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2025 Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) When & Where September 11 - 21, 2025 | Local supporting in-person theatres + online. For more more information, visit the VQFF website here. Reviewers Darren Cordeiro and Jason Martin Then.
Now. Forever. (Opening Presentation)
Date and Venue September 11, 2025 | Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton St., Vancouver, BC Reviewers Darren Cordeiro & Jason Martin The opening gala for the 2025 Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) was a night to remember! With speeches from collaborators to amazing performances by Indigenous Peoples prior to the Shorts, the evening kicked off to a fabulous start. Then. Now. Forever., a collection of seven Shorts, was played for the sold-out audience, each one speaking to different topics and themes that entrench the Queer community.
Set in 1970s Los Angeles, Dandelion trails foster teen Margaret (Ava Lalezarzadeh) as she’s ferried across the city in a sputtering wood-paneled Pinto—both a metaphor of her inner struggle and an iconic relic of the era. With her social worker (Vic Michaelis), she scrambles to find her yet another placement before daybreak. As the night unfolds, the search for a new placement turns into something more: a glimpse of queer community, tenderness, and the possibility of belonging. Obertinca’s Short distills themes of abandonment and chosen family into 20 minutes that are as sharp as they are heartfelt.
Anita Louise, a Nova Scotian photographer, spent decades visually documenting local queer community events, especially the weekend retreat Wild Women Don’t Get The Blues which was an intimate camping getaway for lesbian and bisexual women in the 80s and 90s. Truly serving as a Canadian queer pioneer, she was noted in the interviews as somebody who would always be present but never in the spotlight as she was behind the scenes capturing the candid, blissful moments of her queer community. After her recent passing, she is still remembered as the warmth behind the camera’s eye.
Set in contemporary San Francisco, Tatiana faces significant challenges when her home enters foreclosure, resulting in her and her mother having to reside in their vehicle. Desperate to survive, she considers taking matters into her own hand and doing a luxury brand heist alongside her two zany friends. This Short had an upbeat and humorous tone given the high-energy provided by the cast; however, it also underlined the struggle and hardships that many Black Americans currently face in the USA where homeless is becoming more prevalent each day along with the growing division between the rich and poor.
When 1970s exotic dancer Shelly Bauman loses her leg in a freak accident, she doesn’t retreat, she reinvents. With settlement money in hand, she opens Shelly’s Leg, Seattle’s first gay nightclub, creating a space as flamboyant, defiant, and unruly as she was. Narrated by Kathleen Turner—her gravelly purr as the perfect cherry on top—the film leans into mockumentary-style comedy while never losing sight of its tragic origins. It perfectly channels the queer 70s aesthetic, equal parts Studio 54 shimmer and smoky dive-bar grit, with just enough camp and wit to let you know it’s winking at you. Themes of resilience, queer community, and the alchemy of turning catastrophe into collective joy power this eccentric portrait. Like its namesake club, the short is brash, camp, and unforgettable.
As Ru Paul would surely say after seeing this Short, “Shantay, Miss Honey… you stay!” Within six minutes, the viewer gets to experience the extravagant life of Miss Honey who rose from rags to stardom (and into a beautiful iconic cut-out cat suit designed by Douglas Says). This catsuit with its memorable cut-out is showcased throughout the film and reminds us all how the simplest designs can be the most timeless.
Set in 18th century London, this period piece showcases the pageantry and decadence of the secret molly-houses where queer men would come to congregate and celebrate behind closed doors. Provided cute names as aliases, similar to modern day Drag Queens, one could be themselves without the threat of danger or persecution that was seen during those times for the Queer community. Secret marriages, dancing, music and laughter ensued each Sunday night at this molly-house. While the event was celebratory and vivacious, you could see there was a sadness in their eyes as they knew once the dawn set, they’d have to leave and revert back to the self that society expected. As is well known, many molly-houses were raided where the incumbents were often imprisoned or even executed. While we have made many strides in the Queer community in the past three centuries, work still needs to be done as queers continue to be persecuted and executed in nations around the world.
