This film program is a tribute to the amazing stories and histories of the Black, indigenous, and people of color in our communities. These films are also sprinkled throughout the rest of the shorts programs as well. We wanted to highlight the lives of our BIPOC protagonists and subjects, because their lives don’t only matter, but they are beautiful, unique, and inspiring to us all. These stories represent some of the underrepresented groups in traditional media that deserve to have the spotlight for a change.
Buck (14 min)
Director: Elegance Bratton & Jovan James, 2019.
Caught in the throes of a depressive fugue, young Lynn resorts to debauchery to find joy — only to discover that happiness is a much more complicated proposition.
TRIGGER WARNING: Depression, Drugs
Two Questions (6 min)
Director: Zachary Clarence, 2019.
Two questions to help prevent sexual assault.
TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual Assault
Spirit Glitch (8 min)
Director: Mary Galloway, 2019.
A queer woman of colour struggles to regain her voice form the void as traumatic memories threaten to glitch her spirit away piece by piece. With every ounce of willpower, she must find the strength to face the reality of another day.
TRIGGER WARNING: Thoughts of Suicide
Reviving the Roost (7 min)
Director: Vivek Shraya, 2019.
With pulsating neon-light animation, Reviving the Roost is a story about community complexity and longing, and an elegy to a lost space.
Go Go, Boy! (6 min)
Director: Oriana Oppice, 2019.
A boy discovers his fabulousness while dancing in his bedroom.
The First Time (10 min)
Directors: Mira Gandy, Dr. Vertna West, 2020.
Set in NYC in the 1980’s, The First Time is a campy short coming of age, stop motion animation film about friendship, acceptance, and first love.
Sunday (10 min)
Director: Arun Fulara, 2019.
When the middle-aged Kamble makes his weekly visit to the neighbourhood barber shop, it’s not just for a shave — he can’t wait to be touched by Jaan, the new barber-boy he has a crush on.
What’s in a Pronoun (2 min)
Director: Anne Alexander, 2019.
Posture Media produced a short film titled What’s in a Pronoun that illustrates how non-binary people navigate the highly gendered world we live in through day-to-day experiences and interactions.