When Katie Stewart captured a hilarious moment on camera during a canoe trip with some friends last summer, she had no intention of making it more than a casual weekend video.
But after circulating beyond her friends and ending up in the hands of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Queer Film Festival, Stewarts short film, Queers in Canoes, is now one of 15 entries for the Coast is Queer Award a category for local short films.
Im really excited about it, she says. Im a big fan of the Queer Film Festival so its an honour to be part of the Coast is Queer group because I really enjoy the shorts to be included in that group is really special to me.
I feel very privileged to be part of the queer film community even if its just because of a film with a lot of screaming queers in it, she adds with a laugh later.
Stewart says after she approached her friend Lise Monique (singer of the Wintermitts and Manhug) to do the ominous-sounding, ironic soundtrack, Queers in Canoes evolved from a spontaneous home video into a tongue-in-cheek farce about moments in nature. The documentary-style video shows two of Stewarts friends dealing with questionably rough waters in a canoe at Keats Island.
The entries range in duration from one minute to 12 minutes Queers in Canoes runs just over two minutes.
Stewart says she is drawn to short forms of storytelling, to the snippets of moments that are captured in artistic form.
Of all the art and literature I enjoy, I like it when I can draw my own conclusions, says Stewart who is also the creative director of Sad Magazine. The ones I enjoy have some fundamental, raw emotion, whether its humor or fear, and delivering that in a very tight package.
So what is her worst canoeing experience?
This one, she says with a laugh and without hesitation. Im glad I wasnt in the canoe at the time there was too much screaming going on.
The Coast is Queer Award will be presented on August 24 at the Rio Theatre. For more information, visit
The 24th annual Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Queer Film Festival taking place from August 16 to 26. For info:
