Screen?

I volunteer because I love to be a part of the community and give back. I know the Festival and all these events, they can’t run without volunteers, and I enjoy being apart of it. I’m also not necessarily the person that just goes out and just talks to people. I kind of need a structured thing, and volunteering provides that kind of really great opportunity. As a volunteer, you’re there to work and help out, but at the same time you can socialize and meet people that you have things in common with or relate to. That’s one of the things that definitely brings me back to the Festival, and it’s something that I look forward to every year.

You’ve been volunteering with us for quite some time, so I wanted to ask, with all your years of being part of the Festival and engaging with staff, attendees and other volunteers, how have you seen the Festival and Out On Screen change?

It is interesting because I’ve volunteered for so many years, that I’ve almost seen the majority of the staff at the Festival change. The Festival itself, from the time I’ve done it, I wouldn’t say has changed that much. Every year there’s different programs, different spotlights in different areas, but the Festival itself I feel has been pretty consistent. 

It’s been interesting to see the staff of the Festival change, but I have to say that even though it’s changed, it’s always such a great group of people. I think every single Executive Director that I’ve worked with, from Drew to Stephanie to now Brandon — they’ve all had this great vision of their own for the Festival which they’ve carried through. 

Is there anything you’d like to say to folks who are interested in getting involved as a volunteer?

I think you’ll get out of the experience what you put in. You might have a particular position or role that’s not very lively, but at the same time, if you’re in that atmosphere and you’re around other volunteers, I feel like, you put forward what you want to get out of it. I found that I’ve always had a great experience because I’ve gone in, like, okay, this can be a really exciting, really busy shift, or maybe this one’s going to be really slow, and that’ll be an opportunity to chat with and get to know other volunteers and hear about their experiences and such, which I think is also a big part of volunteering.

Our 2021 festival theme is Longing – something that touches upon both the sense of loss and nostalgia after the past year and half in the pandemic, as well as the hope and joy ahead of us as a community. What is something you long for or are looking forward to?

I’m sure lots of people would say the same thing: emerging from this cocoon, being able to start seeing your family and friends more, getting to do some of the things that you haven’t been able to do for the last year and a half. Things that before, you wouldn’t have even thought about, or you definitely would have taken for granted. Something as simple as going to see a movie or attend the Festival. For me, it’s things like going to the theatre or going to a concert. The way you interact with people has been so different, and so, even if things don’t necessarily go back to exactly the way they were before, I think the idea of just being able to connect and do some of the things that we haven’t been able to for this period of time is definitely something that I’m looking forward to.

Are You Looking to Volunteer? 

With both remote and in person opportunities available, there’s something for everyone, no matter where you are in the province. Pre-Festival opportunities include Website Testing, Mailout, Festival Guide Distribution and more. During the Festival we will have opportunities like Tech Support, Photographer, Bartenders, and more! 

Volunteer perks include free screening tickets, our VQFF 2021 t-shirt, and our annual Volunteer Appreciation Party. 

For more information, or to register, visit our website or reach out to our Volunteer Coordinators, Jarred & Muhan at volunteer@outonscreen.com.