QUEER CINEMA CLUB
Animation by Paul Twa
Queer Cinema Club is more than a film series: it’s a mission to bring Toronto’s LGBTQ folks together in celebration of some of the best queer cinema ever made.
Every month at the Paradise Theatre, curator and host Peter Knegt will be offering queers (and anyone who loves them) a classic queer film, special guests and performers, and some good old fashioned drinks and conversation in the Paradise’s lobby bar. Each film is paired with a different local queer artist, who designs an original poster for the screening (which will be available for purchase the night of the event).
Up next…
Queer Cinema Club is coming to Prince Edward County! On July 9th at the beautiful Regent Theatre in Picton, we will be doing a very special edition of the series by bringing back a very special movie: But I’m a Cheerleader!
Starring Natasha Lyonne as a lesbian high school cheerleader whose parents send her to conversion therapy camp, Jamie Babbit’s film is a sharp, hilarious, campy satire that was wildly ahead of its time when it was released 25 years ago. It also features an epic supporting cast including Melanie Lynskey, Clea DuVall, Cathy Moriarty, Michelle Williams, Julie Delpy and RuPaul Charles himself in an extremely rare (and hysterical) out-of-drag performance.
The night will be hosted by QCC curator Peter Knegt (who grew up in the area so this is a very special homecoming for him) and feature a Cheerleader-inspired performance by Kingston drag icon Rowena Whey. Tickets are now available here!
So excited to have a big gay night with you, Prince Edward County! And let’s make it a big hit so we can have some more 📣📣📣
And then…
It’s time for us to all go to the world’s fair… together in a cinema.
In January 2021, deep in the middle of one of the worst stretches of the pandemic, one of the most exciting new voices in queer cinema in some time emerged at the all virtual edition of the Sundance Film Festival: Jane Schoenbrun with their deeply unsettling and ambitious directorial debut We’re All Going To The World’s Fair.
The first in an intended “screen trilogy” that has already continued with their rightfully lauded follow-up from last year, I Saw The TV Glow, the film essentially follows a teenage girl (Anna Cobb) who experiments with her identity by recording videos for a horror game set within the community.
Inspired by Schoenbrun’s own teenage experiences, the film delves into themes of gender dysphoria in a way that we’ve never seen on screen before. And in a way few have got to experience on a BIG screen before, because the film only made its way to a handful of theatres due to the unfortunate timing of its release.
That changes on July 23rd at Paradise, when we screen it as the first in a four part series at Queer Cinema Club that celebrates great queer (and in particular, trans) cinema that came out during the peak of the pandemic.
Join us then for the film, which will be preceded by both a special introduction from Lily Kazimiera *and* the short film Liar, by local filmmaker Wayne Burns. You’ll also have the opportunity to grab a physical copy of this poster from the talents of SGervais, which eerily pays ode to the Creepypasta era.
Tickets now available at paradiseonbloor.com 🎡🎡🎡