Outliers: Calgary's Queer History

Leave It to Levi

2019 · ★ 4.8

In 2014, Luke was a small-town boy growing up in Ohio. The only son and adopted child of a single mother, he dropped out of college and moved to New York to become a gay porn star: Levi Karter.

Cyril Collard : À la vie, à l'amour

2023 · ★ 7.3

It's a tale of two shocks. 1992, Les Nuits fauves hits theaters. 1993, Cyril Collard dies of AIDS. The artist and his film caused a scandal in 90s France, which suddenly realized the violence of the epidemic and the upheaval it would bring for its children... Collard's work still resonates today, through its depiction of the rage of life and sexual freedom, and the courage it takes to face up to the inevitability of the virus. This documentary is supported by powerful archive footage, allowing us to rediscover the destiny of a striking artist. It is also based on the testimonies of those who knew him and agreed to talk about who he was, the driving forces behind his rebellion and his way of creating. The film is also punctuated by readings from some of the thousands of letters sent to Cyril Collard, revealing what it was about his work that struck a chord with viewers, especially younger ones.

Back on Board: Greg Louganis

2014 · ★ 7.4

Feature-length documentary about the greatest diver of all time. Four-time Olympic champion Greg Louganis has faced more than his share of challenges. In 2011, he is far from the public eye and struggling to pay his mortgage. Now, the openly gay, HIV+ world-class athlete returns to diving to mentor the USA Olympic hopefuls. This may be his best chance to regain the notoriety -- and financial stability -- he enjoyed at the height of his career.

Soccer Boys

2018 · ★ 1

A Brazilian production that follows an amateur soccer team entirely consisting of homosexual players." Some gay soccer players got together for fun and founded a team which became so popular that it started a movement all across Brazil.

La boîte à frissons

2025

For decades, Le Tango, a legendary LGBTQ+ dance hall in Paris’s Marais district, welcomed everyone who loved to dance, regardless of gender or orientation. When the building was put up for sale in 2020, its music stopped, threatening to erase a vital community refuge. This documentary traces both the vibrant history and the fierce fight to save this iconic space. Through personal stories from regulars and activists—Grégoire, Giovanna, Christian, Livia, and others—the film revisits nights of drag balls, Dalida tributes, and joyous Madisons, revealing how Le Tango became a symbol of freedom and belonging. As filmmaker Antoine Vergez follows Hervé and the Tango 3.0 collective’s three-year struggle to reopen the club, the film becomes both a love letter to queer nightlife and a chronicle of collective resistance to cultural disappearance.

Gaming in Color

2014 · ★ 5.2

This feature length documentary explores the queer side of gaming culture and the game industry's LGBTQ presence. The GaymerX convention that took place in 2013 was a huge step forward for the queer geek community being recognized on a worldwide industry scale. In the same year, more popular mainstream and indie games featured a greater amount of gay and lesbian characters than ever before, helping with visibility and acceptance. The video games universe will only continue to improve and diversify both in its community and industry if we elevate the conversation about inclusion and respecting one another - not in spite of our gay geekiness, but because of it!

Aura Roja

María, an activist and drag queen, stands strong against a society that invalidates her. Through her discourse and performance, she confronts the insecurities that once brought her down, transforming her identity into a tool for resistance.

Crimes Against Nature

1979 · ★ 3

Described in the 70’s as "A Chorus Line for gay people," Crimes Against Nature remains vital today as a communal disclosure of roles that gay people adopt in order to survive in a world that devalues homosexual feelings. It features individual actors delivering revealing monologues, during which the other members of the collective play background roles (parents, schoolmates, etc.). One by one, the actors detail the ways in which they have buried their true selves in order to survive and be accepted in the world: repression, drug use, shyness, being agreeable, putting experiences into "little boxes," acting "butch," and so on.

Butch Jamie

2008 · ★ 3.9

The film follows the story of Jamie, a struggling butch lesbian actress who gets cast as a man in a film. The main plot is a romantic comedy between Jamie's male alter-ego, "Male Jamie," and Jill, a heterosexual woman on set. The film's subplots include Jamie's bisexual roommate Lola and her cat actor Howard, Lola's abrasive butch German girlfriend Andi, and Jamie's gay Asian friend David.

Room 206

2025

"Happy, happy, who cares." After undergoing the major surgery that is torsoplasty, he will no longer worry about what the world might think. Reclaiming his body, completely, is the only thing that matters. This documentary film follows Clair through his emotions: apprehension, euphoria, melancholy, gratitude—not at seeing his body change, but at recognizing himself. Finally. And for the first time in his life.

Gay San Francisco

1970 · ★ 1

Shot between 1965-1970, Gay San Francisco features a collection of incredible footage of San Francisco’s thriving LGBTQ culture, with a focus on the Tenderloin, San Francisco’s first queer neighborhood.

Dream Boat

2017 · ★ 5.4

A cruise ship and 3,000 men – it is a universe without heteros and women that usually remains a mystery to the outside world. Once a year the Dream Boat sets sail for a cruise exclusively for gay men where most passengers are united by the wish to live life authentically as themselves in a protected place.