MUSKOKA, ON-About 300 people from across the globe attended the festival last weekend, which featured 12 films over three days.
President of Muskoka Pride Mervine Taylor-Morin said that it was a challenge holding the festival during the lockdown but believes that everyone involved did a great job. “We raised great attention to Muskoka all over Canada and in other countries, and we’ve got a great response from the public, which shows us that the event is needed in the region.”
On top of showing these 12 diverse films, 10 directors joined the discussions to talk about cinematography and the power of art and how it can help people overcome discrimination for LGBTQ members worldwide.
The dates of the festival were also aligned with the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, which the world celebrates on May 17th.
The MQFF also issued two awards, the Festival Favourite Jury Award, which went to Brandon Nicoletti, who directed the music video So Beautiful. This video tells the story of a teenage boy who experiences passion, heartache and self-discovery when he falls in love with one of his male classmates.
The other award, The Audience Choice Award, went to Nicolas Greinacher, who directed Ayaneh. This film shows the drama around a young woman’s relationship with a new girlfriend and the resistance from her religious family.
Michelle Emson and Olena Semenova from Sanctuary Studios, a multi-media production company that is based in Muskoka and is also international human rights activists and filmmakers, said it was a pleasure to stream the festival online. “Our team managed to ensure a good quality of the video material we were broadcasting, so our festival goes would get a full effect of watching a piece in a theatre. From a technical perspective, it was a great success,” they said. “We managed to attract viewers from Muskoka, as well as from other Canadian cities and regions, the United States and even Europe.”
The MQFF team said it is looking forward to developing the festival for 2021.