Olivia Fader remembers going to Video Difference in Halifax to rent the film But I’m A Cheerleader.
“A lot of people that I grew up with, this movie in particular was almost always the first queer movie that anyone saw,” she says. “It’s so silly and campy and outrageous and enjoyable. It really holds up over the years.”
That’s one reason why the film was selected to kick off this year’s Big Gay Film Fest. Spearheaded by Fader, Dalhousie’s 2SLGBTQIA+ advisor, the fest will see the Sexton Campus Commons — a new downtown location for the fest this year — transformed into an outdoor theatre over three successive Wednesday nights. Members of the Dal community and the public can bring their lawn chairs, blankets and favourite snacks and enjoy a curated lineup of films by and about the queer community.
Behind the film fest
Fader has fond memories of attending the Atlantic Film Festival’s AlFresco filmFesto series on the Halifax boardwalk growing up, and always wanted to bring a film festival to campus.
“It was such a magical experience to see a movie outside for free and I wanted to recreate that,” says Fader. “That’s how the Big Gay Film Fest was born, and it’s something that I hope to continue every summer.”
As Dalhousie’s 2SLGBTQIA+ advisor, Fader champions university-wide programming and events, provides one-on-one advising, referrals to gender-affirming care, support navigating name or gender marker changes, and more.
Related reading: Dalhousie hires first advisor to support 2SLGBTQ+ students
“Queer students now have grown up with the Internet and have more access to culture and communities online,” says Fader. “There’s an element of me being older than the students I’m serving where we had such a different experience growing up. [The film festival] is a way to bring in that cultural component and share that ‘cult classic energy’ over time.”
Movie selection
The Big Gay Film Fest will showcase three films.
The first film this year, which will be screened on Wednesday, July 10, is the aforementioned But I’m A Cheerleader (1999), stars Natasha Lyonne (American Pie, Poker Face) as a high school teenager sent to rehab camp when her straitlaced parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian.
The second is The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), in which two drag performers and a transgender woman (played by Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terrance Stamp) travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
But the series isn’t all vintage. “I don’t only want to show the cult classic films. I want to be able to bring in queer cinema that’s happening now,” says Fader.
That’s why the third and final film being showcased at the Big Gay Film Festival is The Queen Of My Dreams, just released last year. The Canadian production focuses on Mariam (Nimra Bucha), a Pakistani Muslim woman, and her Canadian-born daughter Azra (Amrit Kaur) coming of age in two different eras against the backdrop of a shared love of Bollywood fantasy.
Related reading: Fawzia Mirza's The Queen of My Dreams is a love letter to Bollywood and queerness – CBC news
Directed by Fawzia Mirza, The Queen Of My Dreams had its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, has received 4 awards, and 11 nominations.
About community
Fader says it’s special — and important — to get to experience cultural events with other queer people.
“For me, that’s one of the most magical parts of Pride and these kinds of events. It’s not that you get to meet people necessarily, but that feeling of being in a shared space and the excitement and rareness that Pride brings out.
“I talk about this a lot, but as queer and trans people, we’re not born into the communities that we exist in. We have to create that community and connect with people.”
Related: Learn more about the Queer Faculty Staff Caucus
Broader celebrations
The film fest is one of the ways that Dal is celebrating Pride. In Truro, where Pride celebrations take place in June, Dal had a float in the parade on Saturday, June 22. In Halifax, the Progress Pride flag was raised and a community BBQ was hosted on July 9, while the Big Gay Film Fest will lead into the broader Halifax Pride Festival from July 18-28. Dal will participate in the Halifax Pride Parade on Saturday, July 20.
Related: Join Dalhousie in the Halifax Pride Parade
This year’s Halifax Pride features more events dedicated to the BIPOC community, sober spaces, American Sign Language interpretation, descriptive and Elder viewing areas for the parade, and more.
“There’s something so cool that happens with the Halifax Pride Parade because of the volume of people but at the heart of it, it’s groups of queer and trans people coming together and celebrating and thriving. We’ve also seen a resurgence of individual community pride parades.”
For students and community members who aren’t in Halifax this the summer, Fader encourages heading out to their own local celebrations.
Visit dal.ca/2slgbtq for more information about Pride events at Dal. Film screenings will begin at dusk with doors opening at 8:30 p.m. each night. Access the Sexton Campus Commons through the Richard Murray Design Building (also the rain location).
Learn more about the Halifax Pride Festival and view a detailed calendar of events.