Flashback

Flashback

PETER HAYS | CANADA | 2024 | 90 MIN | ENGLISH

PETER HAYS | CANADA | 2024 | 90 MIN | ENGLISH

DocumentaryMADE AU CANADA

Synopsis

The rediscovery of a neon sign transports us back to when disco was queen and Edmonton’s Flashback club became “the Studio 54 of the Prairies.” Through years of violent raids and the encroachment of AIDS like wildfire, the club and its members nourished an open-hearted, fashion-forward oasis. Created and narrated by Montreal teacher and writer Matthew Hays, Flashback is an insider’s take on how a nightlife “melting pot” defied expectations of “the most Bible Belt-y place in Canada” and rose to international fame. Told he wasn’t gay enough to enter Club 70, Albertan John Reid endeavoured to create his own welcoming space: equal parts state-of-the-art discotheque, record store, and community hub. There, queer youth blossomed and Gretzky and Sarah McLachlan partied. Twirl to the soaring vocals of D’orjay and hip bump with those who were there through clouds of perfume and poppers, while getting a fascinating primer on how the club’s designers calibrated disco music for a custom-built dancefloor. Even when Flashback eventually lost its blissed-out exuberance during the AIDS epidemic, it gave much in return: a relief in a maelstrom and a social conscience for the fights to come.

Trailer

Filmmaker Bio

Peter Hays is an award-winning writer/director/producer of unscripted television series and feature films made for Canadian and American broadcasters and distributors. The former journalist lives in Calgary, Alberta where his company Tangerine Productions Ltd. is focused on telling essential human stories with universal appeal.

Producer

Bradley Warren

You might also like

Made au CanadaShort

The Lily & The Scorpion[MADE AU CANADA]14 minutes

Infamous outlaws The Lily and The Scorpion are on the run after a bank job gone wrong, but as day turns into night, the partners’ trust in each other begins to fray.

Made au CanadaDocumentary

A Mother Apart[I+N x FMC / CMF SERIES]89 minutes

LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin easily identifies as a mother, poet, writer, dissenter, and truth speaker—it is the label of “daughter” that causes her the most pause. Forced to become a sleuth, she attempts to pierce the veil of secrecy around her mother’s life and come to terms with her absence. After decades pursuing “the career of lesbianism,” Chin is now hot on the trail of her mother Hazel and a more anchored sense of self. Chin travels from Brooklyn to Montreal, where Hazel lived after abandoning Chin in search of a better life, then onwards to far-flung destinations: Germany, Jamaica. Chin talks to neighbours and loved ones, piecing together the puzzle as she goes. With every clue, she is forced to confront past traumas and test the limits of forgiveness, all while caring for her daughter, with whom she famously stages “Living Room Protests” on YouTube. Tapping into the ferocity of Chin’s slam poetry and using digital collage to convey Hazel’s floral allure, director Laurie Tonwshend paints a dual portrait of motherhood. She also practices Chin’s hard-won brand of radical kindness and compassion, finding the grace in failure.

Made au CanadaShort

Répercuté[MADE AU CANADA]15 minutes

A man comes home to his lover on their anniversary expecting a romantic night of celebration only to find someone tied up in the bathroom.

Made au CanadaShort

Dreams of Sunlight Through Trees[MADE AU CANADA]16 minutes

A middle aged trans man transitions at 44 and observes his changes over a year and nine months, with a looming ongoing news cycle of anti-trans legislation.

Made au CanadaShort

Breaking Silence[MADE AU CANADA]11 minutes

Cole, a resilient transgender man, navigates his coming out journey within the confines of an all-girls school, while his mother confronts her own emotional struggles. Together, they learn to push societal norms and embrace the power of acceptance.

Made au CanadaShort

The Boxing Ring[MADE AU CANADA]23 minutes

After deciding to do a Muay Thai competition, a timid, mid-20s Filipino-Canadian woman must train in secret and go against her strict parents, while also falling in love with her coach, who is also a woman.

Made au CanadaShort

Nous partirons[MADE AU CANADA]8 minutes

Gilbert Mhanna is a queer Lebanese artist based in Toronto. His art is baladi, a dance traditionally reserved for cis women. Together, we'll explore the relationship of his Araboqueer body to this Canadian space. How does this country continue to flow through their veins?

