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Queers Who Pray: An Elisha Lim endeavour

May 21, 2013 • Nish Israni

I have had the pleasure of many run-ins with Elisha Lim at various community events, and have been totally blown away by their work. Thus, I feel compelled to promote their recent endeavour, a film called Queers Who Pray.

Elisha is a brilliant and multi-talented artist who has illustrated comics, books and anthologies, as well as exhibited portraits in international galleries and screened short films all over the world. They have also self-published beautiful and endearing pin-up calendars that celebrate the queer and trans communities that they are a part of. These calendars have revolved around butches, sissies and femmes and have been a testament to the wisdom that queer and trans bodies hold inside them.

Elisha is also passionate about making art that features people of colour, which I think is important. I feel that the stories of queer and trans people of colour are so often under-represented or misunderstood, and it’s heart-warming to see Elisha pay homage to these lives and bring them to our attention.

Their most recent endeavour is to make a film about queer folks who pray. There was a time when the words queer and religious would have been an oxymoron, and even though there have been some faiths that have opened their doors to queer and trans folks, this is still a very touchy issue. Elisha enlightens us about this paradox as a queer who loves to praise God and wants to give us a glimpse into the lives of other queers who believe in God or are religious or spiritual believers.

I think this is quite an undertaking, and much-needed for community healing and awareness, as well as to shed light on this particular aspect of queer/trans identity — but Elisha needs our help. As someone who gives so much to their community, I hope that folks can also come together and help Elisha raise funds to get this film off the ground. Elisha has a campaign on indiegogo that explains this project and where all the money will go. Please consider donating or sharing the link!
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Film review: Facing Mirrors

May 9, 2013 • Nish Israni

With the Inside Out film festival just around the corner, I am reminded of last year’s festival where I saw some really interesting, amazing and heartwarming films that I hope to tell you all about. I had gone to an event called “Sister Spit” where I won a membership to the festival through their raffle prizes. If it hadn’t been for them, I wouldn’t have been able to access the festival like I did.

One of the movies I saw was called Facing Mirrors, which was set in Iran. The story begins with a woman, Rana, a traditional wife and mother, who has to support herself and her children because her husband is in jail. She drives a cab to help pay off his debt, and only lets women ride with her.

One day, she happens to pick up Edi, who is from a wealthy family. Edi is running away from home, and is desperately waiting for a passport to leave the country before her father marries her off. Edi offers to pay Rana a grand sum for all of her help. At first, Rana is sympathetic towards Edi but when she finds out that Edi is a trans man wanting to go to Germany to access a sex-change operation, her whole world turns upside down. She finds herself facing her morals and values as she stumbles over her inherent prejudice towards Edi.

This is a story of an unlikely but bold friendship budding in the face of social norms and religious beliefs. The bond between Rana and Edi is revolutionary, transcending stereotypes about Muslim women and queer and trans culture in Iran. This is a beautiful and powerful tale, refreshing for a movie about a trans character because so often the stories told about trans folks can be quite depressing. It’s great to see representations of trans people in media including positive outcomes as well as stories of struggle and tragedy.

This trailer is captioned in English.
Resisting Paradise - A Q&A With Barbara Hammer

April 1, 2013 • Anne Thériault

Barbara Hammer with rotary projector - Available Space, 1979, at ASpace, Toronto

This week, the Toronto International Film Festival is running a program called Brave New World: The Films of Barbara Hammer. This three-night survey offers a fascinating retrospective of Hammer’s forty-five year career as a lesbian activist and experimental filmmaker.

Hammer’s 2003 film Resisting Paradise, which deals with the concept of art as a tool of political resistance, was especially fascinating to me. Hammer, who was doing a painting residency in Cassis, France, when war broke out in Kosovo, found herself questioning the validity of art in the face of political conflict and unrest. She began exploring the history of the French Resistance in Cassis, and used that as a chance to reflect on how Cassis’ artistic community, both those who were threatened by the Nazi occupation of France and those who were able to remain relatively neutral, reacted to the atrocities of the Second World War.

I was fortunate enough to be able to get in touch with Barbara and ask her a few questions about Resisting Paradise. Her responses are just as eye-opening and fascinating as the film itself.

Q: So there this fascinating parallel happening in Resisting Paradise, namely that you were making a film exploring how and why art was created in Cassis during the second world war, while you yourself were, of course, creating art during the war in Kosovo. How did your experience of making this film influence your view on the creation of art during times of war?
(more inside…)
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Hit So Hard

February 26, 2013 • Nish Israni

“Hit So Hard” is a compelling tale about Patty Schemel’s life and near death experience with substance abuse. Patty, the original drummer for the band Hole, gives us a personal recounting of her time in the spotlight, as well as what it was like for her coming out as a gay rockstar. The camera follows Patty and her band from modest beginnings to international fame. In the male-dominated, sexist music industry with the rock gods of the 1990s, Hole climbs the charts with a huge following of mostly young women, gay men and other queer folks.

