QUEER CINEMA CLUB
Queer Cinema Club is more than a film series: it’s a mission to bring Toronto’s LGBTQ folks together in celebration of some of the best queer cinema ever made.
Every month at the gloriously restored Paradise Theatre, curator and host Peter Knegt will be offering queers (and anyone who loves them) a classic queer film, special guests and performers, and some good old fashioned drinks and conversation in the Paradise’s gorgeous lobby bar. Each film is paired with a different local queer artist, who designs an original poster for the screening.
Up next…
We know the head of state we’ll be celebrating on January 20th, 2025.
Join us at Paradise to forget about everything that happened that day (it seems highly poised to be a bad one!) and instead bask in the glory of two true royals, Queen Christina of Sweden and Greta Garbo, as they come together as one in this incredibly queer pre-code movie from 1933!
The film stars a 27 year old Garbo as the titular 17th century queen, a woman whose unconventional life has been scrutinized and represented from her own time to today. Her sexuality and gender have now for nearly 400 years (she was born 398 years ago this week!) been the subject of conjecture. And Garbo (a queer legend of history in her own right) leans into this in her fiery portrayal of her.
The screening will coincide with the premiere of Le Reine-garçon, a new opera based on Queen Christina’s life from Julien Bilodeau and Michel Marc Bouchard that will be running from January 31 to February 15 at the Canadian Opera Company. We’ll be joined onstage at the screening by musicologist Jane Forner, who will offer some insight into the film, the opera and the history behind both!
Get your tickets at paradiseonbloor.com and also thank you so much to Cupid Pal for creating this absolute *stunner* of a poster 👑🦄