For nearly four decades, films exploring the diversity of humanity and love have brought Winnipeg’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community together to experience these stories at the Reel Pride International Film Festival.
Since 1985, films from around the world have engrossed Winnipeggers with tragedy, love, unity, and connection and presented in an enthralling festival atmosphere thanks to dedicated volunteers with a passion for ensuring the queer community has films they can resonate with.
Heading into its 40th anniversary, the Reel Pride International Film Festival is one of the longest-running queer film festivals in Canada. With their largest pre-order ticket sales in many years and a packed opening night, Reel Pride President Ray Desautels is ecstatic about how the festival has grown.
“It’s grown quite a bit, and we’ve expanded the festival. One time, you just went in, saw a movie, and you left. Now, all sorts of things are happening. We have a queer art show that runs the entire length of the festival. About 20 years ago, we included a short film festival. So we do a short film call from all across Canada to get short films, many from Manitoba.”
Short Film Competition
Since it was first introduced, the Short Film Competition has been a staple of the festival, showcasing the works of established filmmakers and a jumping-off point for individuals looking to explore their creativity, creatives such as locals Ande Brown and their film Better Late than Never,
Matthew Shoup’s Not to be?, and Logan Stefanson and Daphne Finlayson with Collar ID.
The Reel Pride Film Festival has been incredibly important for Matthew Shoup. Not only was it the place he showcased his first film, but it was also to explore self-expression.
“This festival has a really special place in my heart. Every year, I’ve learned so much, especially from watching the other incredible films that play alongside mine. Self-expression is something that’s very important, especially in art. You know, artists are very self-expressive. And so to be able to have the freedom to tell their stories, even if it might not be what’s mainstream, I think it’s hugely important to have space to tell those stories.”
Ande Brown is a trans-man who is transitioning very late in life. Despite the many years it took to begin this new leg of his journey, it’s been extremely fulfilling. Engaged in films his entire life and attending the Reel Pride festival previously, Brown took another chance, creating his film Better Late than Never. This exemplifies that there’s always an opportunity to take chances in life, regardless of your age.
“There’s never a time where it’s too late to take those steps to explore oneself. You know, I mean, we’re all transitioning. Life is one big, giant transition when you think about it, and we’re all at different points sometimes. You have to start somewhere, and you can never think that it’s too late for me to try something because it’s not.”
Working as a script supervisor and production assistant, Daphne Finlayson has tremendous experience in the film world. Having previously participated in the 48-Hour Film Festival, they worked with Logan Stefanson, who was looking for an opportunity to work on a film production.
For Stefanson, the opportunity was enthralling and opened a door that he didn’t think was possible.
“Like you don’t need a budget, you don’t need a cast of like stars or anything like that, like you and your friends in a green screen can go make something, and you can still absolutely blow people’s minds.”
Finlayson has featured her films several times at the festival. Although they’ve never won any awards, that was never the goal.
“I never won any awards, but I also don’t go into it expecting that. I’m so honoured to be in a room with all of our peers and see my film and what everybody else is doing. We’re all peers, and that’s awesome. I’ve gotten to see some incredibly amazing LGBTQ-plus cinema things that I would never dream of making in a million years in a way that excites me because it’s just I like seeing what everyone else is doing.”
Challenges for the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community
This year’s theme, “We Are Family,” highlights that family can be taken for granted, and for many queer individuals, it is those who celebrate and cherish them who become family. Although support has come a long way for the queer community, the past few years have seen a problematic trend of anti-2SLGBTQIA+ rhetoric.
Anti-2SLGBTQIA+ rallies were held in Manitoba’s capital as part of a broader movement focused on “parental rights.” These rallies centred around debates on whether teachers and counsellors in public schools should disclose a student’s gender identity to their parents and whether children are being exposed to concepts of gender identity at too young an age. In response, pro-2SLGBTQIA+ counter-protesters argued that children and youth should be able to explore their identities in safe environments, free from fear or judgment.
This debate mirrors policies in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Alberta, where students under 16 require parental consent to change their names or pronouns at school. Advocates for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community express concern that such policies could “out” students to unsupportive or hostile families, creating unsafe situations for vulnerable youth. Statistics show that nearly one in three homeless young people in Canada identify as 2SLGBTQIA+.
At Pembina Valley Pride’s most recent celebrations, threats of vandalism forced food trucks to withdraw from the event in Altona, reflecting the challenges faced by those organizing and supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ events. Reel Pride has also faced its share of challenges, with hateful messages posted to their social media posts.
“We’ve never had as much negative or hateful comments on our social media as we have this year,” says Desautels. “We’ve been busy deleting those and reporting the nasty ones. So it just shows we can’t just sit back and say, hey, we have all these privileges. Sorry. No, they’re not privileges. We have all these these rights. And, we can’t just sit on, sit back and say they’re going to stay there. No, they’re being taken away. We’ve seen down south that they’re challenged, and they’re going to be challenged here, too.”
Despite these messages, Desautels is not deterred, encouraged by this year’s turnout and the positivity from Winnipeg’s queer community and their allies. As Reel Pride continues its festivities until the closing ceremony on the 28th, they turn their attention to the upcoming 40th anniversary, eager to prepare and bring individuals together for this momentous occasion.
– Ryan Funk, U Multicultural
