I had missed the screening and knew nothing about the film, but the director Razid Season’s award acceptance speech at the festival felt like a film in itself. Razid spoke about how Elijah almost wasn’t made. Even with a grant in hand, he had tried to give it back because he couldn’t find actors to play a Bengali family in New York with a teenage trans person at the center. Razid searched for actors for one year. He went door to door and attended Bengali community and social gatherings but did not find anyone who would agree to work. Some feared backlash within their own circles; others did not have time due to full-time jobs. What he ran into wasn’t a lack of courage; it was the invisible tax of class—shift work, remittances, childcare, the fear of being seen in a queer story on top of it: everything that makes art feel like a luxury. That’s why his refusal to relent landed like kinship.

He solved it by turning to the neighborhood stage. From community theater he assembled a family—Ajaz Alam (father), Debjani Banerjee (mother), Mithila Gazi (their child)—each Bengali, each with deep stage roots and no on-camera history. He kept the film in Bengali to honor the real Elijah, whom he first met while interpreting in a hospital crisis unit; language here isn’t ornament, it’s a promise to the life that sparked the story.

At one point he situated Elijah within its regional film lineage: in South Asian and Himalayan cinema, stories centering trans women are far more visible than those centering trans men. Speaking as a Bangladeshi Muslim immigrant a decade into the U.S., he set out to widen that frame, centering a Bengali family and their trans son, and telling the story in Bengali so it speaks from inside the culture rather than about it.

When I finally watched Elijah, the first image that anchored me was a curtain: his room literally partitioned from the house by fabric that opens and closes, a soft door the camera sometimes crosses and sometimes is left behind it. That veiling/unveiling becomes the film’s grammar: Elijah searching for a self he can bear to reveal; a mother negotiating how to belong to her community without disclosing her true family; and a father crushed by the taxi/Uber bust, numbing himself after shifts, watching an LGBTQ segment and projecting his hurt onto the screen. Razid names that pressure with precision: the sickness called the American Dream, where drivers disappear, friends are lost, and the math of survival doesn’t add up. No one stays on the surface: the father, who seems the most rigid, surprises us; he goes looking for his son and finds, if not answers, then a path back to a frayed sense of community. The curtain motif carries through to a literal unveiling—Elijah’s hair—and to the camera’s ethic of disclosure: show, then shield; shield, then show. It’s a queer film, yes, and also a film about work, migration, and belonging; the partition becomes a threshold, and crossing it is what allows love to keep up with change.

Listening to Razid under the spotlight, I felt something shift. His struggle, his resourcefulness, his refusal to abandon the story: it gave me one of those rare moments when you fall in love with cinema all over again. Because here was proof that even in an industry that feels unfair, where films with ethical urgency often go unseen or unsupported, someone had made the impossible possible. In that instant, the hopelessness I so often carry—the cost, the grind, the indifference of the city—was replaced by a flicker of hope. Hope in cinema, hope in my community of filmmakers, hope in the very act of making. That night, that speech, sent me searching for Elijah.

To learn more about the film: https://www.razidseason.com/1_6_elijah-new-production

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The duality of family is this: the people who we love the most can also be the ones who most hurt us. This is evident in award-winning short film ‘Elijah’, directed by Razid Season. Based on a true story, the film follows a young trans man of the same name in his struggle to come out to his trans-phobic Bengali-American immigrant parents. In a world where we yearn for acceptance as we are, outdated cultural beliefs and transphobia impose a narrative of who we should be, and coupled with economic disparity, violently tear us apart from our loved ones. 

With Season’s masterful storytelling combined with the film’s urgent themes, Elijah confronts the real-world consequences of transphobia on youth and all members of the LGBTQIA+ community who keep their identities hidden in fear of hate and rejection — even from people who build their homes and innermost circle. Elijah (Mithila Gazi), deviates from tradition as a trans man, which distances him from his traditionalist mother (Debjani Banerjee) and father (Ajaz Alam). His very identity goes against the Bengali standard of a heteronormative and arranged marriage — an expectation that he is reminded of daily through his parents’ words which cut like daggers. Hence, Elijah suffers in silence and hides the truth.

