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Blending zine-inspired animation, spoken word, and poetry with insightful interview footage, this lo-fi documentary collage follows four queer people from different religious backgrounds as they explore the intersections of faith and queerness.
We meet Summeiya, the genderfluid founder of Queer Muslim Network Toronto; Juliana, a bisexual teacher and former Baptist Christian; Vaibhav, a gay Hindu dancer; and Ari, a trans Christian Orthodox drag artist. Each person talks openly about their own spiritual journey, and their testimonies collectively open up possibilities for faith and queerness to connect rather than exist in opposition.
Recognizing the complexity of individual queer faith journeys, directors Ari Conrad Birch and Michal Heuston have crafted an intimate work that prioritizes beauty over conflict and demonstrates that the process of reconciliation does not have to be tackled alone.
rESOURCES
Do you live somewhere at the intersection of queerness and faith/spiritual practice? There might be something in this resource list that interests you.
grab the soundtrack
All the music in this film was composed by the lovely & talented Kingston-based Dream Pop Duo “Stucco”. Add them to your rotation!
MEET THE FOLKS INVOLVED
Learn more about the protagonists, the creators, and everyone who helped pull this project together.
SuBMIT TO THE ZINE
A Queer's Guide to Spiritual Living - The Zine will feature ideas and perspectives that we weren't able to include in the film. The zine will be distributed to all who participate in it, as well as available to purchase at-cost online and at select screenings of the doc.
If you’re interested in participating, we’d love for you to pitch us something! You can pitch something totally new or something you have already completed, so long as it has not been published yet. Your pitch may be for original poetry, prose, photography, illustration, or something else that can be printed! It must exist somewhere at the intersection of spirituality and queerness. It should be based in some way in your own personal experience (as in do not pitch us something about a community or practice you are not involved in). We welcome pitches from folks who have never contributed to something like this before.
Some themes we are interested in exploring:
Queerness as spiritual practice
Sexuality and eroticism
Witchcraft
Trans stories
Queer interpretations of religious practice or religious stories
Finding community
Activism & Advocacy
Unfortunately at this time we cannot offer financial compensation for participation in this project, however all who submit will receive a code redeemable for a one-time online stream of the doc in late 2023.