For 10 years now Queer North has created a space for queer people and their allies from across identities, ages, and the great region of Northern Ontario to come together in community to engage in world class cinema, discussions, and social events.
We’re a Social-Justice-focused festival exhibiting bold, diverse queer stories to Northern audiences, ensuring accessibility, and creating meaningful cultural experiences that resonate far beyond the screen.
Canadian Screen Award Qualifying
4 Days
25+ Films
Film Premieres, Artist talks, After-Parties and More
10th Anniversary
Your All Access Pass includes admission to all Queer North screenings and events from June 18 to 21, plus exclusive passholder perks from participating local partners.
Experience 30+ world-class queer films and artist-led events for just $90!
Screenings take place at Sudbury Indie Cinema- 162 Mackenzie St. Laneway/side entrance.
Free parking and bike racks!
*Pride Spotlight series screenings are not included in Queer North All-Access Passes. Separate tickets are required.
by Quan Luong
2025 | Canada | Documentary | 10 min
Becoming Ruby follows Ruby Chopstix, Canada’s first drag artist-in-residence, as they navigate the complexity of being an underrepresented drag performer while creating a special showcase to create space for other queer BIPOC performers.
by Carmen Vidal
2025 | Spain | Documentary | 28 min | Spanish
In Paraguay, a country where homophobia, violence, and discrimination against transgender people are unfortunately all too common, there is a unique refuge: Casa Diversa. This haven is a symbol of hope and dignity for all people, regardless of their gender identity.
by Roberto Duque
2025 | UK | Documentary | 25 min
Voice Shift follows transgender femme individuals as they seek a voice that reflects their gender identity. Guided by a trans vocal coach, the film weaves together stories from different stages of people’s journeys. But this is more than an exploration of vocal technique, this is a film about identity and resilience – blending lived experience with a wider social commentary on the power and politics of voice.
by Glen Wood
2026 | Canada | Drama | 97 min
Followed by a Q&A with filmmakers
It’s stressful enough attending the wedding of your normie sister to the guy next door, especially when the event is presided over by your controlling and dysfunctional parents. Now try doing it with your two polyamorous partners in tow. In Glen Wood’s honest and emotionally complex feature debut, we meet Christine (Hannah Cheesman) and longtime partner Alex (Carlos Gonzalez-Vio) as they’re finding their rhythm with a new, younger partner, Stephane (Ryan Ali). When Christine discovers she’s unexpectedly pregnant, all three have very different reactions, causing tensions to arise. To make matters worse, much of this plays out at the wedding of Christine’s sister, Kat (Jordan Hayes), where the throuple must navigate judgmental relatives as well as their own, very complicated feelings.
by Diego Céspedes
2025 | Chile | Drama | 104 min | Spanish
Set in a remote Chilean mining town in 1982, Diego Céspedes’ dazzling debut feature follows young Lidia, who grows up within a vibrant queer household led by drag performers and trans women. When a mysterious illness—rumored to spread through the gaze between men—sows fear and hysteria, the community becomes the target of suspicion and violence. Through Lidia’s eyes, Céspedes crafts a haunting allegory of love, myth, and prejudice that reimagines the early AIDS era as a queer western with poetic intimacy and desert-dry surrealism. Winner of the Un Certain Regard Award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo recalls the emotional vibrancy of Almodóvar and continues Chile’s proud legacy of queer cinema—marking Céspedes as one of the most exciting new voices in world cinema.
by Quintina Lawrence
2025 | Canada | Short | 8 min.
The film follows a soft, sensual romance between two queer black women falling in love for the first time.
by Marcelo Silva
2025 | Brazil | Short | 18 min | Portuguese
After more than 40 years and a relationship violently interrupted, Roberto and Jonas run into each other by chance and talk about the past they shared, the present they built apart and the possibility of a future.
by Thomas Colineau
2025 | France | Short | 21 min | French
Simon works in a garden center in the south of France, alongside his mother, who is as kind as she is overbearing. When he is ghosted by Corentin, he is confronted with his loneliness. In the wondrous atmosphere of the greenhouse, where chatty plants echo his thoughts, he converses with another absence that helps him move forward: Hyacinth, an imagined adult who resembles him and understands him without the need for explanation. Xylella fastidiosa is a tribute to an entire generation decimated by HIV/AIDS, leaving a void in its wake.
by Amaia Yoldi
2025 | Spain | Short | 14 min | Spanish
Antonio and Inés are two complete strangers who arrange a meeting through a second-hand app. Inés wants to sell something she no longer tolerates; Antonio wants to try it. When they meet, an odd sense of mutual understanding emerges between them. However, what we do privately is not always something we want to acknowledge.
by Michael Doshier
2025 | USA | Short | 12 min
Ronita Rambo, the sharp-tongued waitress of a rural Missouri diner, has everyone’s order memorized – but not a clue how to text her new crush. Enlisting the help of two gay teens, she takes an unexpected leap toward love and authenticity.
by Neil Ely & Lloyd Eyre-Morgan
2025 | UK | Drama | 82 min
Two lads – Benji and Jake – meet at an airport gate and begin monthly incognito trips to Amsterdam together. Over time the need to keep their intimacy a secret causes strain for the out Benji, and their trysts become increasingly toxic.
by Ada Gay Griffin, Michelle Parkerson
1995 | USA | Documentary | 80 min
Tenderly tracing the life of poet Audre Lorde, the film cracks open life’s poetry guided by Lorde’s sincere belief more and better is possible if we envision it enough to will it into existence.
