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PRESS
Vancouver Queer Film Festival 2007 Backgrounder
July 11, 2007
- Mission Statement: The Vancouver Out On Screen Film and Video Society promotes the production and exhibition of queer media art, creating opportunities for dialogue and education among diverse communities that cross class, age, ability, ethnicity, spirituality, gender and sexuality.
- The Out On Screen Film and Video Society was founded in 1989 as a precursor to the 1990 Gay Games and put on the first festival in 1989, which was called the Vancouver Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. The name was later changed to the Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF).
- The VQFF is the second largest film fest in Vancouver and the largest Gay and Lesbian film fest in Western Canada, as well as the second oldest queer film fest in Canada.
- The VQFF is the post-pride event; has glam and glitz; independent films; encourages filmmaking; is an economic spin-off for the city; fosters community and community-building; accessible to disabled/hearing impaired.
- The VQFF features wide-ranging leading-edge programming that pushes the envelope. Canadian and international films showcase the diversity of queer life. Diversity is the hallmark of the festival, with documentaries, drama, comedy, erotica, human rights issues, experimental film, local film, films for gay youth, films by First Nations filmmakers as well as films by first-time filmmakers being shown.
- Not everyone who attends the Festival is gay—at least 10% of attendees identify as straight, according to past audience surveys.
- The Festival has seen exponential growth over the years and has grown from a very small group of dedicated volunteers to a core staff with a new Director of Programming, Vanessa Kwan, hired in 2006. Audience size increased last year by 31% to 10,480. We expect a 15% increase to 12,000 this year.
- The organization is now coming up to its 20th anniversary in 2008, and in preparation has launched a major fundraising campaign—Projection 20.
- Out On Screen and the VQFF have a broad base of support, including numerous donors and major corporate, government, and media sponsors, such as Vancity, the City of Vancouver, the Canada Council for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council, Showcase, Citytv, The Westender, BC Hydro, the Vancouver School Board, and many others. Out On Screen has a large and dedicated volunteer base as well as a core staff and has just hired a new coordinator for the Queer History Project, Chris Gatchalian.
- In 2004 Out in Schools (see www.outinschools.com) was launched as a pilot project by Out On Screen and has since grown to an outreach program educating thousands of BC high school students through film about homophobia and in particular, bullying. The program is generating requests from all over the province and has received inquiries from groups in Alberta, Ontario, the Atlantic Provinces and the United States.
- Over the years, Out On Screen and the VQFF have been targeted for censorship by various organizations and groups. On the eve of the 2002 Opening Gala, the Film Classification Office (FCO) surprised festival organizers by insisting the festival did not have the appropriate permits to screen Aerlyn Weissman's documentary Little Sister's vs. Big Brother— ironically, a film about anti-censorship and longstanding government interference with the right of queers to view and read material pertinent to their culture. Outraged members and supporters claimed discrimination was the true reason behind the red tape as other festivals in BC were not required to obtain permits. Ultimately, the FCO withdrew its request and the screenings went ahead as planned. The controversy made headlines in both the queer and mainstream press, locally and nationally.
- In 2006 REAL Women of Canada and Campaign Life Coalition launched a campaign against the VQFF. Allegations were made that government arts funding of the festival was a waste of taxpayer dollars and an article posted on LifeSiteNews.com urged readers to contact Stephen Harper and Beverley Oda. No other film festivals who receive funding from the same government body were targeted. Out On Screen contacted its membership and received a very large and positive response. Several media outlets, including the Vancouver Sun, The Georgia Straight, and Arts News Canada ran articles about the story. Funding was not cut.
For more information contact:
Lauryn Hayden
Media Relations Coordinator
ph 604-844-1615
lauryn@outonscreen.com
www.outonscreen.com
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