WeGoWeGo

Bent – An Evening of Queer Expressions

A monthly event that showcases community members who discuss their knowledge and expertise on various chosen topics. A moderated panel discussion is followed by an open format Q&A with the audience, creating an educational and interactive experience.

This month we present a look inside the world of queer cinema. What are the challenges and reward facing queer filmmakers? How does queer cinema differ from mainstream in this more accepting Hollywood environment we are in the midst of? Does queer still have relevance to audiences? What boundaries are left to explore? Does being identified as queer lead to stereotypes or prejudice within the industry?

Panelists: (Bios Below)
Heather Tobin
Bruce Locke
Francesca Nocera
Andrew Robertson
Natalyn Tremblay

Moderator: Andrew Vail, writer, The Middle Edge, gayguidetoronto.com
Read his latest blog posting here – http://gayguidetoronto.com/the-middle-edge/

After the panel discussion we will be screening clips from works of the panelists, followed by the exclusive Canadian premiere of “Passions Just Like Mine” – a film and dedication to the greatest singer of all time, Morrissey, according to a few thousand Latino fans in the Los Angeles area. It is a portrait of these fans and how Morrissey’s music and lyrics have effected them. The movie features an original soundtrack as well as the music of Morrissey. Directed by Kerri Koch.

Future Topics – Theatre, Music, Kink, Astrology, Politics, Literature, Art, Youth Culture/Elder Visions, International Rights

Join our Facebook Page and be the first to know -
http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/TX-Productions/100984552111

Tuesday May 25th – Gladstone Hotel Art Bar, 1214 Queen Street West, 416 531 4635 – 7pm to 9pm – Free Admission – All Welcome

TX Productions (Events – Happenings – Music – Art – Culture)
Website – http://www.themarsbar.com
Facebook – TX Productions
Twitter – TX_Productions

RSVP: info@themarsbar.com
More Info – http://www.themarsbar.com/future.htm

Panelist Bios

Heather Tobin

‘To Each Her Own’ is a twenty-something coming of age story of a closeted, young married woman, Jessica Sutterland (Hannah Hogan) whose life is turned upside-down after a chance meeting with openly gay Casey (Tracy Rae).

Jessica is married to her high-school best friend, the eternally devoted Trevor, despite having romantic feelings for girls at a young age. Set on the typical small-town suburban path, Jessica begins to get pressure from family about having kids and decides with Trevor to start planning for a baby.

Casey is a captivating, out lesbian who lives a somewhat promiscuous lifestyle and doesn’t really believe that true love is for her. Casey has a diverse group of friends and an accepting family and is able to live her life without fear of condemnation.

When Jess meets Casey she is instantly captivated by the outgoing woman and a romantic bond quickly begins to form between them. As Jess spends more time alone with Casey and more effort avoiding her husband, her life begins spinning out of control. Jess and Casey’s growing love sends once cynical Casey to demand more from Jess who is forced to come to terms with her repressed sexuality and examine the feelings that she always considered to be sinful.

A surprise discovery and her own fears lead Jess back to her husband, but ultimately Jess will be forced to choose between Casey & Trevor once and for all, knowing that she risks stability, her family and all that she knows, for the great unknown and her new found love.

‘To Each Her Own’ goes deep into the feelings and emotions that people go through while undergoing the coming out process in hopes to help people understand how truly hard the struggle with both internalized and external homophobia can be. www.toeachherown.com

Bruce Locke

I was born in Trinidad and studied Film Production at Ryerson from 1969 to 1972. I’ve produced several documentary and industrial films for various corporations. In 1993 I started making gay themed films the first being “Paradise”, set in 1937, a story of love, betrayal and secrets kept when four pals spend a weekend camping at a National Park in New Jersey. I followed that with a film on young gay prostitutes, “Struggle”, in 1995, a film which I recently remade. My greatest achievement was a three hour epic, “Blood and Honour”, documenting the story of a gay Hitler Youth, Hartmund Bieler, who falls in love with his company commander as they are thrown into the final battle of Berlin in 1945. This film was shot in Germany, Poland and Canada. I’m now in preproduction for another period piece, “Hansie and Marieke”, a short love story set in a prison camp at the end of World War Two.

I consider my strengths to be in camera work and editing and I have a great deal of hard earned front line experience in being able to mount complicated productions on shoe string budgets. I’ve borrowed everything from tanks to steam trains, aeroplanes to streetcars, mansions to machine guns. I’ve blown up everything you can think of and once even staged an aeroplane crash in front of Burlington’s City Hall. I gain immense satisfaction doing what I do. www.youtube.com/watch?v=owuh7M4kp5E

Francesca Nocera

I make animated films mostly, teach film animation to kids, work and mentor youth film makers, make music videos and do live video projection work. I studied at Concordia and Parsons School of Design. I studied fine art-film animation-illustration.Last year I made a film with some youth from the Griffin Center and it won best up and coming film maker in Toronto at the INSIDE OUT FESTIVAL.

Andrew Robertson

A Toronto-based DJ, writer and amateur filmmaker. His first two films, Jive Chicken and Gorence Nightingale are both very indie productions relying on a lot of friends and their skills. B-movie all the way, he’s making the leap into music videos next with Bad Bromance, his version of the Lady Gaga hit.

Natalyn Temblay

Embraces her Métis French farmer roots and strives to imbue creativity and integrity into everything she engages in. Natalyn holds a BA in Integrated Media from the Ontario College of Art and Design with a special focus on the theory and practice of making art for social change. Natalyn has been creating socio-political video, music and performance, and wearable art works as an independent queer artist for over 10 years and has shown across Canada. Natalyn has been working in arts based community development and community created documentary media for 5 years and has drawn much of her innovative skills as an educator and facilitator from these experiences. Natalyn has also had the blessings of collaborating with a dynamic diversity of artists, educators, organizers and communities across the continent. As an educator Natalyn encourages inclusion, diversity, exploration, creativity, criticality, sustainability and global citizenship. Natalyn is co-director of The People Project, an organization producing innovative arts and leadership opportunities for queer and marginalized youth in Toronto. My current body of work explores intersections of trans-human identity, wearable media arts technology and civil cyborgism in an attempt to bring alternative socio-political messages to the masses.
Co-Director and Program Coordinator
www.thepeopleproject.org

Sponsors:
gayguidetoronto.com
proudfm.com
xtra.ca
pridetoronto.com

Xtra – Exclusive Presenting Sponsor