Lilies
Great Passion and Tragic Betrayal
1997 · 96 min · ★ 8.1 · Drama, Romance
1952: Bishop Bilodeau visits a prison to hear the confession of Simon, a boyhood friend jailed for murder 40 years ago. However, once there, Bilodeau finds himself forced to watch a play put on by Simon and the other inmates depicting the two men's youths. As the play progresses, the tragic truth of Simon's crime comes to light.
Directed by John Greyson · Written by Michel Marc Bouchard
Your Rating
Where to Watch
Provider data from JustWatch via TMDB →Cast
-
Brent Carver Countess De Tilly -
Marcel Sabourin The Bishop -
Aubert Pallascio Older Simon -
Jason Cadieux Young Simon -
Matthew Ferguson Young Bilodeau -
Danny Gilmore Vallier -
Ian D. Clark Chaplain / Father Saint Michel -
Gary Farmer Timothée -
Robert Lalonde The Baron -
Rémy Girard The Baroness - A Alexander Chapman Lydie-Anne
-
John Dunn-Hill Warden
More from John GreysonSee all →
Queer as Folk · 2000Queer as Folk
★ 8.32000
SeriesDrama
Brash humor and genuine emotion make up this original series revolving around the lives, loves, ambitions, careers and friendships of a group of gay men and women living on Liberty Avenue in contemporary Pittsburgh, PA. The show offers an unapologetic look at modern, urban gay and lesbian lives while addressing the most critical health and political issues affecting the community. Sometimes racy, sometimes sensitive and always straight to the heart.
Zero Patience · 1993Zero Patience
★ 5.91993
MovieFantasyDrama
The ghost of "patient zero", who allegedly first brought AIDS to North America - materialises and tries to contact old friends. Meanwhile, the Victorian explorer Sir Richard Burton, who drank from the Fountain of Youth and now works as Chief Taxidermist at the Toronto Natural history Museum, is trying to organise an exhibition about the disease for the museum's "Hall of Contagion".
Proteus · 2003Proteus
★ 5.82003
MovieDramaHistory
An exquisite period piece that skillfully explores the intersections of sex, race and politics takes place in 18th century South Africa, telling the passionate (true) story of two men caught in an unjust system rife with racism, homophobia and cruelty.
The Jungle Boy · 1985The Jungle Boy
★ 5.01985
MovieDocumentaryDrama
While a TV journalist examines the contradictory homo-eroticism and imperialism of a film version of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book, her husband confronts the politics of fantasy and washroom sex. A pseudo-narrative whose disparate threads unite in the final "documentary" sequence.
The Law of Enclosures · 2000The Law of Enclosures
★ 4.92000
MovieDrama
Story of the same couple, first in their teenage years and then in their twilight years, paradoxically set in the same time during the backdrop of the Gulf War in the Middle East.
Urinal · 1988Urinal
★ 4.31988
MovieDrama
A mystery man brings together a group of dead, gay artists to investigate a police response to the dilema of wash-room sex in Toronto. The artists have seven days in which to report on the ethics of police tactics. The artists infiltrate the police only to discover that they themselves are under surveillance as a political subversive group. The artists explore and report on the evolution of toilets and wash-room behavior.
Uncut · 1997Uncut
★ 3.91997
MovieComedyDrama
Circumcision and artistic freedom concern three homosexuals, denied communication during a surreal jail stay.
Photo Booth · 2022Photo Booth
★ 1.02022
MovieMusicDocumentary
Outraged by the latest bombing of Gaza, Palestinian queer activists Hamza and Walid recruit queer novelist Jean Genet to help them sabotage the Eurovision song contest in Jericho. Their method? Secure the collaboration of Buddy and Pedro, Toronto's famous gay penguins... The emergence of queer BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) as a dynamic Palestinian-led global movement is brought to vivid life through interviews and actions, opera and agitprop, protests and pranks. Recounting fifteen years of passionate activism in Toronto and worldwide, Photo Booth juxtaposes a surreal operatic narrative with documentary scenes that explore pride and pink-washing, gay soldiers and homo-nationalism, Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, and the accelerating weaponization of anti-Semitism.
Door Prize · 2025Door Prize
2025
MovieMusicMystery
Mars Brito, a trans bike courier, is killed by an SUV. Is he the victim of an accidental 'door prize', or is this murder? His case becomes a city-wide obsession, with hourly true crime updates and rewards for clues. While this murder mystery unfolds, a Toronto trans activist (also named Mars) works with his friends on an operatic memorial, creating arias for each of the 375 trans murders that were committed around the world that year. Door Prize weaves together documentary, drama, and opera scenes into a hybrid film that explores issues of media spectacle, solidarity violence, trans visibility, and anti-trans violence.
Prison Arabic in 50 Days · 2013Prison Arabic in 50 Days
2013
MovieDocumentary
On Aug 16, 2013, Canadian filmmaker John Greyson and Palestinian-Canadian doctor Tarek Loubani were detained without charges in Cairo's Tora Prison. During their 50-day detention, John created these flash cards as a diary of their experiences. Following an international grassroots campaign, they were released on October 7, and returned to Canada on October 13. This video is dedicated to the many who spoke out for their release, and for the many who are still behind bars.
