The 2021 Vancouver Queer Film Festival: Finding Community in a Lonely Time

Running from Aug 12-22, the 33rd annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival is creating a space to explore intersectional queer joy and longing in its second year online.

Since its humble inception amongst friends in 1988, The Vancouver Queer Film Festival has become not only one of BC’s most interesting media events, but also a prolific non-profit known as Out On Screen. Through their Out In Schools program, the organization has worked with over 120,000 youths in almost every one of B.C.’s sixty school districts to provide education on queer topics through film. With their year-round programs and the crowds that the festival draws every year, there’s no question that Out On Screen is an organization built around gatherings and community.

So, what is such an event to do in an era defined by loneliness and isolation? Embrace it. This year the VQFF’s theme is “Longing,” and the varied programme of over 90 films explores the feeling in its many forms.

In preparation for the festival, I chatted with Anoushka Ratnarajah, the Artistic Director of Out On Screen. When asked where the idea for this year’s theme came from, she pointed out similarities between the day-to-day experience of living as a queer person and the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Similar to this year, the feeling of being trapped and helpless because of something in the air that is controlling your life is something most queer people can relate to. Whether it’s colonialism, heteronormativity, or white supremacy, we’ve all felt that longing for freedom. I’m hopeful for the thematic silver lining of this time, because I don’t want people to feel trapped or helpless in the face of this invisible force.”

The programme this year reflects the immediate truths of queer existence in our modern era, perhaps more than ever. Films such as It’s Only the End of the World explore questions and concerns about what’s to come through a collection of science fiction stories depicting the many positibilites of queer life in a technologically advanced future. Other collections, such as QTBIPOC Joy are a celebration of life and love for queer people of colour, a welcome emotional respite in direct response to the trauma of the last few years.

“It was really important for us to create a short film programme that celebrates joy and freedom for queer and trans people of colour. It’s necessary for us to see something other than grief on screen this year.”

Both this year and the one before have been anything but ideal for the film industry. With numerous productions being postponed or elongated and most festivals experimenting with online programming for the first time, hiccups and issues have been plentiful. For the VQFF, there have been unexpected benefits to the online shift both this year and last. 

I asked Anoushka about how the films being online-only could affect the festival, and she was optimistic about the opportunities it presented for expanding the positive effects of representation. “We’ll have folks tuning in from all over B.C. As a young queer person of colour, I felt stifled in environments where I couldn’t see myself around me or on screen. I really hope that the wide reach of the films will help people in not-queer-friendly places to find solace and connection, and that they are able to imagine a different future through the films. I’m hopeful that we can continue to offer online content down the road for that purpose.”

The VQFF have made a particularly powerful statement by embracing “Longing” as this year’s theme. Many of us spent the last year-and-a-half rewatching visual comfort-food in order to combat a seemingly unstoppable stream of bad news, but many issues have been raised recently that need to be explored in our media. Throughout our conversation, Anoushka pointed out that the ups and downs of the queer experience are two sides of the same coin. The festival’s embracement of both unapologetic joy and sadness aims to remind us all of the beauty within uncomfortable truths. 

“Grief is very present in the programming this year and I felt hesitant about it, but queer film isn’t known for being super joyous. We don’t get a lot of happy endings. It’s important that we don’t turn away from those scary stories and that we look at them with compassion and care. Especially now that we are collectively becoming more aware of being a nation built on genocide, and we have to learn how to deal with those uncomfortable feelings with understanding and openness as a nation. If we turn away from it, the planet will keep burning. Art really can offer that space for us to externalize those feelings and process them. It’s as important to public health as anything else. I hope that people don’t forget how important art was during this time.” 

The festival runs from this Thursday, August 12th until Sunday, August 22. Tickets can be purchased on the Out On Screen Website.