Queer – Page 9 – Nicolas Demers

Vancouver Queer Film Festival Review: Beautiful Rejects

A few short films on the theme of love and rejection.

I’m In The Mood For Love

A singing telegram in a restaurant to try to win your ex back? The singer was way cute and had a lovely voice, but the film was so-so. Nice hat, though!

Teddy

A teddy bear becomes a symbol of a failed relationship. I’m not sure what I should read from the subtext: did Neil really want to keep the teddy bear? Would keeping it mean that he and his ex (Peter?) really were through? Or that he’d have no more reason to visit New Zealand? I’ll tell you, though, I did get emotional when I saw the teddy sitting all alone at the train station!

A Dragged-Out Affair

The first rule of drag is: drag queens do not fall in love with each other! In this pants-wettingly hilarious film, two queens from rival clubs fall for each other and start a war between their respective clans. Slapfights, hyper-stylised dance-offs, hilarity and arson ensue. Also, I learned how drag queens make love. It apparently involves locks and keys and feathers.

Single Mother

Another bit of over-the-top silliness. Our unnamed hero wants to have a child so badly he’ll do almost anything—nannying, adoption. But is he destined to go through increasingly weird dreams of babies just out of reach? Will our hero ever find a child to love, or will a hunky father move in next door and start a family with him? Oh, sorry, did I just spoil it?

Go-Go Reject

Skinny geeks represent! Daniel dreams of being a go-go dancer, but no club will hire him because he’s too skinny. Undaunted, he puts together his own dance troupe of skinny guys and shows everyone that sexy comes in all sizes.

(Although let’s face it, the actors are only skinny compared to the usual buff go-go boys. I still appreciate the message!)

Vancouver Queer Film Festival Review: Gun Hill Road

I didn’t originally plan to go see this movie, since it looked a little too grim and gritty for my taste. But then I ended up winning tickets at the Summer Fling grass tournament last week so hey, I guess I was going to see it after all!

Gun Hill Road is the story of three people: Enrique, recently out of prison and trying to rebuild his life; his bright and creative son Michael, who is transitioning into Vanessa; Enrique’s wife Angela, the ever-suffering voice of reason, determined to keep the family together and protect Vanessa.

I was right, this was definitely a challenging movie. Enrique’s stubborn macho pride crashes head-on into Vanessa’s insistence to live life her own way, and the hard realities of working for a living and putting up with idiot bosses.

And, even more tragically, Enrique wastes no time getting together with his old posse, and getting up to the same tricks that got him sent “up North” in the first place. Even worse was beating the crap out of another ex-con, which ended up getting him arrested again. There’s a lot that wasn’t said, but it’s implied that Enrique was raped in prison, more pain that a macho guy like him can only express through violence and fierce control.

Not that Vanessa comes out a whole lot better, in my opinion, because she also does a whole lot of stupid shit. Some of it can be excused by her youth and naivete, but really, getting shot up with bootleg hormones and whatever the hell that stuff was to give her a fuller ass? On the other hand, her experience with her boyfriend was as much exploring her sexuality as anything else, and she does eventually find self-respect.

Enrique and Vanessa do eventually take the first steps towards reconciliation, or at least lack of conflict, but by then it’s far too late. And I started wondering, was this all for nothing? Has Enrique made too many mistakes that he can no longer find his way? Has Vanessa learned anything from their brief truce, or is she more convinced than ever that her life’s better off without an overbearing father? A bit depressing, maybe, but that’s life. There are no easy answer, only choices, and their consequences.

Vancouver Queer Film Festival Review: To Faro

And we’re off! The VQFF started with… well, not a bang, exactly, but a nice low-key burn. To Faro is a subtitled German film (original title: Mein Freund Aus Faro, or My Friend From Faro) about a young butch lesbian who falls in love with a teenage girl (who thinks she’s a guy named Miguel) while her oblivious family thinks she’s dating a guy. Also named Miguel.

This was an interesting movie, about one-third comedy and two-thirds drama. I almost called it a tragedy, because you can see the shit coming a mile away, but that’d be a little over the top. Still, even though the queer character doesn’t die at the end (hey, progress!), this is not a movie where the girl gets the girl. As much as I hoped for a happy ending*, there was no way Mel and Jenny would end up together.

(* The VQFF site described it as “Boys Donâ€™t Cry with a happy ending”. Yeah. No.)

