Yukon film festival celebrates queer culture

Yukon's annual queer film festival has grown over its five years of existence, and organizer Debbie Thomas sees that as a "sign of the times."

"Being queer is really no longer a topic for anybody to be uncomfortable with," she said.

The OUT North festival, which kicks off Friday evening in Whitehorse, will take place over three nights instead of two, as in the past.

Six films will be screened, including the multiple Oscar-nominated Carol, and The Danish Girl, starring Oscar winner Alicia Vikander.

"This year was a really strong year for queer films," Thomas said. "Notjust with indie filmmakers, but also with mainstream filmmakers."

Thomas said the original inspiration for the festival was to provide "an outlet for the queer community, something that would bring us together.

"We don't see a lot of queer films here in town, so we decided it was time that we fixed that."

Fiona Griffin, who co-founded the festival, encourages people to bring friends along this weekend.

"We want to get as many people out as we can. No pun intended!" she said, laughing.

The OUT North festival runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, at the Beringia Centre in Whitehorse.