(http://grungereport.net/?p=11412)

Hole’s rise to stardom leads them onto a path of the rock and roll lifestyle of so many of their generation. Fueled by addictions to drugs and booze, the members of the band lose themselves to many a lurid exchange yet try not to lose sight of the common goal, their music. Patty shares her experiences of being part of the legacy that Hole carved in music herstory. The documentary contains a montage of interviews and never-before-seen footage with lead singer Courtney Love, other members of the band, and other famous musicians of the time. In one conversation, Courtney explains the reasoning behind calling her band Hole. She refers to the phallic nature and imagery of the band Nine Inch Nails and exclaims how as a woman, she has a right to be cheeky and empowered enough to name her band “Hole.”

Patty expresses many frustrations around not being taken seriously as a musician. She experiences a lot of flak for being a woman and a drummer because those two identities apparently can’t co-exist. Patty’s talent as a drummer is constantly questioned due to gender stereotypes that depict women as delicate flowers, unable to keep up the strenuous duty of a drummer. Patty uses that same line of reasoning to challenge that idea, stating that some women have the stamina to give birth! (more inside…)
American Pie, Superbad and Lessons from Anxious Male Teens

January 24, 2013 • Guest Blogger

by Abby Plener

During a discussion about how the media contributes to teens’ sexual education, a classmate of mine in a feminist political theory seminar declared “I learned everything I needed to know from American Pie. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the 1999 hit teen comedy, the movie follows four male friends who make a pact to lose their virginities before they graduate high school. As their ringleader Kevin astutely puts it:

[Transcription after the jump] (more inside…)
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Guest Post: Film review of The World Before Her, directed by Nisha Pahuja

January 23, 2013 • Guest Blogger

by Nish Israni

I love to explore the neighbourhoods in Toronto, and sometimes find myself walking along streets that I have never been to, just taking in the sights. The other night, I was walking by Royal York station when I came across the Kingsway theatre. Right away, a poster for The World Before Her, a documentary by Nisha Pahuja, grabbed my attention. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The World Before Her had won the best documentary award at the Hot Docs festival this year, and I so desperately wanted to watch it. The only showtime was just minutes away and I jumped at the chance.

(imdb.com)

The theatre was cozy and intimate, which I found charming. I respect a theatre that plays obscure, edgy or indie films because mainstream movies generally dominate cinema screens. The popcorn stand doubled as the ticket vendor area, and the guy was sweet to me as I bought the ticket. It turned out that I was the only one in the theatre, which I didn’t mind at all, because that meant I could fully relax.

The World before Her is a documentary that follows the competitors for the “Miss India” crown as they go through a strict beauty regime before the pageant. Winning the crown ensures a legacy of fame and riches that would be hard to come by for the average Indian woman, but there is a lot of controversy surrounding the pageant. (more inside…)
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Guest Post: Film review of Augustine, directed by Alice Winocour

January 17, 2013 • Guest Blogger

by Nish Israni

I love watching movies, especially good ones, and those are hard to come by. I feel like having a feminist approach to life has made going to the movies like going to the dentist. All I can do is clench my fists tightly to my sides and tense my body until he’s done attacking my teeth with a variety of instruments.

Mainstream media can be so saturated with sexism, misogyny, homophobia, racism and more, that I have to put on my investigator glasses to decide whether the movie I want to see is worth watching. Sometimes I use the 21 questions technique as I debate with myself or seek out trusted reviewers before deciding on a flick. That is why I like going to film festivals around the city.

I feel blessed to live in Toronto where there are film festivals galore, such as the INSIDE OUT festival, the HOT DOCS festival, the REEL WORLD festival and of course the TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM festival (TIFF). This year, TIFF blew me away. Every single movie that I watched was ground-breaking and awe-striking. I’d like to think that my feminist radar is to thank for my choices in picking those rare gems that I might not have come across otherwise.

One of the films that I saw was called Augustine, a tale that struck me as soon as I read about it in the TIFF brochure. It tells the story of a young woman who was institutionalized for exhibiting signs of sexual arousal and frustration as a severe illness. I was intrigued by the stories of these women and impressed by the director’s extensive research in order to make this film. When I found out that the director would be there at the screening, I knew that this was a movie I could not miss. Running into my women’s studies professor in the theatre was the cherry on top.

