Sun Jun 26 | 7pm
Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre Performance Centre – 181 Roundhouse Mews
CS Fergusson-Vaux & Ben Siegl, Curators
Did you hear that sound? What could it be? A monster, a masked assailant, a man-eating shark, a spectral haunting tethered to our plane, neither alive nor dead until suddenly…! The jump scare—a mirror, a blade, a bloodied hand on your shoulder…
The horror film is a ripe framework for queer storytelling; a tense and violent confrontation with the unknown leaves you questioning your safety while inextricably inviting an experience that is both courageous and pleasurable. A haven of expressive catharsis, queer horror offers illusionary renderings of modern fears that give room to pick apart our monsters. The malevolence witnessed in the theatre is complex and personal, reminders of a history tucked under beds and hidden inside of closets—a lot of these monsters are our former roommates. Afterall, “…if something is both queer and gothic, look under the surface to disinter the insidious trauma buried there.” (Lauren Westengard)
“Reel Eerie” showcases filmmakers who have bravely picked-up a shovel and started to dig. Sifting through everything the genre has to offer—from the delightfully campy to the existentially terrifying—the films illustrate that our “real” journey from danger is always made in the hopes of heading towards liberation. Not all of us arrive, but we all do try.
This event is ASL interpreted.
Featuring Films by:
Jonathan Wysocki
Mary Galloway
Assistant Curator Benjamin Siegl is an artist, administrator and occasional curator hailing from the great state of Florida. Born in Philadelphia, he holds a BFA from Florida State University (2011) and a MFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design (2017) and currently resides on the unceded Coast Salish territories of Vancouver, BC. His interests include experimental animation and painting, and he is currently collaborating on a project with a PhD of molecular biology exploring the intersections of art and science.
Associate Artistic Director CS Fergusson-Vaux is a Black Carib Immigrant Artivist, and Historian with a fervent belief in decolonizing our community, encouraging and aiding in bold cultural endeavours, and constructing an ethical and inclusive artistic legacy. She uses Performative History, Transnational Studies, and JEDI based engagement to facilitate just artistic exchange between newly arrived diasporic and local queer commuities. She is currently pursuing studies in Social and Environmental Arts Practice.