Creative Spaces: Queer and Italian Canadian (2021)
Director: Licia Canton
Cinematographers: Béatrice Langlois-Bettez, Justine Rivard
Running time: 28 minutes
A short documentary that explores the intersections of queerness, creativity and culture with three Italian-Canadian writers living in Montreal. Watch the film in its entirety below.
FULL SUMMARY
What does it mean to be queer and Italian Canadian? And what experiences do queer Italian Canadians have when their sexual orientation and gender identity come in contact with their cultural heritage and traditions? Director Licia Canton explores this topic with three Montreal writers—Liana Cusmano, Christopher DiRaddo and Steve Galluccio—and comparative literature professor Domenico A. Beneventi.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Licia Canton is the editor of Here and Now: An Anthology of Queer Italian-Canadian Writing (2021) and the author of The Pink House and Other Stories (2018) and Almond Wine and Fertility (2008). She is founding editor-in-chief of Accenti Magazine, where she organizes the annual prose, poetry and photo contests. For her work in culture, she received the Italy in the World Prize in 2018. Licia Canton holds a Ph.D. from Université de Montréal and an M.A. from McGill.
ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS
Domenico A. Beneventi (he/him) is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Université de Sherbrooke. His research interests and publications focus on Canadian and Québécois literatures, urban writing, gender and queer studies. He heads the FRQSC-funded research team Équipe de recherche en études queer au Québec.
Liana Cusmano (they/them/iel) is a writer, filmmaker, spoken word artist and arts educator who works in English, French and Italian. Liana is the 2018 and 2019 Montreal Slam Champion. They wrote and directed the film Matters of Great Unimportance (2019) and wrote the film script for La Femme Finale, screened at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. A first novel, Catch and Release, is forthcoming in 2022.
Christopher DiRaddo (he/him) is the author of The Family Way (2021) and The Geography of Pluto (2014). Since 2014, he has worked to create a space for LGBTQ literature in Montreal—producing and hosting the Violet Hour reading series and book club.
Steve Galluccio (he/him) is a playwright and screenwriter. His first major stage play, Mambo Italiano, was turned into a movie which sold in more than fifty-three countries. He is also known for the Gemini award-winning TV series Ciao Bella and the movies Funkytown (2011) and Little Italy (2018).
LINKS
https://www.facebook.com/CreativeQueerItalianCanadian
https://accenti.ca/queer-and-italian-canadian-a-video-documentary/
PRESS PHOTOS
For more information, please contact Licia Canton at lcanton@accenti.ca.