This short doc by local activist Monica Forrester showcases the gentrification of Toronto’s downtown eastside where sex workers and low income people live.

Many North American LGBTQ pride events initially emerged out of sites of revolt and resistance — such as the anti-police riots at the Stonewall Inn in NYC in 1969 and the protests that began after police bathhouse raids in Toronto 1981. Today, however, PRIDE™ is big business. Non-profits formed for the purpose of hosting pride events in cities such as Toronto, San Francisco, and New York sport multinational corporations as sponsors alongside multi-million dollar budgets. But where and how is this money spent? And to what ends? In Pride Denied, Toronto activists and artists call for a return to prioritizing political activism and community support that characterized the emergence of the contemporary LGBT rights movement more than 40 years ago. For more information visit www.altcinema.com.

*Presented with closed-captioning.