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 returning to Prince Edward County this July with a film that might just be as good as it gets: Mike Nichols’ ridiculously entertaining ode to coming as you are, The Birdcage!
Released 30 years ago this year, The Birdcage stars one of the greatest casts ever assembled (Robin Williams! Nathan Lane! Dianne Wiest! Gene Hackmen! Hank Azaria! Christine Branaski!) and marks the very first cinematic collaboration between director Nichols and screenwriter Elaine May, who were a legendary comedy duo in the 50s and 60s.
One of the most quotable, rewatchable and all-around delightful movies we’ve ever been gifted, join Queer Cinema Club host Peter Knegt at the Regent on July 27th at 7pm for this 30th anniversary celebration. Tickets now on sale here, and thank you to Tim Singleton for designing this gorgeous poster!
And then…
Are you ready to set it the fuck off?? Because on August 26th we are concluding our 1996 summer trilogy with being gay and doing crime at its absolute finest: F. Gary Gray’s Set It Off.
Starring Queen Latifah as the lesbian legend that is Cleo Sims alongside Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox and Kimberly Elise (all giving electric performances), Set It Off follows four close friends as they plan a bank heist. What results is a kinetic, propulsive and ultimately quite profound fuck you to racialized misogyny and capitalism is general, and one that demands to be seen on a big screen.
So join us August 26th at 730pm for a special 30th anniversary screening of one of the greats. You can also pick up a print of this *incredible* poster by Jared Olsever which very much encapsulates the wild cinematic ride that is Set It Off.
Tickets now available here.
And then…
The queer toast of France is coming to Queer Cinema Club! We are thrilled to be teaming up with Photon Films and the Paradise to host the Toronto premiere of a frontrunner for one of our favourite gay movies of the year: Jim Queen!
Directed by Nicolas Athané and Marco Nguyen and shortlisted for the Queer Palm at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Jim Queen posits one of our worst nightmares: a mysterious virus that turns gay people straight! It’s called “heterosis,” and it’s ripping through the Parisian gay scene. Our potential saviours? Jim, the six packed sovereign of the Gym Queens, and Lucien, a freshly-out twink with more heart than abs.
Find out if Jim and Lucien save the gay world on August 31st at 8:30pm, when we will offer Toronto audiences the very first chance to take in this extremely fun (and even more extremely gay!) movie. Hosted by QCC curator Peter Knegt, tickets are bound to go fast so get ‘em quick.