Season’s carefully crafted sequences paint a vivid picture of complicated family life. There is no dialogue in the opening scene of a family dinner, but it speaks volumes about the cultural divide between the older and younger generations in immigrant families. Elijah eats with a fork while his parents eat with their hands, a quiet representation of their ideological differences. Elijah looks on, bearing the weight of things unsaid. 

It is this weight that later becomes unbearable, for Elijah and many others. Elijah reflects the emotional distress experienced by the queer community due to prejudice, especially with the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies. The Trevor Project’s 2024 survey showed that almost 40% of LGBTQ+ youth across the US have seriously considered attempting suicide, and 90% said their well-being was negatively impacted by recent politics.

But it is not just Elijah who gets yanked away from family due to societal ills. Elijah’s father Haider, a taxi driver, buckles under the weight of the failing American Dream. Following the taxi medallion crash in New York City, Haider’s fellow cab driver commits suicide. He drinks alcohol to cope. Elijah witnesses his father’s drunk episodes, which strain their relationship. With the medallion crisis skyrocketing his debt, Haider overworks, wrenching him further away from his family.

Despite the world pulling them apart, the love between the three is unquestionable. This is especially tangible through Alam’s acting, which steals the show. It’s in the quiet way he looks at Elijah as he drops him off to school. It’s in the way he embraces his son when Elijah needed it the most. It’s in the way Elijah’s mother holds him when he is at his lowest. And it’s in the way that they finally acknowledge the ills that turn them against each other.

Elijah reminds us that despite the hurt and the distance between us, healing our relationship with family is possible. Healing comes for Elijah when love bridges the gap between understanding and acceptance for his traditionalist father. Love says: this is foreign to me and I may not completely grasp this yet, but I see you, and I support you. 

Overall, Elijah is a stunner in terms of direction and themes, paired with stellar performances. It sheds light on how transphobia and the collapse of the American Dream is destroying families, and the urgency with which these need to be addressed. While the film underscores what needs to be changed in society, it also emphasizes the growth that needs to happen within individuals and families. Both heartbreaking and healing, personal and political, Elijah is a powerful film that reminds us that the people we love are always worth closing the gap for, even when the world tears us apart.

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Directed and written by Megan Park, a Lindsay Ontario, My Old Ass tells the story of an 18-year-old girl, Elliott, played by Nashville star Maisie Stella, who is spending her last summer at her family’s cranberry marsh before heading off for university. A magical mushroom trip unexpectedly brings Elliott face-to-face with her 39-year-old future self, portrayed by Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation). This meeting sets the stage for Elliott’s journey of self-discovery as she grapples with the life advice from her older self, which leads to a humorous and introspective exploration of personal growth, regrets, and the realities of adulthood.

Margot Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, co-produced the film alongside Indian Paintbrush. While Robbie does not appear in the movie, she and her husband, Tom Ackerley, oversaw the production in Muskoka, stayed for several weeks during filming, and even hosted a kickoff party at Beveragino in Port Carling.

Park, who spent summers in Muskoka as a child, filming in the region was a deeply personal choice. “Muskoka is such a beautiful place… I was shocked it hadn’t been featured in a movie before.” Park said in a recent interview with CTV. She has described the film as “a love letter to Muskoka.”

The movie’s Muskoka setting plays a pivotal role in the film’s story, with Park’s attention to detail helping to select the perfect spots. Muskoka411 interviewed the film’s location manager, Glenn Carter, who shared how over 50 Muskoka cottages were scouted before selecting one on Sterling Point, located on the north end of Lake Joseph. The film shot several scenes at the Bala Johnston Farm and various marinas and golf courses around Lake Joseph, Port Carling, and Bala. “We wanted something typical that really reflects Muskoka,” Carter said in our interview.

