The University of British Columbia
Robson Square
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The Empress of Vancouver: Film Screening and Q&A
May 17, 2023
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
at UBC Robson Square (map)
About the Event
Join Lantern Films and UBC Connects at Robson Square in commemorating International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia at a free, public screening of the TELUS original film The Empress of Vancouver — a feature-length documentary about local drag and trans icon, Oliv Howe, as she prepares for the 40th anniversary of her coronation as Empress. The event is also a celebration of the official launch of the film on TELUS Optik TV.
The Empress of Vancouver is a cinematic and intimate collision of drag, queer history, and performance art, a musical and genre-bending irreverent documentary. The film opened the 2022 Vancouver Queer Film Festival and has been selected for screening at multiple festivals across North America and Europe, including Toronto’s Inside Out and British Film Institute (BFI) Flare London.
There will be a Q&A with Oliv herself and other cast members following the screening.
Event Schedule
6:00 PM – Introduction by Christina Willings from TELUS originals
6:15 PM – Screening of the film
7:45 PM – Discussion panel with cast members and UBC panelist
8:15 PM – Reception, light food and refreshments will be available for attendees
Panelists
Oliv Howe is the star of the film and was crowned the 10th Empress in 1981 by the Vancouver Dogwood Monarchist Society. Then, Oliv’s punk rock energy, gender-bending performances and DIY glam aesthetic spoke to a political and artistic shift in Vancouver’s drag community. Ever since her monumental moment, Oliv has represented the weirdos and freaks, the trans kings and queens and gender queers, busting the binary open. She continues to be a beacon in Vancouver’s West End, inspiring the next generation of queerdos.
Daniel Gallardo is a nonbinary mestizx from Mexhico. They are Nahua del Centro and P’urhépecha on their father’s side of the family and on their mother’s side, they are of settler ancestry, Andalusian-Berber and French. Daniel is a doctoral student with the Department of Educational Studies at UBC, whose research involves the ideological leverage of settler-colonialism and its impacts on race, sexuality and gender in education. They have been working with curriculum development towards social justice for the last 10 years. Since coming to UBC, Daniel is part of the Indigenous Education Office and a Professional Development Coordinator with SOGI UBC.
Chanel Oliver
Veronica Lynn Turner
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