Presented by Anaphore
The 10th year of Queer North is more than just films! We’re excited to partner with Anaphore_Sudbury to present an Open Mic Night on Friday, June 19!
As always, the event is free. Sign ups open at 7:30pm, open mic will start at 8pm! Come share your writing with us be it, poetry, short story, theatre, film script, prose.
Priority will be given to BIPOC and 2SLGBTQQAI+ although allies are welcome to come up as well
!
by Brendan Lyle
2025 | Canada | Comedy | 77 min
Two Cape Breton best friends head west to Alberta for the first time with the hopes of making a few bucks as they open for a local band, but things go south when their accommodations fall through and they run out of money before booking a flight back home.
Presented by Mooncrater
The one and only, ROCKY HORROR SHADOWCAST, is back again at the Indie!
by Christophe Gomes
2025 | France | Short | 10 min | French
Camille is a six-year-old boy, but Camille feels like a girl. For Carnival, Camille goes to school dressed as a princess, despite the school’s refusal to acknowledge Camille as a girl. The principal summons Camille’s mother for a final confrontation.
by Silas Howse
2025 | Canada | Short | 11 min
Iris, a lonely and depressed young adult, just trying to make it through each monotonous day, gets their life upended by a mysterious being. They speak with the wisdom of someone who’s walked their path before. Iris is taunted by this ‘Other Self’, so when the work day ends and Other Self beckons for them to follow, they do, trying to figure out who they are and why they won’t leave them alone. When Iris confronts Other Self once more, they begin interrogating Iris – attacking their life, their job, their gender. Iris’ anger builds, and when they explode, Other Self disappears. Angry, curious, and desperate for the truth, Iris is led down two paths in an attempt to find Other Self, where they find – and finally accept – who they truly are.
by Conor Larsen, Zachary Kornblum
2026 | Canada | Animation | 2 min
In a dark movie theater, a young boy’s anxiety swells as he debates making the first move—until a small act of courage speaks louder than words.
by Cressa Maeve Áine
2020 | USA | Animation | 2 min
A stop motion short about gender and giant monsters.
by Calvin Prowse
2026 | Canada | Short | 6 min
A short doc on what it means to be Queer and disabled
by JElizabeth Chatelain
2025 | USA | Short | 9 min
In order to “heal” Sam must embrace her inner Me and kill her I.
Trigger warning: This film contains references to themes of sexual abuse, childhood trauma and homophobia which some individuals may find distressing.
by James Lewis, Lexi Powner
2026 | UK | Documentary | 84 min
Friedel Dausab is at the heart of a battle centuries in the making. Challenging Namibia’s criminalisation of same-sex love, Friedel becomes a beacon of hope for countless queer Namibians longing for freedom and safety. Amid death threats, relentless public scrutiny, and the chilling spectre of a serial killer, Friedel takes his country to court. The demonisation and incarceration of queer people is an ancient and shocking story of injustice – born in Tudor England, globalised through colonialism and amplified by christian evangelism today. Prominent queer historians trace the origins of criminalisation as Friedel joins fellow activists Rosanna (Sri Lanka) and Raven (Barbados) in London, where they prepare to deliver a rousing speech at Pride and await Friedel’s judgment. Queer The Way is a celebration of resistance, capturing the courage, humour, and resilience it takes to defy a legacy of hatred and forge a future of dignity and equality.
by Bosmo Kosmerly
2026 | Canada | Horror | 136 min.
Followed by a Q&A with Sudbury filmmaker Bosmo Kosmerly
Set in Sudbury during the onset of a cruel winter, Dark Frequencies tells the story of DJ, a mentally unwell electronica musician, who is exposed to a harmful, addictive sound wave called the Master Frequency, which has skin-peeling, mind-destroying consequences.
by Michelle Mama
2026 | USA | Documentary | 79 min
Followed by a Q&A with Queer Icon and Rockstar Carole Pope, and Director Michelle Mama
Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions is a bold, intimate, and darkly funny portrait of Carole Pope—Canada’s original queer rock icon, a taboo-shattering provocateur whose voice once echoed across radios, TV screens, and underground clubs and impressed David Bowie enough to be invited as his opener on his biggest world tour. Featuring interviews with k.d. lang, Peaches, Rufus Wainwright, Peaches, Jann Arden, Sebastian Bach, Nona Hendrix, Jeanne Beker, and more, Antidiva contextualizes Pope’s place in queer and Canadian cultural history. As artists who followed in her footsteps reflect on her impact, a clear picture emerges: Carole Pope was not just ahead of her time—she cracked the door open for others to walk through. Unvarnished, sexy, and unrepentant, Antidiva reclaims Carole Pope’s place in music history—not as a footnote, but as a godmother of punk glam, queer pride, and radical authenticity.
by Siobhan McCarthy
2025 | USA | Comedy | 81 min
Before graduation, Ethan and Alex pose as trans women in a last ditch effort to quell gay rumors. It’s all a joke until Ethan realizes: she really is trans. The two must reckon with their changing friendship, coming out, and coming-of-age.