It wasn’t an entirely sad ending, mind you, just… bittersweet, and very open-ended. Mel decides she’s had enough of her empty life, the go-nowhere job she just quit, the family that doesn’t understand her, the homophobic snots surrounding the love interest who doesn’t love her back, and decides to pack up and move to Portugal. To Faro, in particular, where both her imaginary Miguels come from? Will Nuno, her partner in lies, join her in her travels, or will he talk her into staying? We don’t know, and I suspect we’re supposed to write our own endings.

Which is okay with me, and I have a feeling Mel will be all right. She’s tasted love, and tasted heartbreak, and has something to shoot for besides lying in fields, watching planes take off and land.

PS: And hey, this was my first VQFF opening gala! The movie was preceded by a couple speeches, and a showing of the very very awesome winner of the Out in Schools Anti-Homophobia PSA contest, the very very awesome makers of which were in the audience.

PPS: And then I swung by Club 560 for the opening gala party, but I didn’t stay long. I did enjoy the technicolor cotton candy, though!

Davie Village Walk with Gordon Price

How and why is Davie Village a gay neighbourhood? How did gays shape it? And where is it going in the 21st century? All these questions and more were answered last night in a guided history walk hosted by Gordon Price, city councillor from 1986–2002, writer and consultant, who came to Vancouver in 1978 as a fresh-faced gay man.

We started out by English Bay Beach, which was a gay cruising ground back in 1978, known apparently as “the pansy patch.” It wasn’t the only one, though, and gay territories would shift over the years. Cruising spots like parks, beaches and bars were the first gay-identified spaces; it was in these places that gay men explored and celebrated their sexuality, and connected with each other.

(Incidentally: nowadays you could fairly say that everywhere in Davie Village is gay territory.)

Our first stop was corner of Pendrell & Nicola, near Lord Roberts Elementary, where we addressed the question, why here? What made this neighbourhood one that gay men would choose? Well, there were a few factors: lots of rental space (mostly 1-bedroom apartments), plenty of bars and entertainment nearby, and good transit—perfect for a mobile, unattached population with disposable income looking to hook up. You’ll find similar conditions pretty much all gay ghettoes around the world.

We segued into a discussion of the physical history of the Village’s houses and buildings. That street corner was an excellent vantage point to see all the layers, all the decades side by side: a circa-1890 2 ½ storey house just up the street, a lovely 1920’s apartment building on the corner (the Princess Charlotte), plainer highrises built in the 60’s and 70’s… It’s all there.

The Village saw massive construction in the 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s: many of these old homes were razed to make way for modern apartments, communities were displaced, and it was a very traumatic time. But let’s not romanticise the past: these new apartments had running water, electricity, privacy, and at least a kitchenette. Compared to the overcrowded old heritage houses, pretty and historic though they were, this must have been heaven.

Besides, it’s what made it possible for gays to settle here. Can’t argue with results like that.

Next stop: St Paul’s Church, where we discussed the rise of street prostitution in the West End in the 70’s and early 80’s. Long story short, prostitutes (all genders) and their johns were creating a massive nuisance for residents, many of whom by now had a stake in their community, and perceived a very real risk of the Village turning into a red light district. They formed a group, Concerned Residents Of the West End, which succeeded in driving street prostitution out of the West End through some interesting legal tricks. Here again, it was the gays that took charge and reinvented their neighbourhood.

One last short walk, ending up at Bute and Davie. In the shadow of J Lounge and Hamburger Mary’s—checking out the fierce drag queens and pretty muscle boys—we recapped all we’d seen, and asked ourselves where it was all going. Would Davie Village still stay gay? Will young gay men have as easy a time finding a place here as they did 30 years ago?

Bottom line: it’s impossible to tell. The West End has continually reinvented itself, and will continue to do so as long as it exists. New people, new communities, new ideas will pour in; the neighbourhood will absorb them and weave something from the old and the new.

This morning I took the long route to my bus stop, walking up Nicola to Georgia. It was a beautiful stretch, mostly heritage homes and low-rises, until I hit Robson, and then BAM! Back in the big city. The West End is truly a special place, and I feel more connected to it than ever. I am very, very lucky to live where I live, to be part of something like this.

Not a bad way to kick off Pride Week!

Wave of Pink

On June 14, the Burnaby school board voted on an anti-homophobia and anti-heterosexism policy, and a rally in support was planned. Now, there had already been pro-homophobia rallies, so would we have to face a counter-rally? In a way I kind of wanted one: let’s be honest, part of me likes a clear-cut, good-vs-evil confrontation every now and then.

