Maggots and Men is an experimental historical narrative set in a mythologized, post-revolutionary Russia. The film dramatizes the events of the 1921 Kronstadt uprising and pays tribute to the Kronstadt sailors’ earnest pursuit of communist ideals. With a subtext of gender anarchy, Maggots and Men positions the struggle for gender equality within a larger struggle for peace and justice. Cast with female-to-male transgender actors, the film documents a rapidly evolving transgender community and illuminates the contemporary gender revolution.  Painting the brief success of Kronstadt’s communal society as a fanciful utopia, Maggots and Men transports us to a realm where we can dream of alternatives to capitalist society.

Derek Jarman, Imagining October. 1984. 27mins, 16mm, UK.

A dreamlike meditation on art and politics in the final years of the Cold War; shot in the streets of Moscow on Super-8 film during the final moments of pre-Perestroika Russia.

Kenneth Anger, Fireworks. 1947, 15mins, 16mm, USA.

One of the earliest wet dreams about the power and physique of Navy Marines, conjured at the mercy of a sailor’s loaded masochism.

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Celebrating the best in independent queer cinema, the Vancouver Queer Film Festival is Vancouver's second largest film festival and the largest queer arts event in Western Canada. The Festival hosts a variety of performances, workshops, panels, parties and more, facilitating a unique community space for 11 days each August.