Every year, I seek out queer and trans stories at festivals — and I love when they spark new questions or make me rethink something I thought I understood.

This year at TIFF, the films got me thinking about questions that I’m sure will shape the discussion about queer and trans stories at Living Out Loud next week:

• How much does who tells a story (the director, the writer, the actors) affect whether we read it as being told from a queer or trans perspective? (Again, cf. an LGBTQ+-themed story)
• How do systems (medical, legal) shape queer and trans lives — and the stories we tell about them?
• What happens when a film is about a queer character and made by queer creatives… but that character’s perspective doesn’t seem to shape how the story is told? Is it still a queer film? Or just an LGBTQ+-themed film?
• In North America, we now expect trans characters in films to be played by trans actors…but what if you’re making a film about a trans character who has yet to medically transition in a country where being trans can’t be recognized without that?

There are no easy answers, and every film I see — and conversation I have — about queer and trans cinema complicates my answers.

On the podcast, I talked about how two films I saw at TIFF helped me think these through:

🎧 Ep. 181: Between Dreams and Hope and queer + trans survival
​ An Iranian film about a trans man navigating the demeaning legal and medical bureaucracy while seeking gender-affirming care.

I also connect it to two other queer films I've seen recently, which explore queer people navigating legal and medical systems.
​ 👉 Listen to the episode​

🎧 Ep. 183: The Choral
​ A film with queer characters, written and directed by queer artists — but where the story doesn’t seem to be shaped by queerness.

I found myself asking, "Is it a queer film?" Is it even trying to be a queer film?

​ ​👉 Listen to the episode​

Whether or not you’ve seen the films, the episodes are really about the frameworks we bring to queer and trans cinema — and how those evolve with each new story.

If that kind of reflection is your thing — or you're curious what others are seeing, feeling, and questioning in queer and trans stories — I’d love to see you at Living Out Loud.

On Day 2 (October 4), we’ll dig into (among other things):

• What’s the difference between a queer or trans film, an LGBTQ+-themed film, and a queer-coded or trans-coded film?
• And are those divisions as clean as they sound?

📌 Living Out Loud details

🗓 October 3–5, 2 pm-4 pm ET daily, live & online

✨ Panel convos with critics, scholars, historians, and filmmakers (Oct 3 + 4)

🎬 A queer short film screening + discussion (Oct 5)

🗣️ Plenty of space for audience questions and interaction — your presence really does shape what happens in the room

💸 Free to register + attend

📝 Registration required (yup, even if you got this email)

👉 Register here
📝 Already registered? Fab. You’re all set for all three days— but feel free to forward this to someone who’d love it, too

Hope to see you there,

Alex

Host of Seventh Row Podcast | Curator of Living Out Loud​

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