About

Mandate

Established in 2016, the Toronto Queer Media & Arts Centre (TQFF) is a collectively-run, artist-run, nonprofit organization located in Toronto, Ontario. TQFF was formed to provide community art exhibition space for experimental, contemporary, and/or social justice themed film and video art by queer filmmakers. TQFF support’s Toronto’s LGBTQ2S+ communities by providing a unique gathering space for marginalized and precarious queer and trans people, including Indigenous people, people of color, people with disabilities, and transgender people.

TQFF’s mission is to provide:

• community-based media arts education programming (workshops, panels, Q&As);
• mutual aid (community meals, grocery, & PPE distribution);
• industry/symposium programming for artists, scholars, critics, and audiences to network and build connections;
  support for and exhibition of artistic works by BIPOC, trans, and disabled filmmakers whose work is marginalized by more mainstream festivals;
• a forum for discussion and debate on issues relating to film and video production as well as timely social justice issues concerning local queer and trans communities;
• exhibition of exceptional work made by international queer and trans artists, especially artists from the Global South;
• a celebration of media art made by and for local, Ontarian, and Canadian gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, 2 Spirit, queer, questioning and intersex communities.

We have five primary mandates:

1. to exhibit queer and trans independent and experimental film and video art;
2. to support the production of independent queer and trans film and video art through community based arts education;
3. to foster queer and trans community development and engagement by removing barriers to access to arts programming;
4. to decolonize artistic and curatorial practices, as well as advocate for centering of principles of decolonization in queer art and activism more broadly; and
5. to center our programming around work made by and for queer and trans Indigenous people, people of color, and people living with disabilities and, especially, to promote and support the work of local filmmakers and media artists

TQFF distinguishes itself from other Toronto festivals and arts organizations that serve the LGBTQ2S+ community by focusing on experimentally formal and social-justice focused film and video and by encouraging the submission— and prioritizing the programming—of work by and about queer and trans people of colour, Indigenous people, people with disabilities and the work of local, low-income, DIY, and/or emerging filmmakers.

Land Acknowledgement

TQFF would like to acknowledge the indigenous territories that we gather on: this stolen land is the territory of the Huron-Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River.

The territory was the subject of the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Confederacy of the Ojibwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes.

We acknowledge ourselves as trespassers, and do so to show solidarity with Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island. We recognize that decolonization must be an active and ongoing process of reconciliation–TQFF is dedicated to creating a space in our programming to promote the creative and political work of indigenous queer and two-spirited voices.

Accessibility Statement: Caring for Each Other

This year a mix of our symposium events and festival programming will be offered as ASL interpreted. We also continue to offer open captioning on all our film programs. And our festival tickets continue to be pay what you can, and no person will be turned away for lack of funds.

We are experimenting this year with a number of new access offerings, including our care kits, robust PPE, and active listening services during select programs. We recognize that what we have achieved toward accessibility thus far must be re-imagined in the context of embracing robust pandemic protection measures. And we convene this year under the banner of “care and collaboration” in recognition of the fact that, in the absence of collective care, there will be increasing friction among competing access needs in any gathering, especially as organizations continue to grapple with the retreat of public health guidance, the elimination of supplementary funds to offset COVID precautions, and the relegation of care to individuals and families during an ongoing health crisis.

We continue to be disappointed by the lack of public funding available to organizations wishing to implement robust and inclusive accessibility practices for their audiences. Part of our commitment to operating without corporate sponsorship stems from our belief that accessible community gatherings should not be subject to a profit imperative.

We feel it is important to underscore that disability justice cannot be accomplished when funding for accessibility is subject to a medicalized or rights based model in which the accommodation of disabled, neurodivergent, mad, chronically ill, Deaf, and Blind people so often serves as evidence of institutional benevolence. As we witness a genocide in Palestine and the abandonment of disabled and vulnerable people by Western democracies, it is more important than ever to be mindful of the ways in which the inclusion of some queer and disabled people in Western cultural institutions can serve as a liberal rationale or foil for the debilitation of others in imperialist and colonial projects. We are hopeful that our programming will offer space to discuss all this and more. We encourage attendees to complete our post festival survey to help us continue to evolve and grow our access measures.

To request a care kit or for questions about our access measures please email access@torontoqueerfilmfest.com.

This year a mix of our symposium events and festival programming will be offered as ASL interpreted. We also continue to offer open captioning on all our film programs. And our festival tickets continue to be pay what you can, and no person will be turned away for lack of funds.

