Queer City Cinema

Sensing Pleasure in Regina and Beyond

By Elian Mikkola

In his beautiful backyard garden, I am meeting Gary Varro, the founder and force behind the festival we know as Queer City Cinema (QCC). It’s nearing the end of August, and as we enjoy the warmth of the late-summer sun and hush away the wasps, I ask Gary to take a minute and think back on the journey of one of the most innovative film and performance festivals in Treaty 4 territory. 

“Before we get started, I need to clarify some things that make QCC what it is today. Firstly, the festival is Queer and has been since 1996. Actually, in the beginning, people were calling me out for choosing that word to describe ourselves, but that’s the whole point that we reclaimed the term. Secondly, it’s a showcase for experimental work. We all know experimental work can be complex and challenging so that always eliminates some interest. My point was to never make it easy, but instead to create something different from the other LGBTQIA2+ festivals, something that goes against the grain. And lastly, we show short films, and most people want to see features. So as I am creating this profile for what QCC is, you can understand that it’s not for everyone, and that’s okay. The first year, when QCC was launched in collaboration with the Dunlop Art Gallery we just called it an exhibition, so it was never even meant to be a film festival,” Varro laughs.

This is a great example of how his approach in bringing LGBTQIA2+ awareness and art to Regina has always been courageous — and often ahead of its time. Varro has acted as the head programmer throughout QCC’s’ twenty-four years.

“The program has stayed pretty consistent throughout the years. There have been few times that I’ve gone to a more ‘approachable’ mainstream mode and shown a feature about something community-oriented, in the hopes of engaging different audiences. But it has never made a big difference, and I’ve found myself going back to work that is more DIY, independent, and experimental, and also has an important message every once in a while,” Varro says. 

Most commonly known for showcasing queer moving image work, the festival also deserves recognition for its focus on performance art and experimental film. 

“Queer filmmakers are not just making films about broken hearts, homophobic encounters and so on,” Varro says. “The more conventional narrative films are often about how queer people come up against and work within the straight cis-world. In the field of more independent and experimental queer cinema, it’s not always about ‘us’ and ‘them’. Rather, it’s just about ‘us’”, Varro clarifies.

Throughout QCC’s history of showcasing LGBTQIA2+ films and performances, the festival has gained wide recognition across Turtle Island, and is highly appreciated. 

“I sometimes think back and realize that I could have moved to Toronto and started the festival there, but never really thought about it at the time. The bigger, more commercial film festivals for LGBTQIA2+ films have existed for a long time. Still, only in recent years, bigger cities like Toronto have started their own, more radical and innovative film festivals such as Toronto Queer Film Festival. Meanwhile, Queer City Cinema has existed in Regina for almost 25 years now”, Varro says with pride. 

Looking back on QCC’s history, a lot of significant work and artistry has been manifested in Varro’s programming throughout the years. One of the recent highlights happened in 2017 when Varro brought in one of the most iconic voices of queer cinema as a part of the event Camp, Trash, Filth – John Waters Visits Regina. 

Last year’s edition got cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but as September 2021 hits, we are up for a new edition, this time under the theme Sensing Pleasure. This year, the festival is going to have in-person performances and screenings — on a smaller scale to ensure the safety and comfort of artists and the audience. The opening night includes two performances by video and performance artist Dayna McLeod. Another Tiohtiá:ke/Montréal-based artist, George Stamos, will perform as a part of two different dance performances. As always, the festival will give space to local artists and collaborators and some of this year’s local highlights include performances and screenings involving Girls Rock Regina, New Dance Horizons, and Think Fast! Collective. In the past years, QCC has taken place at the RPL Film Theatre and Dunlop Art Gallery, sometimes spreading to other interesting locations such as the Saskatchewan Sound Stage. This year QCC will have a wide range of locations and in addition to RPL and Dunlop; events will take place at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Neutral Ground Artist-Run Centre, New Dance Horizons and at the University of Regina.     

When I ask Gary about the motivations behind this year’s theme, he takes a small break and looks directly at me. 

“I must say something about the pandemic that might be a bit controversial. It actually forced me to stop for a moment and take a break, which personally turned out to be a good thing. I had been working with heavy subject matters in the past years, and that took a toll. The time we have had because of the pandemic has helped me to rest and mindfully reorient. The Sensing Pleasure theme had been lingering for a while already but after this period of resting and thinking more about “radical self-care”, an idea introduced by Audre Lorde, it felt like a perfect time for this specific theme,” Varro explains. 

Varro has been solely responsible for the festival and its direction for decades. This year he decided to invite more guest curators, and pare down the programming. 

“I thought for the first time that maybe less is more, and this approach could also be important for the longevity of QCC. Additionally, in recent years, we have also put more focus on touring, and I think we’re the only queer film festival in Canada that currently tours with their programs,” Varro says.

The upcoming year will bring in a new and exciting element for QCC when Varro, along with three Canadian performance artists, tours the festival outside North America for the first time. The QCC UK/Ireland tour will take place in the spring of 2022, and Varro already has plans for more tours in the future.

“This is something I’m excited about when it comes to QCC’s future. The motivation was always to take queer programming to places that don’t necessarily have exposure to this type of radical cinema, and this is a mission I hope to continue with future international touring,” Varro says. 

When I ask about a possible 25-year anniversary edition in 2022, Varro thinks for a moment and then says with a little smirk: “I’ve never been a big fan of these traditional celebrations and anniversaries, so I don’t know if that’s something we’re going to do with QCC. I think a more proper way might be to celebrate the 26th or 27th — just you know, in the spirit of Queer City Cinema.”

Sensing Pleasure, the 24th edition of Queer City Cinema, ran from September 16 — 18, 2021

Elian Mikkola is a Finnish Moving Image Artist (of Karelian descent), and a white settler currently based between Treaty 4, Regina, and Montréal (Tiohtià:ke), Canada. Originally from Turku, Finland, Mikkola holds a BA in Journalism from Tampere University. They completed their MFA in Media Production in 2019 at the University of Regina. Mikkola works closely with both analog and digital images and their hybrid extensions. Their work explores themes such as memory, spatial dependences and queer belonging. Mikkola’s work has been showcased in several film festivals in Canada and internationally. Their debut film SAARI (2016) was selected to TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival student program in 2017 and their latest two films premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2020 and Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2021.