Carabiners, karaoke nights, climbing legends, drag royalty, and resilient communities come together to create a program that highlights the power of queerness. Celebrate our past, present, and future through the stories of inspiring real-life icons.

Guests: Gianna Mazzeo

A tongue-in-cheek, historical documentary / fashion film hybrid that takes viewers on a journey through queer history to trace the origins of the carabiner as a lesbian symbol.

At a rural Vermont dive bar called Babes, Cribbage tournaments overlap with afternoons of karaoke and nights of raucous Queer dance parties.

While waiting in limbo, displaced LGBTQ folks hoping to cross into the United States find support and healing with one another.

Palestinian drag queen, performer, and artist, Sultana of New York, reflects on her journey from Jordan, to Egypt, Lebanon, and New York.

Alpinist Jamie Logan has taken on some of the most dangerous climbs in the world but nothing felt as life-threatening as admitting that she wanted to begin a new life as a woman.

How do you raise a child when your own mother abandoned you? In a remarkable story of healing and forgiveness, Jamaican-American poet and LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin, renowned for performances in Def Poetry Jam and hit solo shows like MotherStruck!, radically re-imagines the essential art of mothering. In seeking her elusive mother—a trail that leads to Brooklyn, Montreal, Cologne and, finally, Jamaica—Staceyann and her daughter forge a new sense of home.

The First Women follows a group of women nearing their 60s who live in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro and share a common past: they were a part of the first ever women’s soccer team in Brazil. However, travelling around the world playing football in the 1980s and ‘90s did not guarantee them any notoriety. Today, most of them make their living from informal jobs, such as street vendors, Uber drivers, chefs, and construction workers. The film intimately reflects on the past, while following present day routines alongside consecutive matches played by the Brazilian men’s team in the World Cup. What is revealed is the incredible, and previously ignored, history of the first female national team to represent the country of football.

North American Premiere

Have you had the pleasure of meeting Canada’s gayest family? Unusually Normal (Our Gay Family) follows three generations of women in one family who, get this, are all gay. Set against the backdrop of their loving and wholly authentic household, this family, with over 165,000 devoted TikTok followers, invites you into their world – a world where normal takes on a whole new meaning. As we traverse through three distinct eras alongside these extraordinary women, we witness their unwavering resilience in the face of adversity. From navigating the tumultuous waters of homophobia to grappling with profound family loss and navigating the complexities of clandestine love, theirs is a story of triumph against all odds.

World Premiere

Singer Dalton Harris’s dreams came true when he won The X Factor in the UK in 2018. But the joy of winning was mixed with pain when people back home in Jamaica threatened boycotts and violence against him, perceiving Dalton to be gay after seeing a photo of him sitting on a man’s lap. This compelling and honest documentary by acclaimed director Kim Longinotto and newcomer Franky Murray Brown looks at a talented artist working to overcome a childhood filled with poverty and violence and find success in the face of mental health challenges, amidst the struggle to be open about his sexuality.

This film contains discussions around homophobia.

Canadian Premiere

Filmed during The Teaches of Peaches anniversary tour in 2022, this documentary seamlessly weaves together exclusive archival gems with dynamic tour footage, capturing the transformative journey of local superstar Merrill Nisker into the internationally acclaimed cultural powerhouse Peaches. From the inception of the stage show to the rigorous rehearsals and riveting performances, the film provides an intimate look at the inner workings of a tour led by this beloved and globally celebrated icon. Her fearless originality has challenged social norms, dismantled stereotypes, and confronted patriarchal power structures. Through biting wit, she advocates for LGBTQIA+ rights and tackles issues of gender and sexual identity, leaving an indelible mark on popular culture.