Tag Archives: CUFF.Docs

Cruising, Murder, and Queer History: From NYC to YYC

Posted on November 4, 2026 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

What connects New York’s notorious gay leather scene of the 1970s with Calgary’s Central Memorial Park? A surprising history of cruising, violence, and police surveillance.

The Calgary Gay History Project is proud to be a community partner for Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders, screening at the 14th Annual CUFF.Docs Film Festival running Nov. 18-22, 2026.

Saturday, November 21, 2026, at 9:45 PM
Globe Cinema, 617 8 Avenue SW, Calgary
Buy Tickets Here

Movie Still from the *Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders*

Directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz, the documentary revisits William Friedkin’s controversial 1980 thriller Cruising, starring Al Pacino. Inspired by real murders, the film provoked fierce protests from 2SLGBTQ+ activists who feared its portrayal of gay men would fuel prejudice and violence.

Meanwhile, Calgary had its own troubling cruising history.

On September 22, 1979, 22-year-old Thomas Earl Nash was fatally stabbed near the Memorial Park Library. Subsequent investigations revealed that Nash had been among three straight men harassing gay men cruising in Central Memorial Park. A confrontation escalated into deadly violence. Ironically, the alley where Nash was attacked had recently been illuminated by floodlights installed at police request to discourage homosexual activity.

The incident reveals the complicated realities of Calgary’s gay cruising culture, where public spaces offered opportunities for connection but also exposed men to harassment, violence, and police scrutiny. Like Cruising, Calgary’s story challenges simplistic narratives about victims, perpetrators, sexuality, and violence.

Schwarz, whose acclaimed documentaries include Vito and I Am Divine, explores how sensational crime stories intersect with queer history and representation.

Join us at CUFF.Docs for this provocative exploration of 2SLGBTQ+ history, and support Calgary’s independent film community!

Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders (2026)
85 minutes | Alberta Premiere

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The Librarians at CUFF.Docs

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

The 13th edition of CUFF.Docs runs from November 19th to 23rd, 2025, and their documentary presentation of The Librarians couldn’t be more timely. The award-winning film explores book banning in the United States, where Librarians have emerged as unexpected superheroes fighting against censorship and discrimination.

Our provincial government banned four books this past summer on the flimsiest of grounds (please see my review of the banned & fantastic graphic novel, Fun Home). Notably, the local advocates of book banning and the titles they target are deeply influenced by this import of White Christian Nationalism. They also tried to influence the recent school board elections in Calgary; fortunately, they were unsuccessful.

The Alberta premiere of The Librarians screens Sunday, November 23rd at 11 AM at the Globe Cinema.

“Equal parts foreboding and inspiring, recently christened Oscar-nominee director Kim Snyder’s The Librarians, reaffirms why the vocation of librarians is a vital one, particularly in an age of rampant misinformation and censorship by the country’s most conservative and insecure. Spotlighting librarians who are at the center of book bans–in places like Texas and Florida–the film highlights how they join together and support each other while politicians are there to criminalize librarians’ work.” – Roger Ebert

Watch the trailer below! See you at the movies.

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Flashback at CUFF.Docs

Posted on November 7, 2024 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

The Calgary Underground Film Festival loves queer history! This year, their documentary festival running November 20-24, is featuring the Canadian Premiere of Flashback about the legendary gay bar in Edmonton that existed between 1974 and 1991.

Flashback is the story of a defiant disco dance culture of sweat and sex and drugs and fashion. Despite community hostility to queer people, Flashback became a sensation on the international club circuit facing police raids, threats of violence and the scourge of AIDS. Flashback is a ghost. However, it comes alive again in the memories of the people who were there and the legends they left behind.

Cool kids in the feature documentary *Flashback*

In Calgary, the Parkside Continental was the analog of Edmonton’s Flashback—they are of the same vintage—and there was frequent to-ing and fro-ing between the two cities for those looking to dance with a different crowd.

Flashback features more than 30 interviews recounting the story of the beloved gay bar: a tribute to a place where young people could just be themselves. A soundtrack with two new disco recordings (recorded at Calgary’s National Music Centre) and archival photographs and footage takes us back inside the famous venue and blends with re-enactments shot with today’s club kids in Edmonton’s last remaining gay bar, Evolution Wonderlounge.

All this is framed by the rediscovery, restoration and resurrection of the club’s iconic neon sign. The blue glow of the old Flashback sign now shines from a wall of the Neon Sign Museum in Edmonton, and its journey to restored glory is documented in the film. Flashback is a TELUS original feature documentary film shot in Edmonton, Alberta.

The Calgary Gay History Project is pleased to be a community partner for the screening. Learn more about our Province’s queer history and join us for Flashback on Saturday, November 23, with Calgary director Peter Hays in attendance!

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