theBUZZ Features
What’s Queer at Hot Docs Cinema – April 2023
Bryen Dunn
A slate of captivating new docs premiere at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in April, including two captivating trans themed films. Dressed in Blue is a rarely-seen landmark 1983 film that captures the experiences of six transgender women living in Madrid in the years following Spain’s transition to democracy. Transformer chronicles the life of world record transgender weightlifter, Janae Kroc, who must navigate her love of bodybuilding and strength with being a woman. Someone Like Me tells the story of how a group of strangers from Vancouver’s LGBTQ+ community help a gay Ugandan asylum seeker begin a new life in Canada.
DRESSED IN BLUE (VESTIDA DE AZUL) – Presented in partnership with Inside Out
D: Antonio Giménez Rico | Spain | 98 min | 1983
One of the best trans films you’ve likely never heard of, now lovingly restored in all its glamour, is a loving portrait of a culture finally emerging from the shadows and a vital testament to just how far we’ve come–and how far there’s still left to go.
More than that, it’s a loving portrait of a culture finally emerging from the shadows after being hidden for far too long. Antonio’s portrait of these women gave them the freedom to portray their own stories with their own friends and family, in a stylized scripted narrative framework with gorgeous cinematography by Teo Escamilla. The stories of Eva, Nacha, Loren, Josette, Reneé and Tamara were never properly released outside of Spain and never available on home video, but Toronto audiences can finally see this vital testament to just how far we’ve come—and how far there’s still left to go.
HOT DOCS AT HOME
Free for Hot Docs members and subscribers
TRANSFORMER – 30 Years of Hot Docs: Audience Award Winner
D: Michael Del Monte ǀ 2017 ǀ 78 mins
When former US Marine and world record weightlifter, Janae Kroc, is publicly outed as transgender, she is rejected from her sport and from her family. In an intimate portrait, Janae must navigate her new role in society while reconciling her love of bodybuilding and strength with being a woman.
SOMEONE LIKE ME – 30 Years of Hot Docs: Audience Award Winner
D: Sean Horlor, Steve J Adams ǀ 2021 ǀ 80 mins
Follow the parallel journeys of Drake, a gay asylum seeker from Uganda, and a group of strangers from Vancouver’s queer community who are tasked with supporting his resettlement in Canada. Together, they embark on a year-long quest for personal freedom, revealing how in a world where one must constantly fight for the right to exist, survival itself becomes a victory.
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema – 506 Bloor St West
About the Author
Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.
