Gay Culture in Canada (Ages 12-14)

Gay Culture in Canada (Ages 12-14)

This film selection that takes us from 1960s Saskatchewan to present-day Syria in order to explore powerful stories about the LGBTQ experience here in Canada and abroad.

Films in This Playlist Include
Apples and Oranges
Love, Scott
I Like Girls
First Stories: Two Spirited
Deep Inside Clint Star
Cure for Love
John and Michael
Last Chance
When Love is Gay
Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives
Men for Sale
A Short Film About Tegan and Sara

  • Apples and Oranges
    2003|17 min

    This short documentary with interspersed animated vignettes is designed to raise children's awareness of the harmful effects of homophobia and gender-related bullying. In the course of a lively in-class discussion, children's paintings magically dissolve into two short animated stories. In Anta's Revenge, Anta finds out that creativity, not revenge, is the best way to deal with a school bully. Defying Gravity tells the story of two skateboarders whose friendship is tested when one of them finds out the other is gay. The animated stories in this video will help elementary school students explore name calling and bullying. The video can assist children aged 8-12 in learning about families, differences and respect.

  • Love, Scott
    2018|1 h 16 min

    Watch on June 1st

    Following the journey of a young gay musician who is attacked and paralyzed from the waist down, Love, Scott is an intimate and visually evocative window into queer experience, set against a stunning score by Sigur Rós.

  • I Like Girls
    2016|8 min

    In this animated short from Diane Obomsawin, four women reveal the nitty-gritty about their first loves, sharing funny and intimate tales of one-sided infatuation, mutual attraction, erotic moments, and fumbling attempts at sexual expression. For them, discovering that they're attracted to other women comes hand-in-hand with a deeper understanding of their personal identity and a joyful new self-awareness.

    Love this film? Bring it home with you with its’official merchandise!

  • First Stories - Two Spirited

    This short documentary presents the empowering story of Rodney "Geeyo" Poucette's struggle against prejudice in the Indigenous community as a two-spirited person (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender). First Stories is an emerging filmmaker program for Indigenous youth which produced 3 separate collections of short films from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Produced in association with CBC, APTN, SCN, SaskFilm and MANITOBA FILM & SOUND.

  • Deep Inside Clint Star
    1998|1 h 28 min

    Take a hilarious and bittersweet journey into the hearts and minds of some very ordinary, extraordinary young Canadians with this feature-length documentary. The filmmaker, assuming the role of Clint Star, seeks out his far-flung buddies, young Indigenous people like himself. They talk about sex and life, love and abuse, and 500 years of oppression—all with humour, grace and courage.

  • Cure for Love

    Cure for Love is a full-length documentary about a controversial evangelical movement that purports to convert gay people into heterosexuals. The film brings us inside this unusual Christian subculture and follows the lives of several young people whose homosexuality is at odds with their religious beliefs.

  • John and Michael
    2004|10 min

    This animated short pays tribute to two men with Down syndrome who shared an intimate and profoundly loving relationship that deeply affected the filmmaker. Narrator Brian Davis brings the characters to life with great sensitivity.

  • Last Chance
    2012|1 h 24 min

    This feature documentary tells the stories of 5 asylum seekers who flee their native countries to escape homophobic violence. They face hurdles integrating into Canada, fear deportation and anxiously await a decision that will change their lives forever.

  • When Love Is Gay
    1995|48 min

    This documentary explores and debunks myths about male homosexuality. Examining relationships between men - from long-standing monogamous partnerships to brief encounters - the film features men of all ages talking openly about their sexuality and the challenges of self-acceptance in a straight, often homophobic society. Drawing from intimate interviews as well as action scenes ranging from a steamy dance floor in Montreal's gay village to a gay ex-policeman lecturing to future officers, When Love is Gay brushes a realistic portrait of an evolving gay culture.

  • Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives
    1992|1 h 24 min

    This film contains scenes of nudity and/or sexuality. Viewer discretion is advised.

    This feature documentary delves into the rich history of Canadian queer women’s experiences in the mid-20th century. Compelling, often hilarious and always rebellious, the women interviewed in this film recount stories about their search for the places where openly gay women gathered in urban centres. Contemporary interviews, archival footage, and a stylized fictional narrative based on the pulp novels of the 1950s are woven throughout this simultaneously funny, heartbreaking, and empowering film. Forbidden Love brings an important and empowering history of lesbian sexuality in Canada out of the closet.

  • Men for Sale
    2009|2 h 24 min

    In this feature-length documentary, 11 male sex-trade workers are followed over the course of a year. They share their struggles to survive alcohol and drug-related addictions, abuse and stigmatization – but most of all, their troubled pasts.

  • A Short Film About Tegan & Sara
    2018|4 min

    In this joyful portrait, filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming animates the formative days and musical career of Calgary-born identical twins Tegan and Sara Quin. Their remarkable journey over the past 20 years has often intersected with notions of identity—as artists, as individuals, as sisters, as queer women, and as leading activists in the LGBTQ community. Their musical progression parallels and amplifies their commitment to bringing the marginal to the mainstream.

The NFB is committed to respecting your privacy

We use cookies to ensure that our site works efficiently, as well as for advertising purposes.

If you do not wish to have your information used in this way, you can modify your browser settings before continuing your visit.

Learn more