Film Categories: Youth

  • Family Journey: Raising Gender Nonconforming Children, The

    “The Family Journey: Raising Gender Nonconforming Children” charts the emotional and intellectual transformations parents and siblings must make in order to successfully nurture their gender nonconforming family members. In frank, vulnerable interviews, families from all over the country speak about the power of love and acceptance to help their unusual children thrive. They also come to realize that loving a gender nonconforming child, in the face of ignorance, and sometimes hostility, has turned them into more compassionate human beings.

  • Holding Hands

    Craig and Shane were holding hands when they fell victim to a brutal hate crime. Through speaking out about the lack of police investigation, their courage led to important changes at their local police station. ‘Holding Hands’ follows a challenging year in this inspiring couples’ life: triumphantly leading the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade as community heroes, struggling to recover from the physical, financial and psychological costs of a hate crime, and ultimately revealing the healing power of love. At its heart, Craig and Shane’s story reveals that even in the worst circumstances, we can all create positive change.

  • Fiesta Brava

    A new cameraless animation from a master of the art. A fiesta for the senses!

  • Canicule (Summer Day)

    A hot day in a working-class neighbourhood. There’s trouble in the air as young and old take to the streets. “Give me your tired, your poor Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free The wretched refuse of your teeming shore Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me I lift my lamp beside the golden door” – Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus, 1883 Selected Screenings: Les Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québécois, 2011; L’Alternativa Festival de Cinema Independent de Barcelona, 2011

  • Afloat at Dawn

    A tiny baroque ode to fleeting darkness and pretty make-believes. Partly made in Fredericton with the support of the New Brunswick Film Co-op , the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec’s artist-in-residence Program, the National Film Board of Canada’s Filmmaker Assistance Program and TAIS, the Toronto Animated Image Society. Music arranged and recorded by Marc-André Simard. Selected screenings: Anim’ est International Animation Festival, Special Mendion of the Jury, 2010; Les rendez-vous du cinéma québécois (Montreal, QC) 2010; Festival du n nouveau cinéma (Montreal, QC), 2009; Interfilm Berlin, 2009

  • Traversée, La (The Crossing)

    Boy and Rabbit embark upon a voyage into the night. From a small paper boat, they watch the wooded shore and its special inhabitants… Selected screenings: Ottawa International Animation Festival, 2010; Les rendez-vous du cinéma québécoise, 2011; Melbourne International Animation Festival, 2011; London International Animation Festival, 2011

  • Frozen Roads

    Balthazar has been friends with siblings Christian and Lyla since childhood. As the trio struggles with coming-of-age in a rural, conservative Canadian town, they must confront escalating desires for one another that threaten to destroy their delicate bond. Winner Best Short Film at the Sicilia Queer Film Festival 2011 (Italy)

  • Change

    Jamie is an African-American teenager grappling with his sexual identity on the night Barrack Obama is elected president and Proposition 8 – the voter initiative to eliminate same-sex marriage – is passed. When one of his gang initiates the bullying of an openly gay classmate, Jamie uses his wits to try and prevent it, but when things don’t go the way he predicted, he is forced to face his fears head on. Winner Audience Award, Inside Out LGBT Film & Video Festival (Toronto)

  • Under Pressure

    When gunshots ring out at school, library geek Alex finds herself hiding with popular girl Ruby, Alex’s secret crush. Will Alex find the courage to reveal her true desire amid the overwhelming fear and confusion?

  • Out on the Street

    This short film explores LGBTQ youth homelessness in Toronto and the lack of support available. Several people’s lived experiences are shared.