Queer & Now: Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives

Screening times: Saturday, July 25, 8:30 PM Lynne Fernie, Aerlyn Weissman | Canada | 1992 | 85m Preceded by local short "Anita Louise and the Wild Women" | Arena Alamino | Canada | 2025 | 12m introduced by Arena Alamino "Anita Louise and the Wild Women" Synopsis: Anita Louise Martinez devoted 50 years of her life to photographing Nova Scotia's queer and trans communities. This doc explores Martinez’s legacy, particularly in relation to the Wild Women Don't Get the Blues lesbian camping weekends that she captured in the 1980s and 1990s. Lynne Fernie and Aerlyn Weissman’s hybrid documentary/drama delves into the rich history of Canadian queer women’s experiences in the mid-20th century, when homosexuality was still criminalized. Compelling, often hilarious and always rebellious, the women interviewed in this film recount stories about their search for the places where openly gay women gathered in urban centres. Contemporary interviews, archival footage, and a stylized fictional narrative based on the pulp novels of the 1950s are woven throughout this simultaneously funny, heartbreaking, and empowering history of lesbian sexuality. “All the women interviewed in "Forbidden Love" have fond memories of the sly, flirty and bohemian aspects of their earlier days. Some also speak affectingly about their experiences with prejudice and violence. Even in discussing the more turbulent aspects of their history, though, most of these women retain their wry outlook.” - Janet Maslin, The New York Times "The women in the film are all smart, intriguing, brave, and above all funny, and their stories are full of revelations large and small... filmmakers Lynne Fernie and Aerlyn Weissman managed to make a movie that was beautifully uplifting." - Matthew Hays, The Gay & Lesbian Review Winner: Best Feature Length Documentary, Genie Awards, 1993 Winner: Outstanding Documentary Film, GLAAD Media Awards, 1994 Tickets $12 ($11.40 at the door if available) Saturday, July 25, 8:30 PM tickets