Told strictly through narration and visuals projected by a black and white 16 mm film, this Canadian story speaks to the Indigenous film community within Winnipeg. Parallels are spoken about the kindness these film buffs received in Winnipeg which contrasted against what they were told the City was like in terms of its notorious crime and violence. This film showcases the importance of knowing and embracing one’s history and just like the preconceived notions of Winnipeg, “never judge a book by its cover.”
Reviewer Darren Cordeiro Canada, 2025 | Dir: Corey Payette | 116 min This film embodies Ru Paul’s mantra “We are all born naked and the rest is drag!” It is a coming-of-age story about Star, an Indigenous queer young adult who is trying to find their place in the world after having very little security with their upbringing after being bounced around the foster care system in British Columbia. Befriended by Levi, Star is introduced to Mother who runs The House of Borealis, an East Van drag club, and their ‘chosen drag family’. Through the hardships the drag family experience throughout the film, Star realizes that their hard shell that is put up to not be abandoned again must be shattered as with community brings power and love. Like the adage says, “it takes a Village.” The queer audience was pleasantly surprised that this film was a musical and the songs and voice talent were top notch. Filmed in high definition, it also showcased beautiful parts of our city including Commercial Drive, Brittania Community Centre and views of the downtown core through the Skytrain. Check it out as you will be tapping your toes throughout to the songs and wanting to hit up a drag show afterwards! Shorts:
Family's A Drag Watch Online in BC: Sept 22, 12 AM - Sept 28, 11:59 PM Reviewer Jason Martin Shorts: Family’s A Drag is a collection of six films that find humor, heart, and grit in the ties that shape us. From gender journeys to drag stages, these stories spotlight queer voices across generations, showing how family—chosen and inherited—can be a source of both friction and fierce joy. Together, they remind us that family and belonging is essential to everyone of us—and it isn’t granted, it’s created.
The Reveal is written and directed by Jackie Hoffart—established Vancouver-based television producer, writer, and stand-up comic. A winner of Crazy8s Film Society’s Top 6, the film’s local team included Andrea Feltrin as producer, and Jillian Beausoleil, Erin Purghart and Roxanne Duncan as co-producers, and Frank Paige as associate producer. Saarthak Taneja was the director of photography and Hayley Sawatzky was editor. The film also features local actors Emilee Nimetz, Kaylah Zander, Sarah Peguero, Jenn Griffin, Rob Egger, and Harnoor Gill. The film’s central premise developed out of an impromptu conversation Hoffart had with a pregnant friend and colleague. Hoffart explained, “I was just starting the process of getting on testosterone, and my co-producer, who was pregnant at the time, was joking about having a gender reveal. We thought—what if we made a story that married those themes? Writing the script didn’t take very long. Within about a month of that first conversation I had a first draft.” In the film, the lead character Stevie, with the support of their girlfriend, braces for their sister’s gender reveal party while preparing to share their own gender journey with the family. Hoffart’s heartfelt comedy frames gender not as a battleground but as an everyday reality—something families can embrace with curiosity, humor, and love. Drawing from their own life and experience, Hoffart threads a perfect mix of delightful one-liners and double entendres seamlessly into the dialogue, keeping the humor sharp while the story remains deeply genuine. As Hoffart put it, “Most comedy is really about serious things—even sad things. For Stevie, it’s the fear of not being supported by their family. That came from a very real place, and I think that’s why it resonates as authentic.” Hoffart also credits great chemistry with the actors and crew. “With The Reveal, everyone really bought into it. Even the crew members were completely on board, and I think because I really shared my story with them and was vulnerable, I think everyone really got it, and understood what we were trying to achieve with the film.” With warmth and wit, The Reveal mines generational and family quirks for laughs while affirming a simple truth: queer and trans stories aren’t footnotes in family life—they’re central to it.
