The Muskoka Queer Film Festival hits screens Saturday May 17th with a great lineup of 20 films from around the world. From comedies to documentaries – the festival has something for every movie fan at theatres throughout Muskoka.
“It’s a venture by Muskoka Pride and Sanctuary Studios to bring some amazing films from around the world here to Muskoka, celebrating the 2SLGBTQ+ community in various countries and we have a lot of Canadian films as well,” said Shawn Forth of the Muskoka Pride Festival Committee.
The festival will also feature a day of educational programming for students at the Trillium Lakelands District School Board. One of the documentaries being screened is “Inside Outloud” – a short film produced by Seth Compton, the executive director of Outloud North Bay in cooperation with 705BLACKFLY.COM. The centre provides support services such as mental health workshops, harm reduction, suicide prevention, mental health wellbeing, educational supports, life skills programming, tutoring, and job ready and employment opportunities.
“We thought it really spoke well to the students. We have some high school teachers that help screen these films as well and they were fully in agreement that it helped bring some experiences and sort of highlight experiences that would appeal to the youth,” Shawn says.
Tickets are available for the May 16th Gala Screening and there will be a special matinee screening on Saturday, May 17th at the Gravenhurst Opera House at 2pm. Tickets are only $10 and available at the Opera House Website.
The festival coincides with the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, And Biphobia. For more info and to purchase tickets head to the Muskoka Queer Film Festival website. Muskoka Pride is a not-for-profit organization. You can make a donation on their website.
You can watch the documentary film “Inside Outloud” here.
