2012 Vancouver Queer Film Fest

Meet Pim, the only child of a single mother living in a small town in Belgium. As a young boy, he spent much of his time dressing up in his mother’s clothes and performing for an imaginary audience. At fifteen Pim continues to be very withdrawn, loves to draw and collect mementos of his mother and Gino, the cool and confident neighbour’s boy with whom he has a secret relationship. But all good things must come to an end, and over the next couple of years Pim must give up his fantasies and start dealing with the real world.

A wide selection of truly amazing shorts! Ranging from one to twelve minutes in length, they cover the gamut from silly to sexy to dead serious. I am always amazed at the excellent filmmakers that call Vancouver home.

A near capacity crowd was on hand for the closing gala of the 2012 Vancouver Queer Film Festival as filmmakers were honoured for their feature and short films of the 24th annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival.

Ale is a sweet-natured homeless trans woman, living in a shantytown in Buenos Aires. To make ends meet she sews clothes and gathers garbage and recyclables. One day she finds the suicide note of a woman named Mia, a long diary addressed to her daughter Julia, but which her now-widowed husband has thrown out. At first Ale only intends to return it but is soon captivated by Mia's tragic story, so tries to connect with Julia and share what she learns.

This excellent sampling of shorts presented by Out in Schools to BC students made laugh, made me squee, and made me think.

God, now I miss Montreal! I never lived there, mind you, but it’s where my father’s side of the family comes from, and I’ve visited lots of times. I remember well the apartment buildings seen in La fille de Montréal, with their dark brick fronts and outdoor winding staircases.

A casual meeting with George Millerd at a social event a number of years ago left an impression on filmmaker David C Jones.  So much so that when Jones heard about a film contest that wanted five-minute shorts about interesting people, he immediately thought of George.

I'd never even heard of Jobriath, a stunningly talented glam rock star who burst upon the scene in the early seventies, and disappeared after only a few years. Jobriath A.D. is a tragic story of sleaze and impossible dreams, and a culture that was still not ready to accept an openly gay rock star.

The Green is a harsh look at small-town homophobia, and how easily acceptance can turn to rejection. Though I found the resolution clumsy and unsatisfying, most of the film was excellently done, gripping and all-too-realistic with well-developed characters.

This story of the friendship between a 19-year-old film student and his 52-year-old neighbour is a definite winner. Nate & Margaret is one part comedy, one part drama, all parts sweet and heartwarming, and my favourite movie of the festival so far.