Featuring Jenna Seppa
by Anushay Sheikh, Cathy van Ingen
2026 | Canada | Documentary | 7 min
The film follows Demiesha Dennis and Ren Navarro, two remarkable Black queer entrepreneurs reshaping who belongs in the outdoors. The film was produced through Catchweight Films with support from CQCC’s 2SLGBTQI+ Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub.
by Mette Ricard
2026 | Canada | Documentary | 14 min
In this era of profound ecosystem devastation and capitalist ravage, how is it that queer people are still the ones we deem “unnatural”? The director of this short film sought the help of their own community of rural queerdos, to tackle the big questions of our time. How are capitalism and sciences linked? Is heterosexuality natural or artificial? Is this chair straight or gay? Is this party starting or what?
by Brandon Deyette
2025 | USA | Short | 18 min
After being kicked out of his strict Mormon home, 17-year-old AJ finds himself lost on the streets of Atlanta. Desperate and naive, he’s taken in by Baby Girl, an 18-year-old Black trans sex worker whose sharp instincts have kept her alive. She offers him shelter in a squat house and teaches him the hustles of survival—stealing, dealing, and navigating the unforgiving city.
Under the watchful eye of Daddy, Baby Girl’s volatile pimp, AJ is drawn deeper into a world both thrilling and dangerous. The two form an intense bond—part friendship, part mentorship, part something unspoken. But when their friend Pedro contracts HIV and gets government aid, AJ and Baby Girl are forced to confront a brutal reality. As their nights blur into neon-lit highs and whispered fears, one reckless choice threatens to change everything—forcing them to decide how far they’ll go to escape a life that never wanted them.
by Mateusz Pacewicz
2025 | Poland | Short | 25 min | Polish
Antek (18), a a closeted teenage gay from a wealthy family, invites a drug dealer – Kuba (18) – he has a hopeless crush on – to his villa under the pretext of another drug transaction. However, he does not know that Kuba has a mission that he received from his superiors – his Father and his Brother. The dealer’s family suspects that Antek resells their mephedrone at a profit at his school, so Kuba is supposed to investigate the situation. The story begins as a romantic comedy of errors, turns into a social satire to end, after various adventures, with an emotional plot twist.
by Siddharth Menon
2024 | UK, India | Short | 23 min | English, Hindi
When Vidya, a 62 year old recently-widowed Indian woman sublets a room in her house to a 19 year old black gay man, she re-discovers her sense of self and her love for make up, despite complications from the family.
by Corey Payette
2025 | Canada | Musical | 106 min
Star (Dilan Chiblow), an Indigi-Queer Two-Spirit lonesome call boy has become newly entranced by the world of drag when they are introduced to The House of Borealis, a popular drag house led by their charming matriarch, Mother (Stewart Adam McKensy). Star’s newfound passion propels them to face a cultural past once neglected, but when painful memories re-emerge, their love for drag and their new family is put to the test. Alongside Levi (Jeffrey Follis) and the rest of their sisters in drag, Star journeys through the realization of who they are, leading to the creation of a persona that blends their grounded cultural spirit with a unique take on drag: Starwalker
by Clara Marshall
2025 | Germany | Short | 15 min
Coach “Daddy” trains a late-blooming lesbian, Carmen, before her big date.
by Elliot Delage
2025 | France | Short | 2 min | French
A Semi autobiographical musical documentary film about the absurd experience of growing up queer in the redneck Northern Ontario mining town of Sudbury -once infamously known as the (once) barren treeless wasteland where the Apollo astronauts trained for their moonwalks.
by Patrick Crowe and Tristan R. Whiston
1999 | Canada | Documentary | 47 min
Followed by a Q&A with Sudbury’s own Patrick Crowe
A Semi autobiographical musical documentary film about the absurd experience of growing up queer in the redneck Northern Ontario mining town of Sudbury -once infamously known as the (once) barren treeless wasteland where the Apollo astronauts trained for their moonwalks.
A Celebration of Northern Ontario’s Queer Filmmakers and Spaces
There aren’t many dedicated queer places in Northern Ontario. We’re often left to create them on our own. This programme is seeking stories set, or about spaces, that queer people have created, or stumbled into; where they can breathe a little easier. What feelings do you associate with Queer spaces? What shape do these spaces take? What relationships or conflicts foster here?
Tuesday, April 21
Unfortunately, our run of MILE END KICKS has been postponed to open Thursday, April 30 at 4:15 PM. Other April screenings have been replaced, including:
Thank you for your understanding!!