QALEIDOSCOPE will feature Queer and QTBIPOC films that explore, question and play with identity to propose and investigate diverse ways of looking at sexuality, gender and race.
As the titles suggests, QALEIDOSCOPE – will be a well-textured assemblage of images, characters, ideas, and realities that collide in fantastical, personal, and playful ways to produce an ever-changing, multi-faceted queer film viewing experience.
Some of the films focus on image, sound and abstract narratives; others present information, facts, and queerforward realities; while others share the pleasure and pain of individual and collective identities. Even though experimental and artistically rigorous artworks are in abundance, and heavy hitting and thoughtful issues and topics such as feminism, race, racism, class, identity politics, community, colonization, conceptual art, politics, religion, violence, popular culture, gender and of course sexuality are provided for their important role in providing awareness and insight on many levels, transgressive and subversive play is also an important characteristic of several of the films on the tour. This is in keeping with Queer City Cinema’s mandate to reflect hallmarks of queer image making — in this case, film with a decidedly tongue-in-cheek disposition and sensibility; injecting the programming with moments of intelligent, incisive humour – film that pleases and appeases.
QALEIDOSCOPE was conceived to promote the artistic vision of queer Canadian filmmakers whose work might not otherwise be shown within these urban centres in Canada. These works, though falling under the banner of ‘queer’, remain relevant to the broader artistic communities in each of the five cities, not only because of the subject matter broached but also because many of the artists represented float amongst multiple disciplines within the context of the film, visual and performance art. In this sense, artistic rigour and the fluidity of experience are paramount in the programming for the tour.
This will be the sixth tour of the Queer City Cinema’s programming. This tour follows QALEIDOSCOPE – QUEER FILM ON TOUR 2019 to Victoria, Yellowknife, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Thunder Bay. Past tours in 2001, 2002 2005 visited the cities of Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg, while the tour in 2011 went coast to coast visiting the cities of Victoria, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Halifax and St. Johns.
Gary Varro
Executive & Artistic Director
Queer City Cinema Inc.