Inside Out, Toronto’s LGBTQ+ film festival, has revealed the full program lineup for its 34th edition, including its opening night selection, My Old Ass, from Canadian director Megan Park.
My Old Ass, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival where is was acquired by Amazon MGM, follows an 18 year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella) who meets her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza) who warns her about falling in love.
Karen Knox’s sophomore feature We Forgot To Break Up, adapted from the novel Heidegger Stairwell by Canadian author Kayt Burgess, will close the fest. Elsewhere in the lineup is Susie Yankou’s Sisters, which is this year’s 2024 RE:Focus Gala selection and Anthony Schatteman’s debut feature Young Hearts acting as the The Centerpiece Gala film.
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“We are thrilled to welcome audiences back for the 34th annual Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival,” says Elie Chivi, Co-Head and Executive Director. “As the film festival landscape continues to evolve, we are incredibly grateful to our members, donors, and partners as well as our queer filmmaking family, for their continued loyalty and support, and without whom, this festival would not be possible. On the eve of Inside Out’s 35th anniversary in 2025, it’s a privilege to continue to bring the community together to share in the magic of queer cinema.”
“We are honoured and humbled that Inside Out continues to provide a space for celebration of 2SLGBTQ+ stories, a space for professional development opportunities for queer creators, and a space to share experiences and network so that we can help foster future creative collaborations with our alumni and future alumni,” added Co-Head and Artistic Director, Andrew Murphy.
See inclusions in the 2024 festival selection below:
OPENING GALA
My Old Ass, directed by Megan Park (United States – Narrative)
In this fresh coming-of-age story, an 18th birthday mushroom trip brings free-spirited Elliott (Maisy Stella) face-to-face with her wisecracking 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza). But when Elliott’s “old ass” starts handing out warnings about what her younger self should and shouldn’t do, Elliott realizes she has to rethink everything about family, love, and what’s becoming a transformative summer.
CLOSING GALA
We Forgot to Break Up, directed by Karen Knox (Canada – Narrative)
Within Toronto’s vibrant bar scene, a diverse group of musicians come together to form a band with a mission: to ignite a musical revolution. As they channel their individual struggles and experiences into their music, The New Normals create a dynamic rock sound that transcends gender and sexuality. But as they rise to fame, personal and romantic entanglements complicate their journey.
Canadian Premiere
RE:FOCUS GALA
Sisters, directed by Susie Yankou (United States – Narrative)
Lou and Esther are the best of friends. They do absolutely everything together, speak their own language through inside jokes and code words, and share a dreamy curiosity about what their lives would be like had they grown up with a sister. When Lou’s father unexpectedly passes away, she discovers that she has a very real, and very chic, long-lost half-sister, Priya.
World Premiere
Re:Focus grant recipient 2022
CENTREPIECE GALA
Young Hearts, directed by Anthony Schatteman (Belgium/Netherlands – Narrative)
When Alexander moves in next door, Elias is intrigued. Their budding friendship blossoms amidst after-school escapades, exploring abandoned homes and hidden swimming spots, but when Alexander reveals his romantic past a revelation is triggered in Elias.
Canadian Premiere
PREMIERES
All Shall Be Well, directed by Ray Yeung (Hong Kong/China – Narrative)
Angie and Pat have lived together for over three decades in their flat in Hong Kong – a flat that often hosts friends and family for dinners and get-togethers. When Pat unexpectedly passes away without a will, Angie learns that she has no legal right to the home they shared and finds herself at the mercy of a once supportive family displaying dwindling goodwill toward her.
Canadian Premiere
Carnage for Christmas, directed by Alice Maio Mackay (Australia – Narrative)
When true-crime podcaster and sleuth Lola visits her hometown for the first time since running away and transitioning, the local urban legend, The Toymaker, is the least of her worries. A transgender holiday film by prolific teenage filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay and edited by ‘The People’s Joker’ filmmaker, Vera Drew.
Canadian Premiere
Join the Club, directed by Kip Andersen, Chris O’Connell (United States – Documentary)
Dennis Peron is San Francisco’s biggest pot dealer. But when the AIDS epidemic sweeps through his community, he realizes that marijuana is more than a good time – it’s medicine. In the wake of his lover’s death, Peron opens the Cannabis Buyers’ Club, a five-storey dispensary complete with rainbow murals, drag shows, and onsite doctors.
