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Archive for the ‘LGBT’ Category
Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival
Please join me for this year’s amazing line-up of films at the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival. This year I have sponsored the film August which is showing at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Friday May 18th, 2012 (7:15pm) and I hope you’ll be able to join me for another year of incredible LGBT films.
About August: Five years ago in LA, Troy and Jonathan were in the midst of a full- blown love affair. But when their relationship proved too intense, Jonathan broke up with Troy and escaped back to Spain to follow career aspirations. Since then, Troy has made steps to re-establish a healthy life and has found a new love in handsome Argentinian bartender, Raul. Just when things seem to be returning to normal, Jonathan shows up unannounced looking to strike up a casual friendship that leads to old habits and a mounting sexual tension that threatens Troy’s newfound balance.
Avoiding the clich?s of a typical gay romantic triangle narrative, Rapaport’s debut feature deals with the difficult choices people are forced to make in order to break the cycle of self-destruction that accompanies unhealthy relationships. By approaching the story from each character’s perspective, Rapaport’s August thrives, and his mix of Middle Eastern and Latin influences help add to the film’s charm.
Based on Rapaport’s award-winning short film, Postmortem, August is more than just a steamy showcase for its gorgeous eye-candy cast, many of whom got their start in famous soap operas. The film is a refreshingly honest take on a universal problem.
Dear Rob, I hear you turned down another invitation to show your support for Pride day in Toronto – what a shame. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for spending time with the family but perhaps you haven’t considered the implications of being our mayor. It requires of you to be supportive of a diverse and culturally eclectic city. Perhaps you don’t see the job description that way, who knows.
Here’s the rub: you don’t show up for Pride or the flag raising and you really need to pick one. My impatience with you is growing and so I have gathered a group of connected friends to help disseminate a campaign to reveal what’s really going on with you.
I am not interested in hearing from you as words do not mean much to me. I am however very interested in seeing you take action on behalf of the LGBTQ community and show up at either Pride or the flag raising at City Hall. You get to pick.
While you waffle over your decision I have launched a campaign that I hope you will respond favourably to – its called Rob Ford: Prove it. I will accept nothing short of your participation in one of these two events as your assurance that you are trying to understand us.
We, as a community, generate a lot of “gravy” for the city and I insist that you recognize the LGBTQ’s financial and creative contribution to this great city.
The time has come to prove it.
………………………..
If you are disheartened by mayor Rob Ford’s lack of appreciation for the LGBTQ community I have 3 things you can do:
1) LIKE this fanpage
2) Use any of the images in your profile pic
3) Share this fanpage with your friends
A FACEBOOK DISCUSSION ON THE LIMITS OF FREE SPEECH
This Tuesday March 20th at 6pm (EDT), I’ll be guest moderating a discussion on Irshad Manji’s fanpage and I’d love you to join the conversation. Here’s the upshot, last week #ToMyUnbornChild was a trending topic on Twitter and the idea was to tweet a message to your future child. Some tweeted some lovely things while others chose to use this hashtag to declare that they would kill their child if they were LGBTQ. While this story was posted on The Huffington Post and more recently on XTRA!, the people who have made these outrageous tweets haven’t otherwise been held accountable – or should they be? Please join me on facebook as we discuss free speech, hate speech and the limits of accountability.
The AIDS Committee of Toronto’s winter/spring newsletter is out. The theme is ACT Gay and this particular issue is dedicated to gay men – you can get your copy here. ACT’s Executive Director says “Our Gay Men’s Community Health Programs have taken this to heart, with a campaign launched at Pride to celebrate the resilience of gay men through 30 years of the HIV epidemic in Toronto. It’s a community we’re proud to come from, and a community we continue to serve as a priority.”
Graphic Design: Raymond Helkio
David Testo exposes himself for Male Call Canada
Launched this past September, Male Call is the most comprehensive national survey of men who have had sex with men in Canadian history. For the final few weeks of the campaign, professional soccer player and former Montreal Impact most-valuable-player David Testo is joining us to encourage gay and bisexual men across the country to participate in the national, bilingual Male Call Canada study, led by the University of Toronto and supported by national partners including the Canadian AIDS Society, the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT), and l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). This research is collecting data about the attitudes, knowledge and sexual behaviours of men who have, or have had, sex with men and will help inform future public health and HIV prevention strategies, help build healthier communities and ultimately save lives.
Testo joins researchers from universities across the country, community partners and a national advisory group to help promote the study, which aims to recruit 6,000 men for a confidential, toll-free telephone survey. Potential study participants can call 1-855-846-MALE (6253) to confidentially and anonymously take the survey. The lines will be open until the end of January 2012.
For gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men and who are interested in becoming study participants, David Testo, who recently came out as a gay man, has a clear message: “I urge you to make this very important call. Over the last decade, much has changed in the lives of men who have sex with men, and more information is needed about their attitudes on a national scale.” Testo adds: “This survey provides an opportunity for men to contribute their opinions on current issues so that we can better educate, promote and develop effective programming for our community and the population at large.”
“This is the most comprehensive survey of men who have had sex with men in Canadian history,” said University of Toronto Dr. Ted Myers, Principal Investigator for Male Call Canada. “We hope David’s endorsement of this study will encourage even more men to participate in the study. The more men who participate, the better the results, the stronger the study’s findings and application.”
Once the data is collected and analyzed, a report complete with findings will be available by July 2012 at www.malecall.ca. The study is also supported by the national advertising campaign themed ‘Let’s Talk’. Photograph by West Phillips
Man of the Hour
He’s part of the team behind those witty “Fact or Phallusy” sex survey ads you may have seen on Facebook. Or not, depending on if the social media site banned them. Raymond Helkio is our new Man of the Hour, explains Male Call Canada, and then takes our TMI Questionnaire to reveal the accidental boiling of a Japanese fighting fish.
Please give generously to the Toronto PWA Foundation’s 5th annual PROUD FM JOY DRIVE. You can help by dropping off non-perishable food items. Details at Proud FM.
Graphic Design: Raymond Helkio
Male Call Canada is a national university-community collaboration that surveys men who have had sex with men. Participation goes a long way in helping create effective community health programs. Read the story in xtra! about about our recent facebook ban and then come join our fanpage! Graphic Design: Raymond Helkio
Harvest: Sponsored by Raymond Helkio
I’ll be seeing lots of films again this year and hope that you’ve got your picks ready because the 21st annual festival is May 19-29th, 2011. This year I sponsored Harvest which is German with English subtitles so they’ll be some reading along with the queer eye candy. I hope to see you during the Festival!
Harvest
North American Premiere
This program is rated 14A
TIFF Bell Lightbox Cinema 1
Sunday May 22 | 7:00pm
Harvest is a rich, quietly understated film that follows two young apprentices who are completing their training on a farm outside of Berlin, their relationship slowly evolving and taking root. When new apprentice Jacob arrives the pair form a friendship, but Jacob’s laidback, outgoing demeanour appears at odds with Marko’s introspective personality. During the long, solitary days spent together in the fields, however, the twosome form a natural bond that hints of deeper feelings.
A big-city road trip, away from the prying eyes of their fellow farmers, allows a tender relationship to evolve. But neither young man has ever thought about how – and especially about how openly – he wants to live his life. Director Benjamin Cantu has a background in documentary film-making, and in this first feature-length drama he creates an intriguing hybrid, the film’s fictional love story developing against the setting of a real working farm that is populated by a supporting cast of actual apprentices.
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