2018 Lineup Announced for 30th Annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival

The Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) released today its complete lineup for the 11-day celebration, taking place August 9-19, which includes artists visiting from India, Philippines, United States, and Canada. More than 70 films from 15 countries are featured at this 30th anniversary Festival presented by RBC, along with 11 visiting filmmakers, 27 local directors and numerous local performing artists, in addition to parties and talkback sessions. Festival passes and tickets are available online today.

"Our 30th year is the perfect time to reflect on how queer cinema has evolved," says Co-Artistic Director Amber Dawn. "We now see queer, trans, and two-spirit themed films routinely winning awards and gaining wide viewership. Even with this recognition, there are still so many stories to be told and so many innovative possibilities for media-based storytelling. You'll only get a chance to see groundbreaking stories like these at festivals like Vancouver Queer Film Festival."

Curated by Co-Artistic Directors Anoushka Ratnarajah and Amber Dawn, VQFF 2018 opens at the Vancouver Playhouse with Malaysian-born writer and director Yen Tan's 1985, brought to life by an acclaimed cast including Cory Michael Smith, Michael Chiklis, Virginia Madsen, and Jamie Chung. Yen Tan will be joining the Festival from Texas. This year's Festival will feature LA-based comedian, writer and actress Vivian Bang, who co-wrote and stars in VQFF's Centrepiece Gala Film, White Rabbit. In this comedy that premiered at Sundance Film Festival, Vivian Bang plays a Korean-American performance artist who tries to remain dedicated to her art and struggles to pay the bills by doing odd jobs on "TaskRabbit". Vivian Bang will join audiences for both screenings of her film - August 15 and 16.

VQFF will also host other international filmmakers such as the award-winning PJ Raval, whose documentary Call Her Ganda chronicles the legal, political, and media firestorm that ensued after the murder of a Filipina transgender woman by an American serviceman; as well as Shaz Bennett for her debut feature film, Alaska Is A Drag, which is this year's Youth Gala Film; and Indian filmmaker, writer, producer and cinematographer Debalina, who explores in both documentary and narrative forms the story of two young girls who committed suicide in a village in West Bengal, with her films ...and the unclaimed and If You Dare Desire...

Visiting talent from within Canada includes filmmaker, musician, actor, visual artist, radio and TV broadcaster Sook-Yin Lee for the screening of Octavio is Dead! - a queer, gender-bending ghost story with a meaty side of family drama; and Sarah Fodey for the screening of her first feature-length documentary The Fruit Machine - a sharp, funny, and heart-wrenching film that reveals the sobering details of our LGBTQ national history that must not be forgotten.

Co-Artistic Director Anoushka Ratnarajah adds, "VQFF gives audiences the chance to connect with powerful and accomplished queer filmmakers from across Canada and all over the world, and this year is no different. We are delighted to host eleven visiting artists to accompany their films and engage our audiences in captivating, challenging discussions about artistry, identity, and culture, all from their unique and multifaceted points of view."

Festival favourites The Coast is Queer and Troublemakers return, and new this year is The Coast is Genderqueer - VQFF's first short film program that showcases local transgender, genderfluid, and non-binary stories. And Festival Programmer Justin Ducharme curates Indigiqueer Shorts from Turtle Island and Aotearoa, a collection of two-spirit films that subvert colonial constructs of Indigiqueer bodies and sexual agency.

VQFF'S Closing Gala Film is the stunning sophomore feature from Desiree Akhavan and 2018 Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Drama at Sundance, The Miseducation of Cameron Post. Based on the novel of the same name and set in the early '90s, the Festival's closing film follows high school senior Cameron Post, who is caught in a small-town SCANDAL when she's discovered having a secret relationship with her best friend. Deemed a sinner, Cameron is sent by her conservative aunt and guardian to a Christian conversion therapy camp called 'Promises'.

Festival program guides are now available at Festival venues as well as Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium and Black Dog Video. The complete Festival lineup can also be viewed online at www.queerfilmfestival.ca.

Full ticketing details, including pricing, can be found at www.queerfilmfestival.ca/tickets.

The Vancouver Queer Film Festival is proud to welcome RBC as its 30th Anniversary Presenting Sponsor along with its returning Premiere Partners: Cineplex, Scotiabank, Delta Air Lines, and OUTtvGo. VQFF would like to thank its media partners: DailyXtra, Vancouver Courier, Davie Village Post, andGayVan.com. In addition, VQFF would like to recognize and thank the City of Vancouver Cultural Services, BC Arts Council and the Province of B.C., Canada Council for the Arts, and the Department of Canadian Heritage for all their support.

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