Made au CanadaShort

Bangs[MADE AU CANADA]14 minutes

A woman turning 30 impulsively gives herself a dramatic haircut moments before hosting her birthday dinner, and it’s fine—it’s totally fine! Bangs is a paranoia-fueled comedy about one woman’s need for recognition and what happens when that recognition never comes.

Made au CanadaQueerment QuébecCompetitionShort

Legacy of Joe Rose: Queer, Bars and Police Brutality[MADE AU CANADA]4 minutes

A short queer history of violent police raids on queer bars between the 70s and 2000s, and the rise of LGBTQ+ communities fighting back. Tribute to Joe Rose.

Made au CanadaShort

Insta Gay[MADE AU CANADA]12 minutes

A gay millennial reels after breaking-up with a popular influencer.

Made au CanadaShort

The Lily & The Scorpion[MADE AU CANADA]14 minutes

Infamous outlaws The Lily and The Scorpion are on the run after a bank job gone wrong, but as day turns into night, the partners’ trust in each other begins to fray.

Made au CanadaDocumentary

A Mother Apart[I+N x FMC / CMF SERIES]89 minutes

LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin easily identifies as a mother, poet, writer, dissenter, and truth speaker—it is the label of “daughter” that causes her the most pause. Forced to become a sleuth, she attempts to pierce the veil of secrecy around her mother’s life and come to terms with her absence. After decades pursuing “the career of lesbianism,” Chin is now hot on the trail of her mother Hazel and a more anchored sense of self. Chin travels from Brooklyn to Montreal, where Hazel lived after abandoning Chin in search of a better life, then onwards to far-flung destinations: Germany, Jamaica. Chin talks to neighbours and loved ones, piecing together the puzzle as she goes. With every clue, she is forced to confront past traumas and test the limits of forgiveness, all while caring for her daughter, with whom she famously stages “Living Room Protests” on YouTube. Tapping into the ferocity of Chin’s slam poetry and using digital collage to convey Hazel’s floral allure, director Laurie Tonwshend paints a dual portrait of motherhood. She also practices Chin’s hard-won brand of radical kindness and compassion, finding the grace in failure.

Made au CanadaShort

Répercuté[MADE AU CANADA]15 minutes

A man comes home to his lover on their anniversary expecting a romantic night of celebration only to find someone tied up in the bathroom.

Made au CanadaShort

Dreams of Sunlight Through Trees[MADE AU CANADA]16 minutes

A middle aged trans man transitions at 44 and observes his changes over a year and nine months, with a looming ongoing news cycle of anti-trans legislation.

Made au CanadaShort

Breaking Silence[MADE AU CANADA]11 minutes

Cole, a resilient transgender man, navigates his coming out journey within the confines of an all-girls school, while his mother confronts her own emotional struggles. Together, they learn to push societal norms and embrace the power of acceptance.

Made au CanadaShort

The Boxing Ring[MADE AU CANADA]23 minutes

After deciding to do a Muay Thai competition, a timid, mid-20s Filipino-Canadian woman must train in secret and go against her strict parents, while also falling in love with her coach, who is also a woman.

Made au CanadaShort

Nous partirons[MADE AU CANADA]8 minutes

Gilbert Mhanna is a queer Lebanese artist based in Toronto. His art is baladi, a dance traditionally reserved for cis women. Together, we'll explore the relationship of his Araboqueer body to this Canadian space. How does this country continue to flow through their veins?

Made au CanadaShort

Bangs[MADE AU CANADA]14 minutes

A woman turning 30 impulsively gives herself a dramatic haircut moments before hosting her birthday dinner, and it’s fine—it’s totally fine! Bangs is a paranoia-fueled comedy about one woman’s need for recognition and what happens when that recognition never comes.

Made au CanadaQueerment QuébecCompetitionShort

Legacy of Joe Rose: Queer, Bars and Police Brutality[MADE AU CANADA]4 minutes

A short queer history of violent police raids on queer bars between the 70s and 2000s, and the rise of LGBTQ+ communities fighting back. Tribute to Joe Rose.

Made au CanadaShort

Insta Gay[MADE AU CANADA]12 minutes

A gay millennial reels after breaking-up with a popular influencer.