Back in 1997 I joined the SFU queer group to protest the blatantly ideological and oppressive banning of gay children’s books by the mostly right-wing Surrey school board. It was a frustrating and infuriating experience because the board ignored us, ignored all protestors, and just went on with their censorship. (Though there is a happy ending: a few years later (and a round in Canada’s Supreme Court), the ban was overturned)

This is not 1997, and this was not Surrey. On June 14, the Burnaby school board voted on an anti-homophobia and anti-heterosexism policy, and a rally in support was planned. Now, there had already been pro-homophobia rallies, so would we have to face a counter-rally? In a way I kind of wanted one: let’s be honest, part of me likes a clear-cut, good-vs-evil confrontation every now and then.

No homophobes showed up that day, though, except that one guy from the Mormon church across the street, probably looking to see what all the noise was about. Instead there was dancing and singing and beautiful inspirational speeches, by David C Jones, Spencer & Romi Chandra Herbert, and parents or kids from Burnaby gay-straight alliances. The weather was overcast and cool-ish, but the rain held out. Still by 7 (when the board actually met to vote), the entertainment was over and I was ready to go. I (and the 150–200 others) had done all we could, now it was up to the trustees to do the right thing.

Which they did, unanimously. Now bigotry has lost a battle, and queer/trans kids will be a bit safer, at least in Burnaby.

Lock Up Your Sons and Daughters

Bill Taylor put together a collection of old anti-gay propaganda to educate and entertain. easy to laugh, and in fact that’s part of the point. Laughter is the best medicine, and celebrating how far we’ve come is part of Gay Pride. But it’s also important to learn how our enemies think, and what they tell people about us.

Bill Taylor put together this collection of old anti-gay propaganda to educate and entertain. It’s easy to laugh, and in fact that’s part of the point: laughter is the best medicine, and celebrating how far we’ve come is part of Gay Pride. But it’s also important to learn how our enemies think, and what they tell people about us. David C Jones (in one of the many, many introductory speeches) pointed out that Evil wins too often because Good is dumb. Sorry, no, I meant because Evil is organised; Evil hates and fears and is authority-driven, while Good is just out to do good and have fun. Proposition 8 passed in California because of big money and lies propagated in part by the Mormon Church and NOM and a lot of people weren’t worried because, hey, it’s California! Likewise, few expected the Conservatives to get a majority, and now look at us.

Plus, we need to remember that these movies are still being made today. The lines have probably shifted a bit—I haven’t seen any recent anti-gay movie, but I bet they go on against same-sex marriage more than the evils of homo sex per se—but the message hasn’t changed.

Boys Beware

Apparently all homosexuals in the 50’s/60’s wear suits and have little creepy thin mustaches. This infomercial lays out the horrifying truth about how homos prey on good wholesome sports-playing American boys, and they (the boys) need to beware: don’t get in strangers’ cars, don’t accept gifts, don’t spend time with creepy guys without your parents’ permission, etc… It’s as deadly-earnest as you’d expect from a short of that era.

And hey, Boys Beware is available on YouTube!

Soapy The Germ Fighter

Equally old, this one features a boy who’s worried that excessive washing-up will make him a sissy. A talking bar of soap appears to him in a dream telling him that washing up isn’t sissy, cowboys totally do it, and goes on a bit about germs and why it’s important to fight them. This cutesy film is in the same vein as the old educational shorts shown on MST3K, like A Case Of Spring Fever. It’s not anti-gay, though, except insofar as sissiness is perceived as a valid fear.

Highlight 1: the soundtrack from The Nutcracker.

Highlight 2: Soapy recommends that women wash their hair at least every two weeks. But that part is (IIRC) because shampoos were very harsh and damaged the hair. Hence the need for perms.

Watch it for yourself!

William’s Doll

Fast-forward to 1981, and the touching tale (adapted from a book) of a boy who wants a doll for his birthday. Amidst the horrible acting and clunky writing, there’s actually a nice message here: dolls aren’t just girls’ toys, it’s okay for boys to express affection too, and the final scene shows that doll-playing isn’t turning William into a “sissy,” because he’s just as happy playing football and digging up dirt with his Tonka™ truck.

Which makes me wonder why this movie was included, since it’s not anti-gay at all. Mind you, I wouldn’t call it pro-gay, but it’s definitely pro-flexible-gender-roles.

Highlight: The toy train scene, where I’m pretty sure I saw some old Star Wars action figures (Greedo, especially, caught my eye). Ah, that brought me back, I totally played with them back in the day.

Perversion For Profit

Back to the 60’s now, with a deadly serious short going on (with pictures!) about how pornography is ruining the moral fiber of our country. And by “our country” I mean of course “America”. To be fair, this film features equal-opportunity fearmongering, giving equal time to girlie, S/M and physique mags.

Highlight 1: those hilarious little taped bars, blotting out eyes, nipples, asses and crotches of the models.

