Before I Change My Mind

Director Trevor Anderson
Year 2022
Run Time 89min
Genre Drama

1987: While the other students wonder if new kid Robin is a boy or a girl, Robin forges a complicated bond with the school bully, making increasingly dangerous choices to fit in.

Director

Trevor Anderson

Writers

Trevor Anderson, Fish Griwkowsky, Katrina Beatty

Cast

Lacey Oake, Dominic Lippa, Vaughan Murrae, Matthew Rankin, Shannon Blanchet

Producers

Alyson Richards, Katrina Beatty

Genre

Drama

Interests

Bullying, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

The Fruit Machine

Director Sarah Fodey
Year 2018
Run Time 81min
Genre Documentary

The homosexual witch-hunt of public servants and military personnel in Canada from the 1950s through the early 1990s and its effects on the people whose lives and careers were disrupted or destroyed by it.

Director

Sarah Fodey

Producers

Han Nguyen, Sarah Fodey, Derek Diorio

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Discrimination, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

Enter the Drag Dragon

Director Lee Demarbre
Year 2023
Run Time 99min
Genre Action/Adventure, Comedy

An amateur detective Drag Queen finds herself heading off with gangsters, zombies, and other bad guys.

Director

Lee Demarbre

Writer

Mark Pollesel

Cast

Jade London

Producer

Lee Demarbre

Genres

Action/Adventure, Comedy

Interest

LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

My Animal

Director Jacqueline Castel
Year 2023
Run Time 104min
Genre Drama, Horror, Romance

Living with a curse that turns her into a wolf if she’s out of the house after midnight, Heather (Menuez) is kept on a tight leash by her overbearing parents. But everything changes when she falls for the new girl in town, Jonny (Stenberg). The two form an instant connection, but as their relationship develops, it causes Heather to rebel, increasing the risk that her secret could be exposed – with disastrous consequences.


A stylish and tense horror-romance, this exciting first feature from director Jacqueline Castel features amazing performances from its two emerging leads, brought together with a cast of Canadian icons.


My Animal marks an impressive, confident feature debut for several key talents.” – Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter

Director

Jacqueline Castel

Writer

Jae Matthews

Cast

Amandla Stenberg, Bobbi Salvör Menuez

Producers

Andrew Bronfman, Michael Solomon

Genres

Drama, Horror, Romance

Interests

Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

The Queen of My Dreams

Director Fawzia Mirza
Year 2023
Run Time 97min
Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance

Azra (Kaur), a young Queer Pakistani-Canadian woman, has long felt disconnected from her mother, Mariam (Bucha). Reuniting in Pakistan for her father’s funeral in 1999, flashbacks to 30 years earlier show a young Mariam (played in a dual role by Kaur) falling in love with Azra’s father, Hassan (Haq). Jumping back and forth between these two coming-of-age stories, the connections between mother and daughter become more and more clear – but will they realise this in time to save their relationship?


Sumptuously capturing the feel of a Bollywood film while telling a relatable cross-continental story, Fawzia Mirza’s impressive debut feature is an instant classic.


“Mirza has created a film bursting with creative energy and distinctive aesthetic sensibilities.” – Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter

Director

Fawzia Mirza

Writer

Fawzia Mirza

Cast

Amrit Kaur

Producers

Marc Tetreault, Jason Levangie, Andria Wilson

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Interests

Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+, Newcomer Stories, Strong Female Leads

Original Languages

English, Other Language

Imran and Alykhan

Director Shakil Jessa
Year 2022
Run Time 14min
Genre Romance
At a Muslim youth retreat, sparks fly between two teenage boys, Imran and Alykhan, but they’re forced to keep their budding relationship a secret.

Director

Shakil Jessa

Genre

Romance

Interests

BIPOC Stories, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

Tom à la ferme (Tom at the Farm)

Director Xavier Dolan
Year 2013
Run Time 102min
Genre Drama, Thriller
A grieving man (Xavier Dolan) travels to a rural farm for his boyfriend’s funeral, where he finds a less than warm welcome from the family, particularly Francis (Pierre-Yves Cardinal), his boyfriend’s brother, whose sadistic and threatening behaviour begins to escalate to dangerous levels.

