Inside Vancouver

33rd Annual Queer Film Festival

by Inside Vancouver in Entertainment on July 22, 2021

Photo: VQFF

Out On Screen announced today the program for the 33rd annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF), taking place virtually this summer from Thursday, August 12 to Sunday, August 22. Tickets and Passes are available online at www.queerfilmfestival.ca.

VQFF will be presented online in a video-on-demand (VOD) format, with a few small in-person events. Most films will be available throughout the 11-day celebration, with all content available to stream across British Columbia. The Festival will continue to follow the guidance of Public Health in order to offer audiences a COVID-safe viewing experience of the best independent queer cinema, along with workshops, artist Q&As, panels, and a few fun surprises.

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33rd Annual Queer Film Festival

Bill Reid Gallery: Resurgence – Indigiqueer Identities

by Inside Vancouver in Events on October 15, 2020

Two Spirits at the Carnival Stations of the Cross. By Levi Nelson, Oil, acrylic on canvas, 2019. Private collection.

The Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art presents the exhibition Resurgence: Indigiqueer Identities, curated by Jordana Luggi – which celebrates the deeply personal and profound work of four emerging artists – and their unique identities and stories as queer Indigenous people, on display October 21, 2020 – January 24, 2021. Continue reading:
Bill Reid Gallery: Resurgence – Indigiqueer Identities

Add Dagger Editions to Your Isolation Reading List

by Inside Vancouver in Town on March 25, 2020

By Rachel Rosenberg

Halfmoon Bay is a small community near Vancouver on the Sunshine Coast, with beautiful coastline views and a thriving artistic centre. This idyllic locale is home of Caitlin Press and its Dagger Editions imprint, dedicated to queer women voices, available for order online with delivery through local bookstores; Spartacus Books, Massey Books and Pulp Fiction.

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Add Dagger Editions to Your Isolation Reading List

Vancouver’s Next Drag Superstar Winner 2020

by Inside Vancouver in Town on March 19, 2020

By Kendell Yan

The audience roars, then falls into a silent anticipation, a collective breath to take in her glory. She stands proudly under a spotlight, a long crimson cape flutters behind her, the sound of a sword slices through the air. “My name is Kara Juku,” she says, “and I will bring honour to us all.”

[Editor’s COVID-19 note: Missing the nightlife already? See the bottom of this post for a list of virtual and streaming drag shows coming up from Vancouver.]

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Vancouver’s Next Drag Superstar Winner 2020

Drag Monarch, Alma B*tches, Reflects on a Year of Charity

by Inside Vancouver in Town on March 10, 2020

Photo credit: Fernando Cysneiros @thedragseries

By Kendell Yan

If you’ve been to a few drag shows in Vancouver over the past five years there is a fairly significant chance that one of them was hosted, MC’d, and/or performed by Alma Bitches, her most imperial sovereign majesty, Emprex 48 of the Dogwood Monarchist Society.

Charity and community work have always been a focal point for Alma, having started their career in drag as a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a worldwide charity organization, almost 10 years ago. It was a natural progression for them to apply for election to the title of Emprex. Continue reading:
Drag Monarch, Alma B*tches, Reflects on a Year of Charity

Transgender Vancouver Artists Collaborate in ‘Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women’

by Inside Vancouver in Events on March 2, 2020

By Rachel Rosenberg

From March 12–21, 2020, join performers Josie Boyce, Carolynn Dimmer, Amy Fox, Quanah Napoleon, Morgane Oger, Sabrina Symington and Julie Vu at Firehall Arts Centre (280 East Cordova Street). These extraordinarily talented transgender women come to the show from a variety of backgrounds; with resumes boasting varied professional experiences such as musician, writer, actor, mental health worker, tech industry consultant and a Miss International Queen contestant.

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Transgender Vancouver Artists Collaborate in ‘Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women’

Homo-Normative Drag Show Closes Out January’s Smash Comedy Festival

by Inside Vancouver in Events on January 6, 2020

By Rachel Rosenberg

Coming up, bundle up with a warm scarf and tuque before heading out for The Smash Comedy Fest. Produced by the Nasty Women Comedy troupe, this is the festival’s second year and it lasts for three days from January 23-25. The various events highlight “Vancouver’s best and brightest women/trans/femme/plus performers”. It sounds like it will be delightfully funny and will feature “feminist-forward comedy from an elite squad of sketch, improv and stand-up comedians…writing and improv workshops, dance parties and killer drag performances”. This is a burgeoning festival that should not be missed.

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Homo-Normative Drag Show Closes Out January’s Smash Comedy Festival