Highlight 2: the porn industry is controlled by Communism.

Watch it on YouTube: Part 1, Part 2

The Gay Agenda

This film was done in 1992 by some anti-gay group in California (I think), and so can’t be dismissed so easily. It features a couple of talking heads discussing oh so calmly why sexual orientation shouldn’t be a protected status under the law, because it’s a choice and gays are a health hazard, the latter backed up with all sorts of statistics: 95% of homosexuals have enjoyed fellatio, 92% anal sex, 35% have done fisting… Honestly, I forget the exact numbers, I’m making it up as I go along. Just like them.

Also, just to shock those decent church-going viewers, shots from Pride parades. You know the drill: half-naked men humping each other, topless women, leather doms dragging their slaves on a leash, dildo-wearing drag nuns, juxtaposed with pictures of kids at those parades. One little girl looked cranky and crying; Gawd knows what the audience was thinking when they saw her.

In addition we get to hear from a couple of “ex-gays”: what’s interesting is that both these guys are young, pretty and a little flaming, though obviously toning it down, while the stats-spouting talking heads look like regular straight guys. I didn’t realize it at first, but just like the parade scenes, this is designed to visually push buttons with the audience: at best, the producers wanted guys who looked stereotypically gay enough so that the audience would buy their story. At worst, it implies that ex-gays are still not really straight, and no matter what they do or say they can’t be considered normal.

Highlight: one of the “ex-gays” getting just a bit too excited when talking about bathhouses. You can bet that got a laugh from the audience.

Conclusion

Out of these five movies, three are gold, exactly what I signed up for. Two are not. They’re funny and cheesy as all hell, yes, but they’re not anti-gay by any stretch of the imagination. And while googling this show, I found references to a couple of other anti-gay shorts that for some reason were not shown tonight: Neurotic Behavior—A Psychodynamic View (via Hummingbird604), and Red Light, Green Light: Meeting Strangers (mentioned on the event’s Facebook page, and viewable online here). I wish we’d gotten the chance to see those.

High School Confidential

The Out on Screen Society does a lot more than put out quality queer cinema. They also run Out in Schools, a program to put queer films in schools all across the province, to facilitate discussion and fight homophobia and bullying. The news have been full of stories of gay teens committing suicide due to bullying—and don’t think it doesn’t happen in Canada. That’s why Out in Schools is such a vital program, because it may be the difference between life and death for some students.

But in spite of the seriousness, there was a lot of fun to be had. Yummy baked goods, a stint in detention where you might have to do lines or get spanked by a nun, dressing up as a nerd or jock, it all adds up to a freaky fetishy fantasy of a high school that never was, where queer is either just another word or the word of the day. And it was awesome. Looking back I probably should have dressed up, if only putting tape on the bridge of my glasses or something, but oh well.

And then you had the cabaret acts. Because these days you can’t put “high school” and “queer” together without it adding up to “Glee,” the first act was a chorus doing “Don’t Stop Believing”. Then you had the usual gamut: a couple drag acts, a truly awesome gardening-themed stripper, a nerdy librarian who tries to keep it classy but can’t help stripping, and a poetry reading. Great fun.

Apologies for the low quality, all I had was my iPhone and the light level wasn’t too good.

Vancouver International Fringe Festival

I don’t think I’d ever gone to a Fringe show before, and this year I went to two! It should have been three, but I’d double-booked myself on Friday and missed Morgan Brayton’s Raccoonery. I thought about rescheduling (which would have meant buying another ticket, since Fringe policy clearly states there are no refunds or exchanges), but I’d just come down with a cold, so that plan was kaput. Still, I got to enjoy two really excellent shows:

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Dr. Horrible, live on stage, in front of an audience! And it was awesome. All the scenes, all the songs, plus a few extra surprise ones from Commentary: The Musical, which I’ve never watched so they were brand new (“Ninja Ropes,” “Nobody’s Asian In The Movies”, and “Nobody Wants To Be Moist”). All the classic lines were there, eagerly awaited (“The hammer is my penis.” “The thoroughbred of sin?”), along with a brand new one that got a big laugh from the crowd: when Billy and Moist were discussing truly evil deeds to impress Bad Horse, Moist suggested “slashing funds to the BC arts community.”

(Ooo, politics! See, it’s funny because the Campbell government is evil.)

They did a great job of adapting the action for a small stage with very few actors (for example, in the heist scene the truck was first a tiny remote-controlled one, then left completely offstage.) The actors were fine; the actress playing Penny was a little weaker, and I thought her voice was too soft, but aside from that, no complaints. I absolutely loved the show.

