A great un-shaming is uniting and healing Inuit and LGBTQ communities in the eastern Arctic. The territory of Nunavut was built upon decades of relocation, re-education, and Christianization of nomadic Inuit people. Colonization and shame have shadowed the community, hitting LGBTQ people especially hard, as the systematic destruction of native culture has driven the Inuit’s original complex, inclusive sense of sexual orientation and family structure underground. Directors Woods and Yerxa methodically trace colonization from the 1950s, through the gradual thaw leading to LGBTQ protections in the Nunavut human rights act in 2003, up to the current state of affairs. The moving story comes alive through the voices of returning LGBTQ Inuit adults and the new generation of youth; tribal elders reviving ancient inclusiveness; white LGBTQ activists and scholars; and an Inuit filmmaker and LGBTQ ally who’s making it all visible. As indigenous values and contemporary mores come together, the way opens up for Inuit people to lead this continuing and exciting journey. Desc. courtesy of Frameline: The San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival.

Everything seems to have changed. A storm has ravaged the forest; his single mom, an expatriate American, is pursuing yet another new boyfriend; and his twin sister Diane, once his closest confidant, has grown mysteriously distant. Then Phillip sees the beautiful, athletic Nicholas in school, and is instantly infatuated. As Phillip and Nicholas's passionate and carefree affair blossoms, the rest of his world seems to be spiraling out of control. Why does his mother refuse to tell him who his father was? What has turned his twin sister against him? Even his best friend Kat, jealous of his relationship with Nicholas, has become aloof. Jakob M. Erwa's sensuous and surprising coming-of-age movie takes many twists and turns before Phillip can find his place in a world whose center seems to be constantly shifting. Desc. courtesy of Palm Springs International Film Festival. "Refeshingly candid and admirably complex... The boys' rapport is played ...in a loving and tender way that's as attractive to behold as it must be life-affirming for youngsters worried about their sexual proclivities." Boyd van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter

A music-mad 16-year-old outcast at rugby-mad boarding school forms an unlikely friendship with his dashing new roommate, in this funny and observant coming-of-age tale from Irish novelist and filmmaker John Butler. This tender look at the travails of teenage life is the story of the worst thing Ned (Fionn O'Shea) ever did. It's also the story of the best thing that ever happened to Ned. With his dyed hair, willowy build, and penchant for sexually ambivalent pop and rock from generations past, 16-year-old Ned has never fit in at the rugby-mad boarding school his father insists he attend. Determined to simply keep his nose down and weather another year of loneliness and bullying, Ned is pleasantly surprised when he develops a friendship with his dashing new roommate, Conor (Nicholas Galitzine), a rugby virtuoso with issues of his own. The boys bond over music and start to practice guitar together. At the encouragement of their English teacher (Andrew Scott), Ned and Conor enter a talent show at a local girls' school. As both talent show and rugby season loom, however, the pressure on Conor to choose between manly athletic discipline and more artistic pursuits threatens to tear him apart — while Ned is increasingly tempted to betray Conor's trust in order to save his own skin. This funny, observant coming-of-age film from Irish novelist and filmmaker John Butler — whose feature debut, The Stag, screened at the Festival in 2013 — reminds us that bravery and loyalty are not innate traits. They're qualities we earn under pressure. Ned and Conor both make mistakes, but in the end, what truly matters is that each learns to speak in his own voice. Desc. courtesy of the Toronto International Film Festival.