Pink:Diss · 2017Pink:Diss
2017
MovieComedy
The colour pink has been ascribed many meanings, from a reflection of the feminine to a symbol of reclaimed humanity by LGBTQ2S communities. In his latest work, avant-garde filmmaker John Greyson explores the colonial implications of the colour pink, from its association with activist movements to its colouring of the water in Grassy Narrows due to mercury poisoning. Pink this.
Prurient · 2020Prurient
2020
MovieDocumentary
A poem about sex work in the age of COVID to the music of Handel. Let me weep over my cruel fate, and let me sigh for liberty.
Death Mask · 2023Death Mask
2023
MovieMusicHistory
This experimental opera reenacts the lesser known history of Chinese medical student Li Shiu Tong, and his lover Magnus Hirschfeld, a much older German sexologist and gay rights pioneer during Nazi Germany.
On Message · 2006On Message
2006
MovieAnimation
An analog animation using the same set of drawings to tell four different versions of the same story. The emotional fallout of two witnesses to a police shooting, a musical about groovy gay boys making the scene, a cop show about the chase and arrest of a suspect, and a news report about soldiers on leave in Iraq.
Gazonto · 2014Gazonto
2014
Movie
Gazonto, the fun new online video game -- bringing the Gaza war home to Hogtown! You can recreate the 2014 Israeli assault, bomb by bomb -- but hey, it's been remapped onto Toronto neighbourhoods! Blow up Kensington Market, Shaw-Givens School, Scarborough General Rehab Centre... and 5000 other T-dot targets.
Mariposa · 2022Mariposa
2022
MovieDocumentaryMusic
In 2021, aspiring chef Phelokazi Ndlwana was stabbed to death because she fought back against her rapist. She was targeted specifically because she was a proud black lesbian, beloved in her home community of Khayelitsha Township, South Africa, and the latest victim in a national epidemic of homophobic violence. Funeka Soldaat and her activist group Free Gender in Khayelitsha took the police to court, alleging incompetence and corruption in Phelokazi's case. Ndodana-Breen and Greyson have crafted an operatic cine-poem inspired by Phelokazi's story, featuring vocals by mezzo-soprano Chantelle Grant.
More Like This
Dangerous Liaisons · 1988Dangerous Liaisons
★ 7.21988
MovieDramaRomance
In 18th century France, Marquise de Merteuil asks her ex-lover Vicomte de Valmont to seduce the future wife of another ex-lover of hers in return for one last night with her. Yet things don’t go as planned.
A Man for All Seasons · 1966A Man for All Seasons
★ 7.31966
MovieDramaHistory
A depiction of the conflict between King Henry VIII of England and his Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More, who refuses to swear the Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry Supreme Head of the Church in England.
Dog Day Afternoon · 1975Dog Day Afternoon
★ 7.81975
MovieCrimeDrama
Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and stand-off with the police. As Sonny's motives for the robbery are slowly revealed and things become more complicated, the heist turns into a media circus.
Irreversible · 2002Irreversible
★ 7.22002
MovieDramaThriller
A woman’s lover and her ex-boyfriend take justice into their own hands after she becomes the victim of a rapist. Because some acts can’t be undone. Because man is an animal. Because the desire for vengeance is a natural impulse. Because most crimes remain unpunished.
The China Syndrome · 1979The China Syndrome
★ 7.11979
MovieDramaThriller
While doing a series of reports on alternative energy sources, opportunistic reporter Kimberly Wells witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant. Wells is determined to publicize the incident, but soon finds herself entangled in a sinister conspiracy to keep the full impact of the incident a secret.
Lola and the Sea · 2019Lola and the Sea
★ 6.42019
MovieDrama
Just when Lola, 18 years old and transgender, learns that she can finally have surgery, her mother, who is her only financial support, passes away. Abiding by her mother’s last wishes, Lola and her father, who are permanently in conflict and have not seen each other for two years, undertake a journey all the way to the Belgian coast. They realize the outcome of the journey may not be the one they were both expecting...
Earth · 1996Earth
★ 6.91996
MovieDramaRomance
A mysterious exterminator falls in love with two women who live in a distinctive wine-producing region in Spain.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert · 1994The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
★ 7.31994
MovieDramaComedy
Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
American Gigolo · 1980American Gigolo
★ 6.21980
MovieCrimeDrama
Julian makes a lucrative living as an escort to older women in the Los Angeles area. He begins a relationship with Michelle, a local politician's wife, without expecting any pay. One of his clients is murdered and Detective Sunday begins pumping him for details on his different clients, something he is reluctant to do considering the nature of his work. Julian begins to suspect he's being framed. Meanwhile Michelle begins to fall in love with him.
Moffie · 2020Moffie
★ 6.72020
MovieDramaWar
A young man in 1981 South Africa must complete his brutal and racist two years of compulsory military service while desperately maintaining the secrecy of his homosexuality.
2:37 · 20062:37
★ 6.62006
MovieDrama
A contemporary, ensemble drama that tells the complex tale of six high school students whose lives are interwoven with situations that so many of today's youth are faced with. The story takes place during a normal school day. At precisely 2:37 a tragedy will occur, affecting the lives of a group of students and their teachers.
