For all the people (including me) who missed any of the Queer History Project films from past years! I’ve already reviewed the five shorts in Riffs on the Theme of Activism so I won’t cover them here, but it was lovely seeing them again. Given the choice I might have skipped them since it was almost midnight when I came out of the theatre, but I’m not complaining. Too much.
The Love That Won’t Shut Up
Half a dozen elderly gay men and lesbians and one trans man talk about their lives: first sexual experiences, first loves, coming out in the 60’s, all accompanied with archival or personal photos. Fascinating and insightful look at the lives and politics of the time.
The Portside
This gives us a glimpse of a somewhat fictionalised gay/lesbian bar of the 60’s or 70’s (I think inspired by the Vanport) with all the requisite cliches: a tired old drag queen entertainer, asshole straight guys, breakups, closets, politics, raids, and the whole butch/femme thing, all in one glorious night. The acting was a bit wooden and the dialog stilted, but the whole thing is hilarious and cleverly done. A great look at the gay nightlife of yesteryear.
Rex vs. Singh
In 1915 two Sikh men, Naina Singh and Dalep Singh, were accused of “gross indecency” (specifically, propositioning police officers) and brought to court. This movie, done in several part by 3 different directors, tries to get at the truth through court transcripts and other contemporaneous documents by recreating the events as in a courtroom drama. In addition, history professor Brent Ingram discusses some of the wider issues and politics surrounding the case. This was a time of de facto segregation between whites, Chinese, Japanese and South Asians Vancouverites; a time when the Canadian government did its best to limit immigration of non-white people, and policemen regularly used entrapment to charge South Asian men with the terribly vague crime of gross indecency.
We don’t know what really happened. Were the detectives really propositioned? Were Misters Singh and Singh convicted? We don’t have the answers and probably never will, but at least we know enough to ask these questions. All in all, a fascinating look at a long-forgotten and shameful chapter of Vancouver history.
The Gay Spirit
Brand-new this year, a collage of old photos of Pride marches, protests and other Vancouver events, from 1981 (our first Pride march) until today. And hey, the VGVA marched in 1984! It was only 5 years old then!