Mandarin
Chinese
Drag musician Lagoona Bloo—born David Brumfield—takes center stage in the Canadian Premiere of Austin Nunes’s tender, funny, and unflinching short documentary. Brumfield speaks with the timing of a natural comedian, weaving humor and warmth into stories that never shy away from the toughness of his journey: a childhood marked by rejection, a family that initially disowned him, and the long process of finding his way back. But the film is not only about reconciliation with others—it’s about refusing to abandon yourself, about showing up for who you are when no one else does. With backstage candor and musical verve, Into the Bloo captures the resilience and artistry at the heart of queer survival, reminding us that self-acceptance is its own kind of performance—and sometimes, it’s the one our lives depend on.
Narrated in an intimate, playful, and deeply personal style, Grand Dandy (For Ezra) makes its Canadian Premiere and brings to life a poem written by non-binary author Libro Levi Bridgeman for their young grandson. Through tender stop-motion vignettes, the film captures the everyday joys of their bond while quietly raising a profound question: how does one share queer identity with a child? Bridgeman’s voice—non-binary and from the boomer generation—adds a rare, underrepresented perspective, infusing the short with humor, warmth, and authenticity. The film’s final reveal of a real photograph grounds the animation in lived experience, layering poignancy onto its already heartfelt narrative. At just four minutes, Grand Dandy celebrates queer family with a light touch and a lasting impact, reminding us that love and joy remain the truest common ground across generations.
Set against the bland, beige backdrop of 1990s suburban New Zealand, Ramon Te Wake’s flamboyant short finds its sparkle in the contrast: two teenage boys raiding mum’s wardrobe, reveling in the lavish camp of dress-up and discovery. What could have been a moment of dread—parents walking in on a secret—becomes instead a playful act of revisionist history, imagining acceptance where we might expect shame. With humor, heart, and a keen eye for the rituals of queer adolescence, Wait, Wait, Now! reframes the teenage bedroom as both stage and sanctuary. Te Wake’s film is both nostalgic and defiant, a reminder of how joy and self-expression could have bloomed sooner if only the world, and more parents, had known how to embrace their queer kids.
Blanca Muñoz Ávila’s The Pleats of the Skirt unfolds in a landscape of scarcity, where the bleak aesthetic and lack of wealth stand in sharp contrast to the simple joys of childhood—a tomboy’s freedom found in a soccer ball, or in the clothes that let her feel most herself. Against this backdrop, Linda is cast in the school play The Ugly Duckling, taking on a “male” role that unsettles her father but stirs quiet resolve in her mother. The play within the film mirrors Linda’s own journey: Andersen’s tale of the outcast who discovers their true beauty becomes a parable of difference embraced rather than suppressed. With tenderness and quiet defiance, The Pleats of the Skirt reframes the universal story of the “ugly duckling” as one of gender, identity, and the quiet courage it takes to swim against the tide—even at home.
Reviewer Jason Martin Ireland
/ United Kingdom, 2024 | Dir: Darren Thornton | 89 min What makes Four Mothers resonate is how it gestures to a cultural shift: we are at a point in history when mothers nearing the sunset of their lives can fully embrace their queer children—a story unthinkable a generation ago. Edward’s own mother, played with formidable presence, has lost her ability to speak after a stroke; the automated voice of her iPad provides both pathos and perfectly timed hilarity, becoming almost a character in its own right. Thornton
also plays with the idea of the road not taken at midlife, showing
that meaning and adventure, for queer people in particular, don’t
have to rely on spouses and children, but through resilience, forgiveness,
and being open to a second chapter in life. With biting wit, rich
ensemble performances, and a heart attuned to queer survival, Four
Mothers balances irreverence with grace. It is a story of showing
up—for our parents, for our communities, and most importantly,
for ourselves.
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Dandelion
Anita
Louise and the Wild Women
Rainbow
Girls 
Shelly’s
Leg 
Miss
Honey: The Catsuit
Sweetheart
Confluence
Starwalker
Spotlighting
Local Short: The Reveal 
Immature
Into
the Bloo
Grand
Dandy (For Ezra)
Wait,
Wait, Now!
The
Pleats of the Skirt (Pliegues de la falda)
Four
Mothers (Closing Presentation)