A notable location in the film is the historic Cleveland’s House, a landmark resort on Lake Rosseau that has fallen into disrepair. The production team originally scouted the property for a scene requiring an abandoned boathouse. However, as Glenn Carter, the film’s location manager, explained, the discovery of Cleveland’s House’s distinctive tower inspired a creative change in the script. “The director saw the tower out on the dock and thought it was so cinematic that she said, ‘Let’s change the script and have the characters go to this place off the water,'” Carter said.

The local community also played a big part in the production, with over 100 Muskoka residents participating as background actors. According to Norah Fountain, executive director of the Muskoka Lakes Chamber of Commerce, the production poured an estimated $4-6 million into the local economy.

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The 2024 edition of the festival is presented in partnership with Muskoka Arts & Crafts and will feature a curated selection of films that span genres, cultures and perspectives, with a special focus on Indigenous voices and intersectional representation. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with filmmakers through Q&A sessions and panel discussions that delve into the art and craft of filmmaking.

Highlights of the Festival Include:

• Opening Night Community Screening: The festival will begin with an opening ceremony
  on Oct. 10 beginning at 6:30 p.m. followed by a free community screening of just
  released A Brothers Bond (2024) by Canadian director Brayden Langford.
• Indigenous Cinema Showcase: A spotlight on Indigenous filmmakers worldwide,
  celebrating their unique contributions to the global cinematic landscape.
• Filmmaker Panels: Many filmmakers plan to attend in person and will participate in
  discussion panels following film screenings, providing insights into their creative
  processes and the challenges of filmmaking in a globalized world.
• Arts Marketplace: A vibrant marketplace featuring local Muskoka Arts and Crafts artists,
  offering attendees the chance to purchase unique artworks and crafts.
• Red Carpet and Award Ceremony: On Saturday, Oct. 12 following the Fiction and Animated shorts showcase at 8 p.m. the Red Carpet & Award Ceremony will recognize the outstanding achievements of filmmakers, with awards presented to those who have made significant contributions to the world of cinema.

Festival Director Melissa Pole expressed her excitement about this year’s event, saying, “The Three Fires International Film Festival is more than just a celebration of film; it’s a platform for dialogue, connection, and cultural exchange. With our official Muskoka 2024 program now released, we are excited to share a diverse lineup of 36 films and invite filmmakers from 16 different countries to Muskoka this fall.”

Tickets for the Three Fires International Film Festival are now available online. All who share an interest in film or are looking for an evening out are encouraged to purchase early, as events are expected to sell out quickly. For more information on the festival program, tickets and how to get involved, please visit the official website at www.3fiff.ca.

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Filmmaker Barri Cohen’s documentary Unloved – Huronia’s Forgotten Children, which premeires at Hot Docs Film Festival on May 3, details the severe neglect and abuse faced by HRC’s residents. Cohen discovered she had two half-brothers she never knew about, and in 2013 when a class-action suit over the conditions at HRC was settled, she found out that they lived and died there. Following that revelation, she learned about the horrors that her brothers faced alongside the centre’s other residents. Her brothers were nonverbal, but even those who could speak often had their words disregarded.

“Even when survivors spoke up to authority, they were dismissed or they were beaten for it, or their own parents would say, ‘You’re lying, you’re making it up,’” Cohen said. “They weren’t believed and that infuriated me.”

There was a lot of pressure on families, especially poor working class families, to leave their disabled or “unwanted” children in institutions like HRC. In addition to having few avenues of support, there was also a pervasive ableist belief that disabled children didn’t have the capacity to miss or even recognize their family in the first place. Along with HRC in Orillia, Muskoka had its own regional centre in Gravenhurst.

Cohen was always very close with her father, which made it all the more shocking when she found out the truth about her half-brothers, Alfred and Louis. She was amazed that her father had kept so many secrets, including some that he took to his grave. The authenticity and urgency of exploring an issue connected to her own family history helped her push through the difficult subject matter.

Though she wishes she could have had these conversations with her parents, Cohen was able to bond with her remaining family by sharing stories and facts they had learned about Alfie and Louis. She couldn’t believe so many mysteries still remained in a family as close as hers.

“I was just struck by how we think we know people and we know our nearest and dearest, and do we ever really know them?” Cohen said. “Do we ever really know the pain and the shame and the secrets that they carry with them?”

