Fest films hail from coast to coast

Now in its ninth year, reelout has become the second-largest queer film and video festival in Ontario

reelout’s opening gala film
Image supplied by: Supplied
reelout’s opening gala film

What began as a few film nights nine years ago has evolved into the second-largest queer film fest in the province.

reelout, Kingston’s queer film festival, is preparing to launch its ninth annual edition of the festival, starting this Thursday. The festival has garnered attention for its cutting-edge films showcasing upcoming filmmakers and for its celebrations, with galas bookending two-weeks of merrymaking.

“It began as a group of concerned citizens, people who were concerned that there wasn’t a very big queer culture [in Kingston], or a place where people could congregate and enjoy queer cinema and each other’s company,” said Rajeevan Rasenthiran.

Rasenthiran, ArtSci ’09, is reelout’s festival and organization assistant, and a member of the 15-person collective that organizes the festival. Two years ago, he was saw a call for reelout volunteers posted at the Grey House.

“Through that I got my current position, as a festival assistant, and a member of the collective,” he said. “It’s an open organization, and I joined because I love film. I wanted to be part of the process of putting together a film festival, and it’s been rewarding. The community is very open.” Over the summer and fall of 2007, the collective met to screen almost 200 films, narrowing them down to the selections that will be appearing this week and next during the festival.

Rasenthiran said when it comes to choosing films, there are a few things festival organizers look for.

“We filter out films for quality, and try to fit them to our theme,” he said.

“We see if we can get a wide variety of Canadian and international films, finding topics within the [realm] of queer identity and gender issues.”

This year in particular, the festival is focusing on representing regions across Canada as part of their “Coast-to-Coast” theme, to show off the diversity of films being made in Canada, and demonstrate the importance of place.

Whether the focus is a young girl’s summer swimming lessons (No Bikini), Toronto’s Fat Femme Mafia rebelling against body norms (Rubb My Chubb), or a prominent Aboriginal artist’s reconciliation with his Two-Spirited identity (Byron Chief-Moon: Grey Horse Rider), this year’s reelout festival is clearly interested in displaying the breadth of Canadian queer identities and experiences.

More than 10 filmmakers will attend the festival to meet audiences and answer questions about their work, such as Vancouver’s Gwen Haworth, whose autobiographical documentary about her male-to-female gender transition, She’s a Boy I Knew is being shown at the Centrepiece Gala at the Etherington Auditorium on Feb. 1.

“I’m excited we’ve got She’s a Boy I Knew, because it’s done really well across the country, and we have Gwen coming,” Rasenthiran said.

Other filmmakers attending the festival include famous Yukon-born gender activist and writer, Ivan E. Coyote, whose short story, No Bikini was made into a nine-minute film being shown this Friday before the opening gala screening.

The festival runs with the help of 25 to 30 volunteers, in addition to the heavily-committed collective. Volunteers do everything from selling and collecting tickets to putting up posters for the festival.

Although many of the positions for this year’s festival are spoken for, there are still a few gaps that need to be filled, especially next week, Rasenthiran said.

Anyone interested in volunteering at reelout should contact the festival’s director, Pam Thompson at pthompson@reelout.com.

For screening times and other box office information, please see page 14.

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