Fairy Tales @ 20

It does seem true that as one gets older time slips by more quickly…

Thus, it is astounding to me that the Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival is on its 20th iteration. Significantly, they have produced their own feature documentary to mark the occasion called: OUTLIERS: CALGARY’S QUEER HISTORY. The film will premiere Friday, May 25th at 7 PM. We were ever so pleased to support them in this mammoth undertaking. When the Calgary Gay History project started in 2012, we hoped it would lead to a community of local queer historians and OUTLIERS makes manifest that ambition – we couldn’t be happier.

Additionally, Fairy Tales is close to my heart, as I was present in year one (along with colleagues Kelly Langgard and Trevor Alberts). I have watched it blossom into the confident adult it has become – this year growing itself into the Calgary Queer Arts Society – an excellent move for the organization.

So here are some of my fondest Fairy Tales memories from the early days.

The poster for Fairy Tales #1 was done by the accomplished Calgary artist Lisa Brawn (famous now for her woodcut art); it remains one of my favourites.

Fairytales poster from 1999 (a little worse for wear on my bulletin board).

Brenda Lieberman, arguably Calgary’s most notable film programmer, began working on Fairy Tales in 2000, while she was staff at the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers (CSIF) and continued on with the festival as their talented volunteer programmer until 2006.

Kevin Allen and Brenda Lieberman at a Fairy Tales Fundraiser at Money-Pennies. From Outlooks Magazine, May 2002.

The festival grew and broke away from the CSIF to become its own non-profit society on January 30, 2004. Gordon Sombrowski (now my husband), who had been on the programming committee for a couple of years, stepped up to become the Society President, a role he served until 2010.