It was haunting for Cohen to dig into the history of her half-brothers and learn about them from old files and medical records. Through her research, she started to feel like she knew Alfred, but it was harder with Louis since he had died at just four years old, less than 18 months after being admitted to HRC.

His medical record seemed to suggest he got a fever and died suddenly, but Louis’ autopsy report painted a picture of severe neglect, Cohen said. Unfortunately, medical information was most of what she was able to discover about Louis since most resident files included little to no detail. Since Alfred lived until 23, his file contained a few personal facts like his appreciation of music and how he liked to stand at the windows and stare out at the world. 

Cohen’s father likely knew little about the boys as well. He said Alfie didn’t recognize him and the staff took away any toys he bought for the boys, so he stopped visiting at their instruction. Cohen may never have a full understanding of what her half-brothers were like, but hearing the stories of other survivors helped fill in the gaps in the story of HRC.

“Through their story, I could learn about what this place was,” Cohen said. “The survivors’ living testimony is critical to understanding not just the past but also a cautionary tale for the present.”

Once she started hearing the stories of survivors, she couldn’t get enough. She wanted to know what life was like at HRC from sunup to sundown, and what she found was dismal. Not only did the institution segregate their residents from the rest of society, they were also segregated by ability within the centre. 

Residents without disabilities or with fewer needs were used for indentured labour, tasked with cleaning, taking care of other residents and so on. Nonverbal residents like Alfred and others with greater needs were housed together and given no opportunity for training or education. No matter how intelligent they were, residents weren’t educated past Grade 5. 

Beyond the neglect, HRC was rife with abuse. Many residents were molested or raped. They were often subject to dehumanizing treatment like being locked in a dark and dirty pipe room alone for days on end. Residents were also restrained chemically by medication and physically through straight jackets and caged cots and cribs. Some were even sterilized against their will.

The anger Cohen felt on behalf of the residents led her to a question: what is it about human beings that makes us treat the most vulnerable among us so poorly?

“We don’t think of ourselves in Canada and North America doing this in the 20th century to people, and it was done,” Cohen said. “This is one of the answers I learned, and as a Jew steeped in Holocaust history, you understand this also: when you dehumanize another person, all bets are off in terms of care and rights and love that you think they deserve.”

After the class action lawsuit over hospital schools was settled in 2013, institutions such as schools for deaf and blind people were the subject to lawsuits as well, often for similar claims of abuse. That along with the discoveries of unmarked graves at residential schools made it clear to Cohen that the problem isn’t just about bad apples. Instead, there’s a systemic problem with these institutions.

Cohen emphasized that the goal is not to condemn small towns or the people connected to these places. It’s about an ineffective and dangerous model of care that allowed the government to push people out of sight and out of mind. She hopes viewers will come to the film with open eyes and ears and consider the contemporary institutions, such as long-term care, that are moving toward the same problematic patterns.

“Ultimately, it’s not about Orillia or about Muskoka, or even about Ontario,” Cohen said. “It’s about a model of care that was very dominant and that we took for granted throughout North America and to some extent in Europe in the 20th century, and to some extent now.” 

When Cohen heard the news about the unmarked graves at residential schools, she wasn’t surprised. Indigenous people had been speaking about these injustices for many years and there were similar issues at HRC. Cohen’s half-brother Louis was buried in an unmarked grave after dying at the centre and the cemetery on the property lacked proper markers as well. The absence of a proper burial is “a way of robbing people of their humanity even in death,” Cohen said.

For decades, graves were only marked with numbers signifying the order of death. Instead of using existing records to restore the graves, the government made plaques for each row in the cemetery, listing resident names and death dates. The lack of birth dates was a disrespectful attempt to avoid acknowledging the number of children that died within the walls of the institution, said survivor Betty Bond, and many of the markers aren’t even accurate.

Bond is proud to be a member of Remember Every Name, a group of survivors and supporters who aim to honour the people buried in the HRC cemetery. The group created a monument using left over money from the HRC class action lawsuit and they host a memorial procession on Mother’s Day each year. 

