Queerywood

I love that Vancouverites frequently have the audacity to come out en force and celebrate the talent in our city the way it's meant to be celebrated: on a red carpet, with enough style and penache to make even the most hard-hearted of us all pre-determined to capture and demand the attention of the hottest flames and dames in our city and make a scene to remember.
The opening gala of the Vancouver Queer Film Festival was crackalacking tonight. And with the 30C weather and humidity reminiscent of a swelting New York night, this city's filmerati were prepared to bring the heat to the Empire Theatre in the Granville entertainment district and kick the thermostat up a couple degrees higher.

And the after party at Celebrities was something else. The fashion installations featured the work of local corsetiere Melanie Talkington, of Lace Embrace Atelier on Main and 16th. Here's a photo I snapped between swilling SKYY Vodka and being hand-fed chocolate covered strawberries by a local hearthrob:

I'll have a full review of tonight's screening of Like A Virgin posted here tomorrow night. In the meantime, check out www.queerfilmfestival.ca for a complete day-by-day guide of the festival. Get out, get your membership (for a low $2), get some tickets and support some of the most innovative and brilliant queer cinema to hit Vancouver in years.

If you want to feel 20 again, celebrate VQFF's anniversary with the best this city has to offer.

As VQFF Executive Director Drew Dennis explained: "Our goal is to grow and increase queer development in our community."

Trust me: they've done it. Wait til you see how.