The 12th Annual Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival runs this year from May 27 - June 4 in Calgary, Alberta. The festival will be held at the Plaza Theatre in Kensington (1133 Kensington Road NW). Be sure to catch these great films and more from the festival:The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls (New Zealand) | Opening Gala: May 27 | 7 PM
Based on the lives of the World’s only comedic, country singing, dancing, and yodeling twin sisters, Jools and Lynda Topp have morphed from radical activists into New Zealand cultural ambassadors. It’s not just the story of two sisters but also of half a century of seismic cultural changes and the foundation of a national identity. Part documentary, part musical and part comedy, you'll laugh, you'll cry... you might just yodel!
Undertow (Peru) | May 28 | 7 PM
Miguel is a handsome, young and beloved fisherman in Cabo Blanco, a small fishing village in Peru. Married to the beautiful Mariela, who is seven months pregnant with their firstborn and harbouring a scandalous secret: his affair with an openly gay, agnostic, local artist who is ostracized by the town. After a tragic accident, Miguel must choose between sentencing Santiago to eternal torment or doing him right and revealing the releation to the entire village. Strikingly photographed to accentuate the majestic Peruvian coastline, this sexy, haunting love story transcends place and time.
A Woman’s Way: Strella (Greece) | May 29 | 10:30 PM
This post-modern Greek tragedy follows a man, Yiorgos, on his first evening out of prison where he meets a young transsexual prostitute, Strella, with whom he falls in love. Portraying people who live on the fringes of society, questioning preconceived ideas, this film presents a parallel world, generally considered as immoral by the masses. A spell-binding and extraordinary film worth staying up on a Saturday night to see.
Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride (Canada) | June 2 | 6:50 PM
A telling and provocative film reminding us why we need Pride parades and the real reason behind the party, Beyond Gay is a feature length documentary following the Vancouver Pride Society’s Parade Director and his colleagues as they travel to places where Pride remains steeped in protest to personally experience the rampant homophobia that still exists.
Violet Tendencies (USA) | The Closing After Party: June 4 | 7pm (at the Uptown Stage & Screen)
A hilarious look at love and friendship, Violet Tendencies follows Violet (Mindy Cohn—Natalie from “The Facts of Life”), who is desperately searching for love. Constantly hanging around with gorgeous men, none are interested in going home with her at the end of the night. Come see a fun and sexy film and then dance the night away to the beats of DJ Lisa DeLux from Vancouver of THE L WORD fame. The perfect way to close the festival!
For more information, and the complete program guide for this year's festival, please visit www.fairytalesfilmfest.com
Fairytales Presentation Society is a not‐for‐profit, charitable organization located in Calgary,
Alberta that celebrates and showcases queer culture and artists. Through artistic adventures,
the society strives to provide a safe and respectful venue for members of all communities to
celebrate queer culture. Lastly, through specific outreach endeavours like REELS ON WHEELS,
they provide diversity education to the local community by using filmmaking and other art forms
as educational vehicles.
Fairy Tales is the largest annual GLBTQ Film festival in Alberta.
They currently run an annual film festival in the spring of every year that reflects and challenges
the changing Canadian cultural landscape. They present an annual festival of independent films
made by and/or about the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, two‐spirited and queer
community called Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival. This important annual event reaches new
audiences looking for challenging and innovative films. Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival has three
main objectives:
• To bring a rich selection of seldom‐seen films to the Calgary and Southern Alberta
audience that—given the limited distribution network—audiences may otherwise not
have a chance to see.
• To support the work of local, national and international filmmakers.
• To create an atmosphere of respect, inclusiveness, tolerance and pride within and
outside, of the GLBTQ community.
Brief History
The Fairy Tales Festival began in 1999, under the umbrella of the Calgary Society of Independent
Filmmakers (CSIF), and was incorporated January 30, 2004, as the Fairytales Presentation
Society. A governance board runs the society with one full‐time paid festival director, volunteers
and contract staff on an as needed basis. Fairytales programming has more than doubled since
1999, growing in length significantly and featuring over 50 works of various genres and lengths,
Q&A’s and panels.