“It’s really important to bring this out of the depths of hell basically, and say, ‘Hey, there’s a history here. Do not forget this,’” Bond said. “That’s why we are called Remember Every Name.”

Bond was admitted to HRC in 1963 after becoming a “permanent ward of the Children’s Aid,” and people would be shocked by the things that went on there, she said. She suppressed many memories, but when she visited HRC as an adult following the lawsuit, painful pieces of her childhood came rushing back. It’s a terrible part of Canadian history and she hopes the documentary will open a lot more people’s eyes to the difficult truths behind these institutions.

“At first, I thought it was a nightmare, but then on the other hand, hey, we’re part of history,” Bond said. “We can tell our stories and let the public know and this is what we want.”

During Bond’s time at HRC, fellow resident and survivor Bev Link cared for her. They developed a close bond that remains in tact today. They live together in Bracebridge, and since Link is nearing 82, Bond now has the chance to return the favour and care for her.

After HRC, Bond went on to study wildlife for a semester at Guelph University, which was coordinated through Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Rosseau. In addition to volunteering with organizations like the OSPCA and Community Living, she helps locals care for their animals. Though the early years of their lives are full of tough memories, she’s worked hard to move past the trauma.

“We’ve gone on in life,” Bond said. “It’s part of our history, it’s part of our past. It’s not our future and that doesn’t define who you are.”

Bond is part of a group of seven survivors that will be travelling to the Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto to see the premiere on May 3. She’s nervous to see the final cut of the film since she knows it will force her to relive some of the hardest parts of her life, but she doesn’t want to hide from it anymore.

In fact, she’s looking forward to the documentary exposing the truth to people across Canada. “It’s about bloody well time people know about it.”

See the trailer for Unloved – Huronia’s Forgotten Children below. For more information on how to view the film, visit the Hot Docs website.

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The Ontario government is providing more than $7.3 million to support the film and television industry in northeastern Ontario. This investment will create jobs and promote economic development in North Bay, Sudbury and surrounding areas.

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The festival, originally scheduled for March 21, was postponed due to COVID-19, but instead of cancelling the event, the festival committee decided to host it online. The event will feature 13 films depicting different perspectives of queer life, produced in Canada and abroad, and each day will include a live chat with the film directors. Participation in the three-day festival is free, but there will be a “tip jar” function for people who want to support Muskoka Pride’s efforts. Donations will help cover the costs of preparing the films for virtual viewing.

“This is an exciting and ambitious project for our community, and we’re thrilled to be showing these films to the world from Muskoka,” said Mervin Taylor-Morin, president of Muskoka Pride, in a statement. “It was hard to choose from all the great films submitted for selection to our festival, however, we believe we’ve created a diverse lineup of short and feature films that will resonate with the people who tune in to see them.”

Taylor-Morin said that it’s disappointing the film festival can’t be live and in person, but taking the festival online means it can reach a greater audience and bring attention to the Muskoka region. Despite the distance, the festival will also present directors with two awards: the Festival Favorite, determined by the festival jury, and the Audience Choice Award, which will be voted on by festival participants online.

Human rights activists and filmmakers Michelle Emson and Olena Semenova of Sanctuary Studios, a multimedia production company in Muskoka, helped make the online festival a reality. They worked with the festival committee and the Muskoka Lakes Chamber of Commerce to help the festival shift to virtual viewing.

“In these times of isolation, we understand how important it is to stay together united by common views and sharing common values,” Emson said in a statement. “We are happy to apply our technical skills and make Muskoka Queer Film Festival happen despite all the odds and to be available for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or place of residence. We welcome everyone to join us online and share the festival atmosphere of a historic event for Muskoka.”

To join the online festival or learn more about the films, visit the Muskoka Queer Film Festival website. The films featured in the festival are: Another Sad Gay Love Story; Super Zee; Coming Out; AYANEH; So Beautiful; Consent factory: lesbo-queer perspectives; The Noose; One More Please; Queering; Good Bi Kiss; Punch Card; and The Unlikely Story of the Lesbians of First Friday.

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