Cheer for Queer: Film Festival's Youth Gala Celebrates the Best in Youth Art

The 22nd Vancouver Queer Film Festival is Vancouver’s second largest film festival and is being held at several locations in downtown Vancouver from August 12 – 22, 2010. On top of outstanding queer cinema from around the globe, the festival also hosts workshops, performances, parties and other events for the eleven days.

This year, the Film Festival presents many films accessible to youth. With twenty-three films that welcome audiences under eighteen, this year’s festival has the biggest youth focus to date.

The highlight for youths was undoubtedly the Youth Gala, which was held at the Roundhouse Arts and Recreation Centre on August 13th. The evening began with a tour of the Pride In Art exhibition featuring some of the best queer art. The displays included a variety of mediums and contrasting colours and styles. The party continued with screenings of the films made at the 2010 NO HATE Youth Filmmaking Bootcamp and CampOUT and the winning short films of the Anti-Homophobia Student Public Service Announcement (PSA) Competition.

Promoting the motto “make a video, change the world,” the NO HATE Bootcamp presented by Out in Schools and Reel Youth taught participants to create digital films about gender expression, being allies and queer identity. The outstanding winning films of the PSA Competition came from Clayton Heights Secondary (Surrey), Argyle Secondary (North Vancouver) and Templeton Secondary (East Vancouver).

The films included a variety of silent films and claymations, featuring music created by young queer musicians. The audience and artists present at the Youth Gala were very supportive of one another, united in promoting the common theme of inclusion of queer students.

Following the premieres of the short films, several artists under the age of 25 showcased their talents at the Caffeinated Queers open-mic and cabaret. From dances to songs to poems, the upcoming artists expressed their hopes for the public to accept queer youth.

Finally, with DJ Jef Leppard playing catchy tunes, the young queer artists ended the night’s celebration with dancing and food. The youth artists of our community gathered for an evening of fun, dancing, films, and the dream of promoting an inclusive, anti-homophobia community here in Vancouver.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out this year’s Vancouver Queer Film Festival, it's not too late. For more information go to http://www.queerfilmfestival.ca/.