Fucking Stephen Harper

I wasn’t really sure what to expect with Fucking Stephen Harper: How I Sexually Assaulted the 22^nd Prime Minister of Canada and Saved Democracy. I sort of thought we’d get a humorous retelling of the incident where he accidentally touched Stephen Harper’s junk and was charged with sexual assault (though that charge was eventually dismissed). What it turned into was a blistering rant on Canadian Conservative politics, the explicit homophobia of lots of Conservative neanderthals past and present, including the dead-eyed Bush Lite currently running our country, and the apathy of many gay Canadians who think we’ve got it pretty good here. And we do, no question, but there are people in power right now doing their best to turn back the clock and impose their version of Christianity on the country. Whether or not they succeed is up to us.

I really should start on Marci McDonald’s The Armageddon Factor, shouldn’t I?

Vancouver Queer Film Festival: Final Thoughts

Wow, what a trip it’s been. Going to so many screenings and then blogging about them will really take it out of you, but it was so worth it! I’ve seen some truly excellent movies this year, along with some… not so excellent ones. Well, they can’t all be winners, right?

But what made this year different was my decision to see as many movies as humanly possible, and then blog about them. Two years ago, I wrote a single blog post on The Coast Is Queer. One year ago, I wrote one blog post with short reviews of all the movies I saw (all 6 of them.) This year? A separate post for every single movie, in most cases written within a day of the actual showing (and never more than two): the longest, most intense sustained blogging I’ve ever done!

Let’s recap the festival a bit:

Number of shows I’ve seen: 14

Number of nights I did not see a movie: 3, including the opening and closing galas (I had to miss Wednesday night because of volleyball). One day I’ll remember in time that the opening and closing shows are not covered by the festival pass. I already had plans for the 12^th so that couldn’t be helped, but I could have gone to the closing gala. Next year, I promise!

Number of wonderful, lovely people I met during the festival: lots

Favourite feature-length movie: Pornography: A Thriller

Favourite short film: Ooo, tough question. That’d be a tossup between The Heist and That’s Right Diana Barry, You Needed Me

Least favourite feature-length movie: Watercolors

Least favourite short film: No, I’m not going there. There were some shorts that didn’t speak to me, but none that I actively disliked.

Movies that I wanted to see but didn’t get the chance to: Children of God (who everyfuckingbody is still raving about); Gayblevision, which I had originally planned to go see until I realised the Zombie Walk was on that day and it’d be too hard to go all the way to Granville Island in time, and then back downtown to watch The Fish Child; the opening and closing gala screenings, Undertow / Contracorriente and Strella.

Favourite app: Okay, trick question, because there’s only one: the VQFF iPhone app, custom-made by the fine folks at Creative B’stro, the same ones responsible for the VQFF web site. It’s sharp, hip, pretty, and loaded with terrific features. Screening list, venue list, your own schedule, even your choice of pickup lines for when you’re standing next to a cute boy/girl/etc in line for a movie. Pity I could never get the “Compatibility” feature to work, for some reason it wouldn’t connect to other phones. Oh well.

Vancouver Queer Film Festival Review: The Fish Child / El Niño Pez

This is the story of Lala, the teenaged daughter of a rich Buenos Aires judge, and her lover Ailin, a maid in her family’s house. The pair plans to to run away together to Ailin’s family home in Paraguay near Lago Ypoa, but when Lala’s father is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Ailin takes the blame to protect her lover. What will happen to them now? Can they escape the law and live out their dreams?

The Fish Child is a magnificent movie, and the above summary really doesn’t do it justice. The synopsis says “[Director Lucía] Puenzo makes a conscious decision not to make the clandestine lesbian love story the central dilemma. Any stigma attached to the Lalaâ€™s sexual orientation is secondary to the obstacles imposed by Argentinaâ€™s sharp class divide.” And it’s true: nobody’s really shocked at the girls’ relationship, but Ailin has had to endure emotional and sexual abuse from Lala’s father, her own father, the police commissioner, not to mention being a poor member of a racial minority.

But the movie also speaks of the power of love and dreams to take us through those trials. Lala’s plans to escape with Ailin and build a little house by Lake Ypao may seem naive, but after they’re on the run it’s all they have. Maybe that’s enough; the movie leaves that an open question, and that’s okay.

This hasn’t been an easy review to write. A lot of scenes are pretty dark and disturbing, and the exact timeline of events was a bit hard to follow at first. The movie uses flashbacks a lot, and drops the viewers right in the middle of the story. Plus, this is a movie with layers, a lot of which I’m sure I haven’t gotten right now, but which will become clear on a second viewing.