The OUT North Queer Film & Arts Festival returns April 15-19.
Yukon Cinema and The Cache, Whitehorse, Yukon.
Yukon Cinema and The Cache, Whitehorse, Yukon.
A bold and joyful celebration of queer storytelling, this film festival brings together powerful histories, intergenerational family journeys, offbeat comedies of self-discovery, daring explorations of queer subcultures, and gripping tales of love and survival. From activism and chosen family to romance, humour, and resilience, these films spotlight the many vibrant ways 2SLGBTQIA+ lives unfold across generations and around the world.
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The 2026 Program
Friday, April 17
Opening Film: To The Moon
Kevin Hartford, 2024 A heartwarming, offbeat comedy about love, self-discovery, and the beautiful mess of growing up—at any age. Sam (Jacob Sampson), a closeted single dad on the cusp of an empty nest, is trying to figure out what’s next for himself, while his savvy teen daughter Ella (Phoebe Rex) keeps things in check. When their eccentric new neighbour Claire (Amy Groenig) arrives on the scene, their lives begin to intertwine in surprising and delightful ways. With sharp humor and tender moments—and dancing—director Kevin Hartford, joined by celebrated Halifax producer Thom Fitzgerald (Cloudburst, The Hanging Garden), delivers a winsome story full of heart, hope, and the unexpected rhythms of connection.| Opening short
Die Bully Die (Nathan Lacey, Nick Lacey) SHOWTIME: Fri, April 17
6:30pm (doors at 6:15pm) Yukon Cinema |
Pillion
Harry Lighton, 2025 An erotic comedy drama centred on a timid man (Harry Melling) who is swept off his feet when an enigmatic, impossibly handsome biker (Alexander Skarsgård) takes him on as his submissive. Be among the first in the Yukon to see what IndieWire hails as “a deeply moving love story… chains, gags, and all.” SHOWTIME: Fri, April 17
9:15pm (doors at 9pm) Yukon Cinema |
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LIVE performance: Oops...I flirted again by pb
Opening for To The Moon A tale of how pb learned everything he knows about flirting from Bollywood movies, with a flirty dance tutorial to a popular Bollywood song. |
Saturday, April 18
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Learning with the Birds: a Workshop on Creativity, Play, and Solidarity
Join Hakim, Wren, the River, and the American Dippers for an afternoon of birding, storyweaving, and conversation. Taking our cues from the land, we’ll explore our own stories and how they intersect with place. If you are interested in creative play, birds, and expanding definitions of solidarity, this workshop is for you. About the Artists Hakim and Wren are a couple of queer creatures who are in love with birds, colour, laughter, and one another. They sing a lot of karaoke, like to hang out with flowers, and are serious about supporting Indigenous sovereignty and the fall of empires. As friends, artists, and community organizers Wren and Hakim collaborate on the following projects: Prep4Collapse, Good Bird Collective, Solstice Mischief, and The Feminist Bird Club: Kwanlin Chapter (coming SOON!). They hope to see you at one of their events this season. 10 spots available By Donation |
Dreams in Nightmares
Shatara Michelle Ford, 2024 After an abrupt layoff, Z embarks on a trip across the Midwestern United States in search of a friend who has seemingly disappeared off the grid. Traveling with her two closest friends, these three queer black femmes find their priorities tested as shapeshifting threats in each city expose (inter)personal and ideological fractures. SHOWTIME: Sat, April 18
5:15pm (doors at 5pm) Yukon Cinema |
Ponyboi
Esteban Arango, 2024 On Valentine's Day, in New Jersey, a young intersex sex worker is working at a laundromat with their pregnant best friend, Angel. They spend their nights with Vinnie, their secret lover and pimp who is also the father of Angel's child. However, when a drug deal goes bad, they find themself on the run from the mob. SHOWTIME: Sat, April 18
8:15pm (doors at 8pm) Yukon Cinema |
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Out North Dance Party with DJ SHE/THEY
DJ SHE/THEY, aka Jade Lacosse, is your big panty auntie. She brings the heat and energy to throw you into the fire of the dance floor, and to pull you out of the flames before you're fully consumed. As a 2-Spirit Anishinaabe and adopted Tlingit woman, Jade knows that dancing is medicine, that music can not only heal us, but it is a nourishment that feeds our spirits. |
Sunday, April 19
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Workshop: Stop motion crash course
A beginner crash course on stop motion. Come and learn through play and experimenting for this 1 day workshop. Participants will get a chance to explore different styles and techniques with a quick intro into creating your scene and organizing to shoot. Folks will leave with some basic skills both technical and creative that they can play with and continue to grow. Artist Bio Caitlin is a Cree Acadian artist who was raised in the east coast by their art loving father. They are a story teller, cree language speaker, mother, activist and general sassy-pants trouble maker. They are non-binary and from the Peepeekisis Cree Nation. Their art background includes film, writing, dance, puppets, animation, design and print making. 10 spots available By Donation |
Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance
Director: Noam Gonick | Producer: Justine Pimlott, 2025 An unflinching journey through Canada's 2SLGBTQIA+ history, capturing the pivotal protests and passionate voices that ignited a movement of love and resistance. Opening shorts
The Holy Mother (Mirabel Sirois) How Not to Date While Trans (Nyala Moon) SHOWTIME: Sun, April 19
1:45pm (doors at 1:25pm) Yukon Cinema |
Closing Film: Jimpa
Sophie Hyde, 2025 Hannah and her non-binary teenager Frances visits her gay grandfather Jimpa at Amsterdam. Frances expresses a desire to stay with their grandfather for a year, challenging Hannah's parenting beliefs and forcing her to confront past issues. SHOWTIME: Sun, April 19
6pm (doors at 5:45pm) Yukon Cinema |
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LIVE performance: Ivan Coyote
Opening for Jimpa Ivan Coyote is a writer and storyteller. Born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, they are the author of thirteen books, the creator of four films, six stage shows, and three albums that combine storytelling with music. Coyote’s books have won the ReLit Award, been named a Stonewall Honour Book, been longlisted for Canada Reads, and been shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Prize for non-fiction, and the Governor General's Award for non-fiction twice. In 2017 Ivan was given an honorary Doctor of Laws from Simon Fraser University, and in 2023 they received the first Honorary Doctor of Arts ever bestowed on anyone by Yukon University. Coyote’s stories grapple with the complex and intensely personal topics of gender identity, family, class, and queer liberation, but always with a generous heart, and a quick wit. Ivan's 13th book, Care Of, was released in June 2021 by McClelland and Stewart and their new one-person show Playlist premiered in February of 2024. Photo credit: Emily Cooper Photography |
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.
ALL-ACCESS PASS means all-access AWESOME
Individual tickets for $15 each
ALL-ACCESS PASS means all-access AWESOME
Individual tickets for $15 each
Our Festival Family
A HUGE thank you to our amazing sponsors who joined the Out North Queer Film Fest family and are making this all happen!!
Accessibility
The venue is wheelchair-accessible and has all-gender washrooms.
We do not believe that cost should be a barrier to attending the film festival. If you would like to attend the festival, but feel that financial considerations would keep you away, please contact us at [email protected] to make arrangements.
We do not believe that cost should be a barrier to attending the film festival. If you would like to attend the festival, but feel that financial considerations would keep you away, please contact us at [email protected] to make arrangements.
