Image+Nation, Canada's first LGBT2SQ+ film festival
Image+Nation, Canada's first LGBT2SQ+ film festival, has announced the jury and audience awards for its 36th edition. Many of these films and others were also available online during the festival. The organizers decided to extend the online program for an additional week until Sunday, December 3 at 11:59 PM.
This innovation in broadcasting a significant part of the programming, which began during the COVID pandemic, was so successful that it has been made a permanent feature, thereby attracting more followers and extending the reach throughout Quebec and elsewhere in Canada, at an affordable price and with various options.
This is how we were able to watch three of these excellent films, offering evocative subjects of raw realities, in addition to a group of Quebecois queer short films, from the comfort of our home using a hyperlink to project it at the day and time of our choosing.
To take advantage of this online extension, visit the website in the PROGRAMMING section.
- BIG BOYS
COREY SHERMAN
UNITED STATES / USA | 2023
Often sidelined for washboard abs, the "big boys" finally get their sweet and funny coming-of-age story, spiced with just the right amount of age-appropriate eroticism. When a "cousins-only camping trip" in California is infiltrated by a new "bear" boyfriend, a 14-year-old is confronted with both wild and hormonal dangers.
- The documentary OUT OF UGANDA
ROLANDO COLLA + JOSEF BURRI
SWITZERLAND | 2023
Under a cloud of legally and customarily sanctioned prejudices, we follow tormented queer refugees awaiting asylum, those risking their lives and livelihoods to protect them, and the antagonists themselves, who explain their hateful ideologies, all in the hope of finding a way out of today's hate-choked Uganda.
- OUR SON
BILL OLIVER
UNITED STATES | 2023
A star-studded cast led by the masterful duo Luke Evans and Billy Porter electrifies this poignant narrative about parenthood through pain. When an affair persists after 13 years of marriage for a drifting couple, new revelations tear apart an already fractured relationship and leave the fate of their son hanging in the balance.
- The short films QUEERMENT QUEBEC 1
78 minutes
An annual celebration of Quebecois queer content: unique perspectives that prove, once again, that Quebec is a true hotbed of queer storytelling talent.
LES CROTTÉS
CÉDRIC GAILLARD DESROSIERS | CANADA | 2022 | 10 MIN | F.O.V. S.T.A.
RIOPELLE WAS NON-BINARY
AIMÉ MAJEAU BEAUCHAMP | CANADA | 2023 | 6 MIN | F.O.V. S.T.A.
I'M SORRY
FRANCIS PAPILLON | CANADA | 2023 | 20 MIN | F.O.V. S.T.A.
BORN ON A SUNDAY MORNING
THIERRY SORLINI | CANADA | 2023 | 15 MIN | F.O.V. S.T.A.
TEST SEQUENCE
ANNE GOLDEN | CANADA | 2023 | 5 MIN | WITHOUT DIALOGUE
SORRY MOM
SARAH LAJOIE-ASSELIN | CANADA | 2023 | 17 MIN | F.O.V. S.T.A.
LES TERRAINS VAGUES
MARIE-ÈVE DROLET | CANADA | 2023 | 6 MIN | F.O.V. S.T.A.
The awarded films for the 36th edition
JURY PRIZE
FEATURE FILM: SILVER HAZE by Sacha Polak [Netherlands]
SPECIAL MENTION: LIUBEN by Venci Kostov [Bulgaria]
DOCUMENTARY: WHO I AM NOT by Tunde Skovran [South Africa]
SCRIPT: Olivier Peyon with Vincent Poymiro + Arthur Cahn + Cécilia Rouaud / ENOUGH WITH YOUR LIES by Olivier Peyon [France]
PERFORMANCE: Nathan Stewart-Jarrett / FEMME by Sam H. Freeman + NG Choon Ping [United Kingdom]
PERFORMANCE: Lily Gladstone / FANCY DANCE by Erica Tremblay [United States]
AUDIENCE AWARD
FEATURE FILM: FEMME by Sam H. Freeman + NG Choon Ping [United Kingdom]
DOCUMENTARY: ANALOGUE REVOLUTION: HOW FEMINIST MEDIA CHANGED THE WORLD by Marusya Bociurkiw [Canada]
SHORT FILM: I'M SORRY by Francis Papillon [Quebec] + BORN ON A SUNDAY MORNING by Thierry Sorlini [Quebec]
A Satisfactory Overview
For its 36th edition, the Montreal public had the opportunity to attend in-person screenings, round tables, events, and much more, while film enthusiasts throughout Quebec and Canada had the chance to view a carefully selected program online throughout the festival.
Featuring 175 films from across the globe, I+N36 proudly focuses on diversity in all its forms, showcasing masterfully created films from 27 countries, including South Africa, Bulgaria, Romania, Nigeria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Mexico, Denmark, Norway, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Iran, Ireland, Ukraine, Portugal, Brazil, as well as Germany, the United States, and locally in Quebec and Canada.
Now firmly established in its fourth decade of promoting LGBT2SQ+ culture, image+nation is delving into new queer stories, exploring their uniqueness/universality, while continuing to advocate for diversity, inclusivity, and the various intersectional aspects of queer voices and communities.