Augustine is a first for director Alice Winocour. Based on true events, the movie is a re-telling of the stories of women who were held in a facility under the medical authority of Dr. Charcot, who happened to be Freud’s teacher. (more inside…)
Rape Culture in Popular Culture

November 27, 2012 • Anne Thériault

Let’s start out with a few basic facts:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a dreamboat. Like, on a scale of one to super-ultimate-double-plus-dreamboat, he is pretty high up there. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is reaching unprecedented break-my-marriage-vows levels of attractiveness. I would pay good money to watch a movie that was nothing but Joseph Gordon-Levitt sitting on a chair reading the phone book.

Not convinced? I present you with Exhibit A:

And Exhibit B:

[YouTube video of Joseph Gordon-Levitt singing a cover of Nirvana’s “Lithium.” Transcription at the end of this post.]

Are you done swooning yet?

It’s fine, I’ll give you another minute.

Shhhh, I know. Feel free to replay that video as many times as you need to.

All right, are we good? I think we’re good.

Now, given the fact that I’ve just used science to prove that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is maybe one of the best things since sliced bread, what I’m about to say next might shock you:

Not every heterosexual woman wants to date him. Some straight women, presented with that choice, would, categorically, choose not to date him. (more inside…)
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Check out: What I LOVE about being QUEER

November 14, 2012 • Naz Afsahi

Toronto-based Vivek Shraya is a musician, performer, filmmaker and writer. He was nominated for LGBTQ Person of the Year at the 2012 INSPIRE Awards. His newest short film, What I LOVE about being QUEER, is a minimalist endeavour revolving around the title’s big question posed to 34 individuals.
Still from the Film's Teaser

The film, which debuted in June in Toronto, is 18 minutes in length, and has screened at various Queer Film Festivals and universities across Canada, with more screenings scheduled. According to Shraya, the film is a partial response to dominant narratives of queer struggle and survival and was visualized by him as a way to “create more space for discussion about the positive aspects of being queer”.

And although the participants of the film include educators, activists, artists, introverts and extroverts and vary in their age, gender, racial background, gender presentations and politics, Shraya acknowledges that the film is in no way fully representative of the queer spectrum. Shraya notes, “[b]ut there is also something exciting about this! To consider and embrace that the answers in the film are not exhaustive. That because our communities are so vast and complex, so are the ways in which we come to love. And, since the word “queer” is never defined by Shraya the individuals who partake in answering the question “what I love about being queer”, in turn define queerness for themselves, touching on themes of family, identity, sex and love. The participants are mainly from Ontario and were filmed in Shraya’s Toronto home.

As an extension of the film, an official Tumblr blog has been set up by Shraya to continue the dialogue and where visitors are able to partake and answer the question posed in the film. Attach a photo of yourself and answer in a sentence or two What do you LOVE about being QUEER?

Shraya's introductory post to the Tumblr site

You can check out the teaser for What I LOVE About Being QUEER here. For the complete list of upcoming screenings, visit Shraya’s website. A portion of the DVD sales are donated to the SOY (Supporting Our Youth) Program [designed to improve the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and transgendered youth in Toronto through the active involvement of youth and adult communities].
Racism and the Hunger Games

April 4, 2012 • Guest Blogger

Like almost everyone I know, I saw The Hunger Games on opening weekend. I sat in a packed theatre, sandwiched between my friends and an opinionated preteen girl who read a massive fantasy novel until the lights dimmed. She wasn’t the only one; it was the first time in a while that I saw so many young people avidly reading in a movie theatre, and I’ve been to many midnight showings of Harry Potter. From my limited observations, and from the film’s massive box office sales, it’s clear that the Hunger Games franchise has really resonated with many people, both young and old, who gravitated towards the strong female protagonist, interesting social commentary, and gripping action sequences of the story.

In the days following the film’s release, I was also one of many who saw the racist tweets compiled on sites like Buzzfeed and Tumblr. (The comments appeared to come mostly from young people, who expressed outrage and confusion over the casting of black actors in the roles of Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), Thresh (Dayo Okeniyi) and Rue (Amandla Stenberg). Some of the commenters accused the film’s producers of not “staying true” to the character descriptions in the novels, when in fact, Rue and Thresh are described as having “brown” skin and Cinna’s race is not described in any detail. Others confessed that they did not feel as “sad” about the death of Rue because she was black, with one tweeter adding “#ihatemyself.”

At first, I was shocked and angry to read these hateful and disturbing tweets, especially because I had spent a lot of time sniffling through Rue’s death scene when reading the books and watching the film. I was furious with the commenters for questioning their own feelings of loss and sadness when Rue died, purely based on the fact that they weren’t expecting her to look a certain way. But after reading through the comments a few times, and reading an exchange between the moderator of the Hunger Games Tweets Tumblr and one of the racist tweeters, I started to focus more on the theme of confusion present in many of the tweets in an attempt to make sense of the events.

(more inside…)