TQFF 2021

It would be an understatement to say that the past year has been a difficult one. From continued struggles to protect Indigenous land and sovereignty to a global pandemic, a housing crisis, and continued anti-Black violence: we are all carrying more grief, sorrow and anger than we might normally. As a festival, we felt that it was important to recognize and address the moment we are in, and the lack of queer, trans* and Two-Spirit voices present. It was with this in mind that we decided our theme this year would be Queer Emergencies.

Queer, Two-Spirit, and trans* identities are often framed as having one major complicating factor or crisis: whether or not to be “out” (and to whom). It is an old trope: a person feels conflicted and unhappy because of their gender or sexuality, this can only be remedied by confessing that they are different, and then all other conflicts in their life will magically resolve! But just because it is oft-repeated doesn’t make it true. As queer, Two-Spirit, and trans* people, we know our lives and communities are more nuanced and rich than this. We know the ways we have been impacted by this past year, by this past decade, by this past century, by our bodies, by our race, by our economic status, by acute personal emergencies, and by global tumult. This is what we mean by Queer Emergencies.

But we aim to do more than hold space for hardship. At the heart of our program, there are stories of resistance, joy, and love. Because we are still here, despite it all, and this is worth celebrating.

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TQFF 2021 Program Guide

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