The first major pride party of the year will happen at the Imperial this weekend, as the hosts a free 30th birthday party.
While it’s their party, no crying is on the agenda.
There will, however, be three DJs spinning nostalgic hits from designated decades, drag artists and performances by members from Virago Nation, Vancouver’s Indigenous burlesque group. A buddy system will be in place to prevent misogynistic, transphobic, racist and ableist behaviour. Naloxone kits and ASL interpretation will also available at the event.Ěý
The celebration on June 2 is two months before the 30th annual VQFF, which will run this summer from Aug. 9-19. Co-artistic director Anoushka Ratnarajah hopes the event will be the first big kick-off for pride season.
“We want to get people excited about the festival early and celebrate the hard work we’ve put into the festival for three decades,” Ratnarajah said in a phone interview with the Courier. Â
“It’s also a chance to gather our diverse community and celebrate the fact that they’ve stood by us for 30 years. It’s pretty cool that we’ve survived that long.”
Vancity is sponsoring the party, allowing the community to have a rare, affordable night out.
The online RSVP list has reached capacity, meaning people can no longer enter a draw to win one of three six-pack passes to the festival. Ratnarajah says people should still try their luck in the lineup, as the diversity of the crowd will inevitably lead to partiers rotating.
“We’ve encouraged people to dress up as their favourite decade, so hopefully we’ll be able to see all the great costumes,” Ratnarajah says.
Doors open at 8 p.m. and after a cocktail hour, the performances and dancing will commence.
Orene Askew, aka , identifies as Two-Spirit and will start the dance party with classics from the same era she was born in— the 80's.
Taking control of our 30th Birthday Party's 80's setlist is DJ O Show! Coming from a diverse background, O Show is driven by her passion. Her mixes make people happy and always keep the dance floor packed.
— Queer Film Festival (@queerfilmfest)
See our full list of performers and RSVP:
Over the years, Askew has worked with VQFF before, spinning tracks at their previous events as well as functions for and .
“The fact that they’re including me, being from one of the three host territories, shows that VQFF is taking the first steps towards being fully inclusive,” says Askew, who became one of the youngest members elected to the last December.
She says her tagline, “Diversity makes beautiful music,” is reflected in the VQFF’s celebration.
The theme of the film festival this year is “To the moon and back, 30 years of uplifting queer stories.”
Ratanarajah says that while VQFF plans to continue putting queer and trans stories front and centre, they’re specifically concerned with uplifting the voices from the margins of the queer community.
“Queer folks of colour, trans and gender non-conforming folks, Two-Spirit folks, queer people with disabilities, queer immigrants and refugees,” Ratnarajah explains.
She says the festival's out-of-this-world theme also reflects the risks that film makers have demonstrated through this years submissions.ĚýÂ
"Queer and trans artists are really expanding their visual vocabulary and making films that are even more complex and nuanced at a rate I've never seen before,” says Ratnarajah.
While she acknowledges there have always been boundaries pushed by these artists, she says the artistry of films reached new heights this year.
“They’re truly going to outer space,” Ratnarajah says, though the film that especially stood out to her this year was from 1996.Ěý
Full details for the 2018 Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»Queer Film Festival will be made available soon, but you can sign up for updates on t.
What they’ve announced at this point is that the four film spotlights are: Youth, Trans Women in Film, Indigenous Cinema and a Spotlight on the Artist. The opening night will screen the Canadian premiere of Yen Tan’s at the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»Playhouse and the festival’s centrepiece gala film is the dramatic comedy .Ěý
