Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance

Reflecting on the history of Toronto’s queer community, one of Parade’s participants notes, “Toronto was a very gay city. Yonge Street just seemed to be one of the gayest streets in the world.” However, Toronto hasn’t always been a place of queer acceptance.?To explore 50 years of the city’s queer activism, the film blends present-day interviews with local queer artists and activists, along with fascinating and rare personal, television and photographic archives. This polyphonic essay film highlights key moments, including the first Pride Parade, the launch of the gay liberation newspaper The Body Politic and the founding of Dewson House, a Black queer gathering space, alongside many other challenging and joyful milestones. It also weaves in significant national events in queer Canadian history. In the current political climate, the film’s subjects offer a crucial lesson: the importance of being disruptive.