Image Credit: CFJC Today/Kamloops Film Society

By Adam Donnelly

KAMLOOPS FILM SOCIETY x KAMLOOPS PRIDE

Inaugural Kamloops Queer Film Festival begins Thursday night at the Paramount Theatre

Jun 19, 2024 | 12:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — The first-ever Kamloops Queer Film Festival (KQFF) kicked off with a launch party and drag show last Saturday night (June 15) at the Paramount Theatre.

“We previewed the upcoming films for the festival and then we had a drag show in the theatre, which was just fantastic,” Jesse Ritcey, KQFF Committee member, tells CFJC Today. “It was just fantastic. A lot of energy, a lot of fun, and just great to see the community come out and enjoy themselves.”

The six-person committee chose six films that portray a wide assortment of queer experiences on the big screen, aimed to provide education and representation to festival-goers. According to committee members, it was an exhaustive process.

“[It was a] long list of movies that we went through. We looked at the trailers for the movies then had a conversation about which stories were really important to highlight,” Nichelle Penney, another committee member, explains. “We narrowed it down to a final six selections to highlight a selection of voices, like trans voices, Indigenous voices and intersex voices, to bring that piece to the community.”

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“The idea is to either see yourself reflected on the screen, and something about your own life you connect to. Or, if it’s not about you, to learn about something different,” Ritcey says. “And to get to see that when you otherwise might not have.”

Three of the six films selected for the festival are Canadian. The festival itself begins Thursday night (June 20) with The Queen of My Dreams, a coming-of-age about a Canadian-born Pakistani woman, her relationship with her mother, and the parallel stories they share.

The committee hopes that these films resonate with audiences.

“I hope that walking away from these films, they’re either excited to see their voices amplified in a cinematic perspective, or that they’re taking away new education, new perspectives,” Penney says. “That they can continue to have these conversations throughout the community and continue to promote queer inclusion here in Kamloops.”

The festival runs from June 20 to 22. For a full list of films and to buy tickets to the festival, you can visit the Kamloops Film Society website.