Director

Xavier Dolan

Cast

Xavier Dolan, Pierre-Yves Cardinal, Lise Roy

Producers

Xavier Dolan, Nathanaël Karmitz, Charles Gillibert

Genres

Drama, Thriller

Interests

LGBTQ2S+, Literary Adaptation

Original Languages

English, French

The Hanging Garden

Director Thom Fitzgerald
Year 1997
Run Time 91min
Genre Drama
Growing up as a depressed, overweight gay teen in Nova Scotia was hard for young William, so he ran away at the age of 15 and never looked back. That is, until ten years later when he returns for his sister’s wedding, and must face the dysfunctional family and oppressive community he thought he had left behind.

A challenging, evocative and artful drama about coming to terms with one’s past, one’s family and one’s identity. The Hanging Garden explores how the choices we make can affect the future — for us, and for those whose lives we touch.

“The heart of the movie is its insight into the way families are haunted by their own history.” — Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times

Director

Thom Fitzgerald

Writer

Thom Fitzgerald

Cast

Chris Leavins, Kerry Fox, Sarah Polley, Joan Orenstein, Seana McKenna

Producers

Thom Fitzgerald, Louise Garfield, Arnie Gelbart

Genre

Drama

Interest

LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

Matthias et Maxime (Matthias & Maxime)

Director Xavier Dolan
Year 2019
Run Time 119min
Genre Drama

At a lakeside retreat, lifelong friends Matthias (Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas) and Maxime (Xavier Dolan) agree to star in a student film in which they have to share a kiss. Matthias, who is in a long-term relationship with a woman, is surprised that the kiss awakens in him unexpected feelings for his friend, causing him to question his own sexuality. As his confusion starts to take over his life, Matthias must try to come to terms with his identity before he loses everything.

This latest film from acclaimed filmmaker Xavier Dolan is a touching story of self-discovery that was nominated for Seven Prix Iris and was named to TIFF's Canada’s Top 10 of the year.

Director

Xavier Dolan

Writer

Xavier Dolan

Cast

Xavier Dolan, Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas

Producers

Xavier Dolan, Nancy Grant

Genre

Drama

Interest

LGBTQ2S+

Original Languages

English, French

Fire

Director Deepa Mehta
Year 1996
Run Time 104min
Genre Drama, Romance
Courageous and emotionally powerful, Fire follows Sita (Nandita Das) and Radha (Shabana Azmi), two women living in New Delhi who are disappointed with their arranged marriages. While Sita is trapped in a relationship with her cruel and unfaithful husband, Jatin (Jaaved Jaafei), Radha is married to his brother, Ashok (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), a religious zealot who believes in suppressing desire. Lonely and lacking in love and passion, the two women begin to seek solace and friendship in each other, only to discover a passionate romantic love that must be kept secret.

When it was released in the late 1990s, Fire’s incendiary subject matter led to protests and government interventions in India. Years later, the internationally acclaimed film is as seductive and moving as ever.

The film won seven awards at film festivals around the world, including "Most Popular Canadian Film" at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
 

Director

Deepa Mehta

Mehta gained acclaim for her trilogy, Fire, Earth and the Oscar-nominated Water. Her adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children was nominated for eight CSAs. She has also directed Bollywood/Hollywood, Beeba Boys, Anatomy of Violence, and many others. Her most recent film Funny Boy has also won multiple awards, including the CSA for best direction. Most recently, she directed an episode of the series Yellowjackets. She has numerous projects in development as a writer, director and producer. 

Writer

Deepa Mehta

Cast

Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Karishma Jhalani

Producers

Bobby Bedi, David Hamilton, Deepa Mehta

Genres

Drama, Romance

Interests

Asian Filmmaker, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, LGBTQ2S+, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English