Better Than Chocolate

Director Anne Wheeler
Year 1999
Run Time 101min
Genre Comedy

Maggie (Karyn Dwyer) is happy with her life in Vancouver. She works at an LGBTQ+ bookstore owned by Frances (Anne-Marie MacDonald) and has recently fallen head over heels with a young artist named (Christina Cox). When the couple decide to take their romance to the next level and move in together, everything seems perfect.

That is, until Maggie’s recently-divorced mom Lila (Wendy Crewson) and brother Paul turn up at her doorstep, looking to stay with her. The unlikely foursome end up sharing Maggie’s Vancouver loft, and Maggie must decide whether to keep her relationship – and her sexuality – a secret, or reveal who she really is to her well-meaning but naïve and conservative mother.

“Anne Wheeler's sexy, funny, poignant film, from a bright script by Peggy Thompson, is a real charmer, with considerable brains.” – David Noh, FilmJournal International

Director

Anne Wheeler

Writer

Peggy Thompson

Cast

Wendy Crewson, Karyn Dwyer, Christina Cox, Christina Cox, Karyn Dwyer

Producer

Sharon McGowan

Genre

Comedy

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

White Lie

Directors Yonah Lewis, Calvin Thomas
Year 2019
Run Time 96min
Genre Drama

Katie, a popular university student, has been pretending to have cancer to gain sympathy and gain the life she’s always wanted. Through fraudulent fundraising, she has been able to pay her way through university, and her relationship with her friends and girlfriend has never been better. When she is suddenly asked to produce medical records by her university, the facade she created begins to crumble and she risks being exposed for a fraud.  

A brilliantly told cautionary tale, White Lie premiered at TIFF and was named to the Canada Top Ten list. It was also nominated for 4 Canadian Screen Awards including Best Picture.

“Driven by nuanced, persuasive performances and shot with an urgent, jittery tension, White Lie is a compelling close-up character study.” — Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter

Directors

Yonah Lewis

Lewis made his first feature film, Amy George, in 2011 with his frequent collaborator, Calvin Thomas. The duo has continued to work together, co-writing, directing and producing all their films, which include the features The Oxbow Cure and Spice It Up. They recently produced the short Every Day’s Like This, which premiered at TIFF 2020.

Calvin Thomas

Thomas made his first feature film, Amy George, in 2011 with his frequent collaborator, Yonah Lewis. The duo has continued to work together, co-writing, directing and producing all their films, which include the features The Oxbow Cure and Spice It Up. They recently produced the short Every Day’s Like This, which premiered at TIFF 2020.

Writers

Yonah Lewis, Calvin Thomas

Cast

Kacey Rohl, Amber Anderson, Martin Donovan

Producers

Yonah Lewis, Calvin Thomas, Karen Harnisch, Lindsay Tapscott, Katie Bird Nolan

Genre

Drama

Interests

Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Funny Boy

Director Deepa Mehta
Year 2020
Run Time 109min
Genre Drama, Romance
This heartbreaking tale of love and loss follows Arjie (Nand as a child, Ingram as an adult), a Tamil child in Sri Lanka, who is referred to as a “funny boy” by his family, because he doesn’t behave like the other boys. He draws inspiration from his free-spirited Canadian cousin to explore his identity, and goes on to pursue his crushes on the boys in his class. When he reaches adulthood, his life, family, and his first real love are all threatened as the Sri Lankan Civil War breaks out and brings about life-changing tragedies and upheavals.

Based on the celebrated novel by Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy was nominated for nine Canadian Screen Awards, winning for directing, screenplay and score.

“An attractive journey, gilded in summery light throughout by Douglas Koch’s camera.” – Guy Lodge, Variety

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. 

Writers

Deepa Mehta, Shyam Selvadurai

Cast

Brandon Ingram, Arush Nand, Nimmi Harasgama, Agam Darshi, Ali Kazmi

Producers

Hussaini Amarshi, Lodi Butler, Gopi Darmaratnam, David Hamilton, Neil Mathieson

Genres

Drama, Romance

Interests

Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, Bullying, Discrimination, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, LGBTQ2S+, Literary Adaptation

Original Languages

English, Other Language

Handsome and Majestic

Directors Nathan Drillot, Jeff Petry
Year 2015
Run Time 12min
Genre Documentary
Milan's a regular teen: he likes sports, lasagna and hanging with friends. But unlike other boys his age, he faces the struggles that come with a transgender identity. With his family supporting him, his inspirational story helps educate and inspire those around him.

