Image + Nation (I+N), Canada’s oldest queer film festival, opens its doors on November 20 for ten exciting days, packed with features, short films, discussions, and events.
Kat Setzer, the programming director of I+N, spoke to The Daily about this year’s festival, and the “pleasures and pains” that her role entails. Setzer, alongside programming director Charlie Boudreau, has been involved with I+N for 25 years, watching it grow from a small, “volunteer-run organization,” to a 38-year-old celebration.
Setzer first stumbled upon I+N when she first moved to Montreal for graduate school, when her own film was selected to be screened at the festival. Not really knowing “what a queer festival was,” she was immediately gripped by the novelty and inclusivity of the event, taking the entire ten days of the festival off school to attend screenings. Now, her role involves “finding the films of the year,” selecting from queer cinema both locally and nationally, and shaping the festival into “the beautiful thing it is today.”
I+N’s impressively varied program is a testament to the growing power and popularity of queer cinema in North America. This year, there is a focus on depictions of “Indigiqueer” experiences, exemplified by the festival’s opening film, Gail Maurice’s Blood Lines – a striking exploration of Métis community trauma, family, and romance.
Other highlighted Indigiqueer films include the documentary Rising through the Fray , a fascinating exploration of an Indigenous roller derby team by local filmmaker Courtney Montour, Bretten Hannam’s supernatural thriller At the Place of Ghosts, and Starwalker, a drag comedy-musical directed by Corey Payette.
Additionally, Setzer reveals that I+N is hosting “the world premiere” of the much-anticipated TV show adaptation of Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry, which will later be officially released on Crave. Produced by Canadian director Jacob Tierney, the show brings Reid’s hockey romance book series Game Changers, popular on BookTok and beyond, to life. The first episode will premiere at I+N on November 23, and Reid herself plans to attend the festival.
Within I+N’s diverse program is the “Zeitgeist” category, “talking about films reflecting this current cultural moment”, Setzer notes, whether this be “good or bad”. Within this subset is Sophie Hyde’s Jimpa, the festival’s closing movie, starring John Lithgow as Jimpa and Olivia Colman as his daughter, Hannah. The film portrays a touching family story following Frances – Hannah’s child – as they discover their non-binary identity, and the tensions that arise when Frances wishes to stay with their grandfather in Amsterdam for a year. Jimpa is a favourite of Setzer’s, particularly due to Lithgow’s performance as an “absolutely flamboyant legendary gay man.”
A huge part of I+N’s purpose is to celebrate and capture the diversity within queer culture, spanning different countries, genders, identities, and “across so many intersectional lines.”, For example, this year’s short film category, “A Question of Gender,” spotlights trans and non-binary representation.
Another highlight is the “First Voices” category, featuring films from countries that are “less represented in a queer cinema canon,” including Greece’s standout Bearcave, winner of the Europa Cinema Label at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. According to Setzer, moving beyond a solely “traditional gay white male narrative” in queer cinema is essential for diversifying the queer canon.
Setzer’s favorites include Pillion, with Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård playing a humorous, unconventional pairing between a traffic officer and biker; Maspalomas, an important “representation of elder queers” from Spain; and Departures from the UK, which will be screened with French subtitles to “[facilitate] understanding of the actors’ English cockney accents,” Setzer jokes.
Furthermore, La Soirée Étudiante, an exciting new initiative which brings together emerging queer filmmakers from CEGEPs and universities in Quebec, will premiere on November 21. In addition to film screenings, La Soirée Étudiante is also a networking event: a chance for budding filmmakers to meet and connect with producers. This, along with I+N’s screenwriting initiative and mentorship program, fosters an ideal community for supporting new artists.
“I+N Connexe” is another program that contributes to the interactive, discussion-based side of the festival. It consists of two important projects that revolve around the queer history of Montreal and Quebec: L’émergence du Village Gai and GIV50. The former explores the emergence of Montreal’s Village – formerly called the “Gay Village” – whilst the latter celebrates 50 years of Groupe Intervention Vidéo, a longstanding organization “dedicated to the preservation and promotion of media artworks by women.”
Remembering queer history is just as vital as telling stories of the present. It is only in the not-so-distant past, Setzer recalls, that I+N received “starkly little access” to government funding compared to other organizations. Though I+N is showing over 125 films this year, Setzer laments “a finite amount of international queer feature films” in the world. Despite growing interest in the genre, queer cinema is still a rarity in much of the world, underscoring the vital importance of organizations such as I+N in elevating these marginalized narratives.
For Setzer, it has been her “absolute joy to shape a Canadian queer cinema landscape.” “It’s a testament to tenacity that the festival is 38 years old,” she notes. In today’s climate, with rising animosity and hatred towards queer voices, cinema and art can become an “arsenal against hate.”
Queer cinema is representation and “representations are power.” We cannot know what the future holds, but it is as important as ever to amplify and listen to queer voices. As Setzer states, “it is a political act to make a story about yourself and have it go on the screen.” Don’t miss out on the opportunity to see some wonderful, unmissable queer films from November 20 to 30.
Full programming and tickets can be found at: https://image-nation.org/festival-2025/en/