Tag Archives: bisexual

Our Past Matters—Five Years Later

Posted on November 8, 2023 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

Kevin Allen launched his book Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary as the first historian in residence at the Central Library on November 22, 2018. Five years on, Kevin returns to the library to share stories of queer history he learned after the book was published. This special event, celebrating the book’s success, is happening at the Memorial Park Library on November 22, 2023, from 6-7 PM. Tickets are free (but limited); register here.

*Kevin Allen in 2023: photo Kelly Hofer*

Discover new stories of AIDS activists, enterprising community choirs, and the surprising queer history of the Memorial Park Library. Learn how infamous Calgary bus driver Everett Klippert, who spent most of the 1960s in jail for being gay, retroactively had his criminal charges reversed.

Queer history is more important than ever as we face contemporary challenges to our human rights victories. Kevin’s rallying cry is our past matters!

Bonus: A limited edition hard-cover copy of Our Past Matters will be given away as a door prize!

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Calgary, Central Library, Everett Klippert, gay, Gay history, human-rights, lesbian, Memorial Park Library, Our Past Matters, queer, transgender

Queendom

Posted on November 2, 2023 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

It’s time for the 11th Annual CUFF.Docs Documentary Festival. We’re happy to partner with CUFF.Docs to present the Alberta Premiere of QUEENDOM on November 26th at 8:30 PM.

Gena Marvin, a queer artist from a small town in Russia, stages radical performances in public that become a new form of art and activism—and put her life in danger. Dressing in otherworldly costumes made from junk and tape, Gena protests the government in Moscow.

*Gena Marvin a queer artist and activist from Russia*.

Born and raised on the harsh streets of Magadan, a frigid outpost of the Soviet gulag, Gena is only 21. She stages radical performances in public that become a new form of art and activism. By doing that, she wants to change people’s perception of beauty and queerness and bring attention to the harassment of the LGBTQ+ community. The performances—often dark, strange, evocative, and queer at their core — are a manifestation of Gena’s subconscious. But they come at a price.

Director Agniia Galdanova is a Sundance and IDFA-supported documentary film director. QUEENDOM is her second feature film.

“Poignant and raw, QUEENDOM is posed to be one of the best documentaries of 2023.”
– Film Inquiry

“Unfolding in the heart of Russia, both geographically and ideologically, Agniia Galdanova’s debut documentary feature begins as a profile of an extraordinary individual and becomes a communal howl of protest.”
– Screen International

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, CUFF.Docs, gay, Gena Marvin, lesbian, Moscow, Queendom, queer, Russia, transgender

herland: call for memories!

Posted on October 27, 2023 by Kevin Allen | 3 comments

Once upon a time in Calgary, there was an impressive grassroots film festival called herland (lowercase intentional). Created by the city’s feminist community, their queer programs were some of the most well-attended parts of the festival.

A new documentary project about herland is underway. Researchers are calling out to past organizers, coordinators, contractors, instructors, programming leads, managers, and directors to share memories. The filmmakers aspire to convey the remarkable grassroots vitality of herland herstory.

herland began in 1989, when a small group of women of colour connected to the Calgary Status of Women Action Committee (CSWAC) formed a collective called WOCC—or the Women of Colour Collective. WOCC members wanted to challenge both heteronormative assumptions in the women of colour community as well as white privilege in the local feminist community, which they felt was pervasive in Calgary.

WOCC members who identified as queer were part of the leadership team at herland. WOCC co-founder Susanda Yee, in 1992, would go on to found the of colour collective, which challenged racism within Calgary’s queer community.

CSWAC and WOCC hosted the first herland event as a film-focused fundraiser. Its popularity grew over time peaking at an audience of over 1700 in 2004. The festival was cancelled in 2007 for financial reasons and because of the growth of other local film festivals. In its time, herland provided a venue for films that covered a range of feminist topics not typically seen in the mainstream.