Directors

Nathan Drillot, Jeff Petry

Writers

Nathan Drillot, Jeff Petry

Producers

Nathan Drillot, Jeff Petry

Genre

Documentary

Interest

LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

I Am Gay

Director Ajahnis Charley
Year 2020
Run Time 10min
Genre Documentary

Having returned home as a result of the pandemic, a young Black comedian decides it’s time to come out to his family.

Director

Ajahnis Charley

Writer

Ajahnis Charley

Cast

Ajahnis Charley

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

I am Skylar

Director Rachel Bower
Year 2019
Run Time 15min
Genre Documentary

An inspiring and honest look at the challenges facing a transgender teenager and how the love of her family and community allowed her to embrace her true self.

Director

Rachel Bower

Writer

Rachel Bower

Producer

Rohan Fernando

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

The Tailor

Director Nathalie Therriault
Year 2020
Run Time 16min
Genre Drama

A young gender-nonconforming person finds solace and support in an unexpected location, the workshop of a master tailor.

Director

Nathalie Therriault

Writer

Nathalie Therriault

Cast

Hiro Kanagawa, Megan Danso

Producer

Andy Alvarez

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Woman Dress

Director TJ Cuthand (Cree)
Year 2019
Run Time 6min
Genre Documentary

Using archival footage and dramatized re-enactments retells a story about a Two Spirit person named Woman Dress that has been passed down through multiple generations of the Cuthand family.

Director

TJ Cuthand (Cree)

Writer

TJ Cuthand (Cree)

Cast

Kiley May, Beth Cuthand, TJ Cuthand (Cree)

Producer

Justine Pimlott

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

Maman est chez le coiffeur (Mommy Is at the Hairdresser’s)

Director Léa Pool
Year 2008
Run Time 97min
Genre Drama

It's the summer of 1966. The sun is shining and the world is full of possibilities. But for 15-year-old Élise (Fortier), there are issues simmering beneath the surface of her happy family life.

When a shocking discovery drives her mother to leave the family, everyone is stunned. Amid the chaos, Élise decides it's up to her to take matters into her own hands and solve the problems. While her father and two brothers withdraw into their inner world, Élise is not discouraged. Trying to keep her family's troubles a secret, she discovers that no one around her has a life as perfect as it seems at first glance.

A tender and touching story of coming of age in difficult circumstances, Mommy's at the Hairdresser's is a film full of rich, vivid colors that are wonderfully evocative of hot summer days. It's not exactly the summer Élise was expecting, but it will be a summer unlike any other.

Director

Léa Pool

Pool has earned three Genie Award nominations for Best Direction. Her films include Emporte Moi, Mouvements du désir, Lost and Delirious, La dernière fugue and the documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc. Her recent films include the doc Double Sentence and the features La passion d'Augustine and Et au pire, on se mariera.

Writer

Isabelle Hébert

Cast

Marianne Fortier, Élie Dupuis, Hugo St-Onge-Paquin

Producers

Lyse Lafontaine, Michael Mosca

Genre

Drama

Interests

Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French

Mambo Italiano

Director Émile Gaudreault
Year 2003
Run Time 99min
Genre Comedy, Drama
A rollicking comedy that takes place in a colourful version of Montreal’s Petite Italie, Mambo Italiano is the tale of Angelo Barbarini (Kirby), the son of Italian-Canadian immigrants, who has been teased all his life for being “different.”

At nearly 30 years of age, Angelo shocks his parents — and the entire community — by brazenly defying tradition: He moves out to live his own life despite not being married. Free at last, he falls in love with his long-lost childhood chum Nino (Miller), and the two move in together. They try to keep their sexuality a secret, while their families worry, suspect and scheme to set them up with nice Italian girls. It’s not easy being Italian and gay, and when the pressures of his double life begin to overwhelm Angelo, his reactions set off an explosively funny chain of surprise revelations, comic reversals and unexpected outcomes.

Mambo Italiano was nominated for six Canadian Comedy Awards.

Director

Émile Gaudreault

Gaudreault co-wrote Louis 19, le roi des ondes, which Ron Howard adapted into EDtv. Gaudreault both co-wrote and directed De pere en flic (the highest-grossing French-language film in Canadian history), Le vrai du faux, Le sens de l'humour and Mambo Italiano, which earned six Canadian Comedy Award nominations. He also wrote and directed De père en flic 2, and most recently, the comedy Menteur. He also co-wrote the upcoming Lignes de fuite, and is producing the English-language remake of De père en flic, Fathers and Guns.

Writers

Steve Galluccio, Émile Gaudreault

Cast

Luke Kirby, Ginette Reno, Paul Sorvino, Peter Miller, Mary Walsh

Producers

Daniel Louis, Denise Robert

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interests

Family Relationships, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English