A journey within four walls
The Queer City Cinema festival began on Sept 12, 2024. The Regina Public Library Film Theatre showed a list of International and local short films, and the Dunlop Art Gallery hosted major performances from U.S.-based artists Dorian Wood and Derrick Woods-Morrow.
These were ‘’pay what you can’’ events centered around the chosen theme of “journey.” The films remained in my mind after the festival, many evoked a range of feelings like warmth, joy, and horror, and sometimes left me puzzled. I found myself noting down these two films with outstanding visuals, which of course, my brief summary will not do any justice.
First is Emily Curtis’ All That Love Allows – a queer tale of two pirates, Ann Bonny and Mary Read. Secondly, Kalil Haddad’s The Taking of Jordan (All American Boy) shows an adult performer, who meets a chilling end in his many lives.
The performances after the film screenings were nothing short of remarkable. Dorian Wood, a multidisciplinary artist, came to conquer the Regina stage with Musa Cerdota. Upon entering the gallery, we were told to sit on any of the cushions spread around the space. Within a couple of minutes, Wood came out in their gorgeous attire – a patterned dress and big golden hoop earrings accompanied by shiny gold makeup.
Performing songs from her album REACTOR (2020), Wood entranced the audience not just with her vocals but with each sway of her body. In the background, a black and white video rotated between scenes of Wood and other performers, sometimes engaging in an intimate hug or kiss.
Wood teased the audience with the rising of their garment, which was soon discarded halfway through the performance. Leaving the microphone, which I argue she did not need, Wood cascaded between the spectators.
When asked what she wanted the audience to feel from this performance, she responded with “sweaty.” Afterwards, Wood shared with me her gratitude for the space and credited the presence of the attentive and warmhearted audience for it. As I reminisce about that night, I feel nothing but appreciation for Wood’s ability to transport us to another world.
The final performance was titled, I Believe in the Future of “Small Countries’’ by Derrick Woods-Morrow. This was one whole hour of sensory stimulation and people trusting each other. First, we were individually greeted by Woods-Morrow at the door, who asked us to share about a pleasure we’ve had and download it by speaking towards our chosen part of his body.
Entering the gallery, I was hit with the smell of coffee and the deep colours of pink and purple illuminating the room. While blindfolded for most of his performance, Woods-Morrow interacted with both the space and the audience. He started by sweeping the sand on the floor, moving it in and out of its original state. Buckets full of soapy water and coffee beans were also used to trigger our senses.
Then, Woods-Morrow transformed the spectators into collaborative participants by prompting us to interact with him– asking for someone to come up and perform a given task. I was curious about the takeaway from this performance, and he told me after the performance that he hoped the audience would leave with some type of appreciation for the pleasure they deserve, the joy they deserve, and the easy way you can tip sensation.
When asked what people missed that night, he shared, “They missed me covered in sand, trying something new, and being brave. They missed a few tears under the blindfold, and they missed me trying to find something I’ve been looking for a long time.”This was my first taste of the festival, and it was an unforgettable weekend of queer stories and art. These events are important to celebrate because it doesn’t just stop at representing diverse artists. It cements that queer people have always been here and will take up space, regardless of its intolerance.
