Some of the year’s most acclaimed queer documentaries are coming to Toronto as the Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival gets ready for its 34th edition. The festival announced the full line-up for its 2024 event today with 10 feature documentaries on the ticket. Documentary highlights at the festival include the Toronto premiere of Jules Rosskam’s Sundance prize winner Desire Lines. The hybrid film explores the complexity of the love lives of transgender men who identify as gay after transitioning. Desire Lines was among POV’s top picks at Sundance for its innovative and boundary-pushing addition to non-fiction and queer representation alike.
“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,” said Elie Chivi, Co-Head and Executive Director of Inside Out, in a statement from the festival. “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.”
Canadian docs at the festival include the world premiere of Bulletproof: A Lesbian’s Guide to Surviving the Plot, directed by Regan Latimer. The film examines the state of queer representation in film and television, a point that is currently under the microscope in the Canadian screen sector. Also world premiering is Unusually Normal, directed by Colette Johnson-Vosberg, which profiles Canada’s “gayest family.” The doc features a unique family with three generations of gay women who take social media by storm. Having its Ontario premiere, meanwhile, is the portrait of nêhiyaw artist George Littlechild, nanekawâsis. The 16mm film comes from director Conor McNally. And getting a Toronto encore on the Canadian front is A Mother Apart, directed by Laurie Townshend. The film about poet and activist Staceyann Chin just debuted to positive notices at Hot Docs.
Also getting a repeat screening is Hot Docs highlight Teaches of Peaches. The film shows audiences why Toronto music icon Peaches still commands the stage as a singular voice. On the international front, Inside Out offers the North American premiere of Kip Andersen and Chris O’Connell’s Join the Club. The film looks back at the story of San Francisco pot dealer Dennis Peron, who used the power of the bud to help community members amid the AIDS epidemic. Meanwhile, veteran director Kim Longinotto joins forces with newcomer Franky Murray Brown for Dalton’s Dream. The film tells the story of Dalton Harris, the final winner of X Factor UK, and his brutal encounter with homophobia following his triumph.
Rounding out the international feature docs are two selections that spark good vibes with sex positivity and body positivity. A Big Gay Hairy Hit! Where The Bears Are: The Documentary, directed by Eduardo Aquino, brings a story of three bears to Inside Out. Audiences will have to see if the doc gets the porridge just right. And Brian J. Smith’s A House Is Not a Disco whisks audiences to the queer haven of Fire Island where the LGBTQ+ community enjoys beach fronts and inclusion.
Inside Out also includes a healthy roster of short documentaries including Tara Hakim and Hannah Hull’s experimental doc A Tangled Web Drowning in Honey, Twiggy Pucci Garçon’s drag doc MnM, and Sterling Hampton IV’s memorable character piece Merman.
This year’s festival opens with the drama My Old Ass, directed by Megan Park. The film stars Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella in a story about finding self-worth later in life.
