In the Blog
Check out: What I LOVE about being QUEER
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
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, “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].