We are experimenting this year with a number of new access offerings, including our care kits, robust PPE, and active listening services during select programs. We recognize that what we have achieved toward accessibility thus far must be re-imagined in the context of embracing robust pandemic protection measures. And we convene this year under the banner of “care and collaboration” in recognition of the fact that, in the absence of collective care, there will be increasing friction among competing access needs in any gathering, especially as organizations continue to grapple with the retreat of public health guidance, the elimination of supplementary funds to offset COVID precautions, and the relegation of care to individuals and families during an ongoing health crisis.

Access Guide

To download our access guide with both venue info and accessibility services as an accessible PDF click here.

ASL interpretation will be available at select symposium programs and during our opening in-person screening on Friday evening.

Thursday
12pm-2pm Queer Activism from Egypt to Canada
2:30-4pm Access Riders: Your Disabled Terms and Conditions
5:00-6:30pm Care and Communion between Pandemics
7:00-8:30pm Authentic Representation of Deaf Queers in Films

Friday
8:30- 10:30 Sailor Moon Screening and Q&A with Filmmakers

Saturday
7:00-9:00 pm Disability Justice with Sarah Jama

Sunday
11-12:30 Trauma Informed Storytelling
1:00-2:45 Fight Aids not Arabs

Parking next to Tranzac
Parking fee of $2.25 every 30 minutes
One accessible parking spot at the end of the parking row

365 Lippincott St
Parking fee of $2.50 every 30 minutes
Additional fee of $1.00 per hour if charging an electric vehicle
Two accessible parking spots

Spadina Road next to Spadina Station
Parking fee of $2.25 every 30 minutes
One accessible parking spot

Accessible Parking Measurements
Approximately 10 feet by 16 feet with an additional 5 foot margin

Transit the Tranzac is located at 292 Brunswick Ave. The closest accessible subway station is Bathurst station.

Accessible Seating is available. Please email access@torontoqueerfilmfest.com with your request.

Scent Free Policy we ask that our in person audiences refrain from wearing and using scents in the festival space.

Active Listeners, trained peer-to-peer counselors, will be available virtually during our keynotes on Saturday and Sunday and during our “Queer Activism from Egypt to Canada” symposium event.

To access the active listeners, please point your web browser to our open zoom call.

Quiet Space is available in the Southern Cross room at the Tranzac for those wishing to access the active listeners during in person events.

Gender Neutral Washrooms are available at the Tranzac. While each washroom has an accessible stall, please note that the entrance to each washroom is only 30 inches wide.

PPE is available on demand at the box office at the main entrance to the Tranzac.

Continual Air Filtration we will continually filter the air in the festival screening room.

Parking is available next to the Tranzac. Two other parking lots nearby are located at 365 Lippincott St and on Spadina Rd next to Spadina station.

Code of Conduct

Out of an abundance of care for our disabled and vulnerable staff and community, and an understanding that COVID-19 is a serious and disabling health concern, the Toronto Queer Film Festival is committed to providing a low risk space for our communities to gather during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. We will supply high quality personal protective equipment (N95s) to all our attendees and artists. We require that all attendees remain masked in all indoor spaces – the screening areas, corridors, and washrooms – at all times in order to keep our vulnerable community members safe.

Please observe safe masking practices while in the venue: your mask should cover both your nose and mouth and fit securely around your face so as to maintain an adequate seal.

Please see this graphic by the Centres for Disease Control for an explanation of proper mask fit.

We will maintain continuous air filtration during the screenings and we are also pleased to offer a limited number of COVID safe care kits with Betadine iota-carrageenan antiviral nasal spray and Crest CPC mouthwash, both of which studies have shown to reduce COVID infection rates by over 80%. If you would like a kit, please contact one of our staff members at the venue (this information is not medical advice, please seek advice from your own doctor before using).

Finally, TQFF strictly upholds the Ontario Human Rights Code. We will not tolerate any open acts of hostility or discrimination towards our staff or community members.

In the interest of safety and accessibility, we ask for the following:

• Wear an appropriate mask (must be e.g. N95, KF94, KN95 equivalent or better) that fits you well. We will be offering free N95 or better respirators on site for those who do not have an appropriate mask.
• We recommend testing before the event if you can, and please do not come in-person if you are feeling unwell or experiencing any COVID-19 or cold symptoms.
• If you start feeling unwell while you are there, please keep your mask on, let our staff know, and exit the physical space if you can.
• We also understand that continuous masking may be a potential barrier for people including those with sensory needs or people who need to see full facial expressions or lip-reading for communication, and we will work with you to figure out how to balance these needs.
• Lastly, If you have any questions or requests concerning our COVID-19 policy, please let a member of our staff know or email access@torontoqueerfilmfest.com.