North American Premiere
Langue Étrangère, directed by Claire Burger (France/Belgium/Germany – Narrative)
Fanny, a 17-year-old student from France, goes on a language exchange trip to Germany where she will stay with her pen pal, Lena. Willing to do anything to impress Lena, Fanny sees her time in Germany as an opportunity to invent a different life for herself, but as she and Lena grow closer, she runs the risk of becoming caught up in her own web of lies.
North American Premiere
Spark, directed by Nicholas Giuricich (United States – Narrative)
Aaron, a hopeless romantic, finds himself reliving the same day after an awkward but intense encounter with the mysterious Trevor. His excitement at the opportunity for a do-over soon turns sour as Aaron suspects Trevor may be the cause of his time loop.
World Premiere
ICONS
A Mother Apart, directed by Laurie Townshend (Canada – Documentary)
How do you raise a child when your own mother abandoned you? In a remarkable story of healing and forgiveness, Jamaican-American poet and LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin, renowned for performances in Def Poetry Slam and hit solo shows like MotherStruck!, radically re-imagines the essential art of mothering.
Dalton’s Dream, directed by Kim Longinotto, Franky Murray Brown (United Kingdom – Documentary)
Singer Dalton Harris’s dreams came true when he won The X Factor in the UK in 2018. But the joy of winning was mixed with pain when people back home in Jamaica threatened boycotts and violence against him, perceiving Dalton to be gay after seeing a photo of him sitting on a man’s lap.
Canadian Premiere
Teaches of Peaches, directed by Philipp Fussenegger, Judy Landkammer (Germany – Documentary)
Filmed during The Teaches of Peaches anniversary tour in 2022, this documentary seamlessly weaves together exclusive archival gems with dynamic tour footage, capturing the transformative journey of local superstar Merrill Nisker into the internationally acclaimed cultural powerhouse Peaches.
The First Women, directed by Adriana Yañez (Brazil – Narrative)
The First Women follows a group of women nearing their 60s who live in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro and share a common past: they were a part of the first ever women’s soccer team in Brazil.
North American Premiere
Re:Focus grant recipient
Unusually Normal, directed by Colette Johnson-Vosberg (Canada – Documentary)
Have you had the pleasure of meeting Canada’s gayest family? Unusually Normal (Our Gay Family) follows three generations of women in one family who, get this, are all gay. Set against the backdrop of their loving and wholly authentic household, this family, with over 165,000 devoted TikTok followers, invites you into their world – a world where normal takes on a whole new meaning.
World Premiere
SPOTLIGHT ON CANADA
Bulletproof: A Lesbian’s Guide to Surviving the Plot, directed by Regan Latimer (Canada – Documentary)
Filmmaker Regan Latimer takes an insightful, immersive, and deeply perso nal look at Queer representation in television, and the power of the media to shape how we see ourselves.
World Premiere
Close to You, directed by Dominic Savage (Canada/UK – Narrative)
Elliot Page delivers an emotionally resonant performance in this honest and moving drama that follows Sam as he decides to visit his childhood home in Coburg for the first time since his transition.
Mother Father Sister Brother Frank, directed by Caden Douglas (Canada – Narrative)
The Jennings family are having a regular suburban Sunday dinner. Mother wants everything to be perfect. Father wants everyone to drink, which Sister refuses to do. And Brother keeps texting his husband, even though no phones are allowed at the table. Just as tensions reach a boiling point, an unwanted guest arrives: Frank, Father’s wayward brother.
Ontario Premiere
nanekawâsis, directed by Conor McNally (Canada – Documentary)
nanekawâsis follows the acclaimed nêhiyaw artist George Littlechild as he invites audiences into his storied career spanning over four decades. Using archival footage and newly filmed 16mm interviews, the film provides previously unheard insights about his life and work.
Ontario Premiere
Stories from my Gay Grandparents, directed by J Stevens (Canada – Narrative Episodic, episodes 1-6)
After a near-death experience lights a flame within both Grandma and Grandpa, they decide to grab life by the boas and tell the world their deepest secret: they’re gay. Having lived under the guise of a straight relationship for decades, they’re coming out of the closet, ditching their small-town life, and going after their big gay dreams.
World Premiere
The International showcase and the shorts line-up can be found here.
