Cinépistolaire - Episode 2

Shattering taboos about the politically correct and debunking dominant social constructions Ideology takes a sudden turn into the dichotomy and the contradictions of love beyond ideological commitment.

Sytratigraphies is a hyper kinetic masterpiece of a travelogue offering glimpses of scenes shot in your native Columbia, New York, Toronto and beyond. A female fantastic (Alexandra Gelis) knitting on the fly (subways, bankomats, beaches) and making audio recordings provides a throughline of sorts, as queer marriages give way to videogame palm trees, warm gatherings of friends are interwoven with public noticings, workers mostly, street hawkers and construction zones of the self. These lyrical interludes (in this movie the in-between is at the heart of the matter) are punctuated by rescanned YouTube interviews with authors/philosophers/scientists Jorge Luis Borges, Francisco Varela, Julio Cortazar, Beatriz Preciado and Gilles Deleuze. They muse briefly on creativity, exile, the biopolitics of the birth control pill, and the necessity of making mistakes in philosophy.

"Created, directed, and edited by two of the most talented independent Latino filmmakers in Canada, Juana's Grammar is an ambitious exploration of diasporic identity that literally puts the body of a new generation of transfrontera women in this country on the cross-cultural epistemological battlefront. Structurally complex, technically daring, and with a wide emotional range, Awad and Lozano's striking experimental short draws freely upon a variety of global art traditions: from Chico Buarque's Brazilian compositions to Frida Kahlo's sketches to Heiner Müller's "Hamletmachine", without losing sight of their immediate social, political and cultural contexts." - Elena Feder

A compilation from histories of illegal immigrants in Canada, nomadic friends who quickly disappeared into new identities or were forcibly deported. There are around approx. 200.000 illegal immigrants in Canada. This video is just a spark of their constant re-invention of freedom, endurance, and resistance. The last amnesty was in the 1980’s, and the only pathway to legal status is under a Humanitarian & Compassionate application with an estimated 5% success rate..

This humourous and lovingly crafted video features Samuel López, a Salvadoran university student and political refugee, and his alter ego Samantha, a drag queen and performer. Through Samuel/Samantha's eyes we discover a segment of the Latin American community in Toronto. S/he talks about the challenges that Latin gay men face within their own community and the gay community at large.

"In Deep Skin" is an experimental music video, which travels through narrative and non-narrative scenarios while presenting a lesbian encounter. Rhythmic editing, and musical and visual complexity bring the viewer/listener on a voyage from ice storms to deserted beaches to the lonely body.

Projecting the real on the imaginary. This single channel video installation explores notions of perception and reflection when juxtaposing the self and its empty image. A rhythmic mixture between stop-motion and cubism.

Zena and Tita are due in court for stealing tampons; but they refuse to pay for the privilege of menstruating. They live in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of Toronto and pay for college by selling phone sex. Both are on the verge of losing their abuelas (grandmothers) During a night out with Tita’s two Columbian dark-skinned queer cousins, the foursome is bashed, the cousins assaulted with racial slurs. Zena assumes guilt over this incident because she is white. Half white and half Latina, Tita is able to reconcile her two racial identities and comfort her friend whom she loves. Reflective and insightful, Tampon Thieves gently weaves reflections on family with love between friends to tell a rich story of how queer women, and women and gay men of color are treated in a racist, homophobic, culture.