Fort York
Monday, june 24, 2024

BACKSPOT

With the short films Club Kid Alley and Fast Horse

Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs, Rhymes for Young Ghouls) co-produces and stars in the sapphic cheerleading drama Backspot, the début feature by Toronto writer-director D.W. Waterson. Premiering to raves and cheers at TIFF 2023, Backspot opens in theatres across Canada on May 31st, and will hit the TOPS screen for one night only on June 24 at Fort York. Jacobs (herself a former Team Ontario gymnast) headlines a cast of young Toronto talent in a film that explores topics too rarely discussed out loud in the competitive world of cheerleading, including classicism, queerness, and racism. The result is a deeply moving portrayal of young female athletes persevering in spite of unsustainable stress levels to reach their full athletic potential, showcasing the value of collegiality and mutual care in insular, high-intensity, working environments. This will surely be an audience favourite at TOPS this summer!

In Toronto-based filmmaker Alexandra Lazarowich’s Sundance award-winning documentary short Fast Horse, young jockey Cody Big Tobacco joins a team of fellow Siksika Nation community members to compete in their first Calgary Stampede race. Indigenous relay racing is North America’s original extreme sport, in which riders mount their horses bareback, fearlessly leaping from one to the next for each lap of the track, hoping for a smooth and safe transition at “the exchange.” A feat of teamwork, precision and horsemanship, this white-knuckle sport is thrilling to behold.

Shifting from daytime extreme sports to nighttime performances for the third film in this screening, multidisciplinary artist Tyler J. Sloane draws on their deep love for Toronto’s drag and burlesque communities in their musical short film Club Kid Alley. A joyful, colour-saturated glimpse behind the curtain, the film tracks a group of late night performers as they get ready for their evening shift at the fabulous Club Kid Manor.

This screening will be presented with optional pre-recorded Audio Description available for blind, low vision, or visually impaired audience members. More information about this accessibility feature is available at TOpictureshow.com/audio. Other accessibility features available at TOPS events, including open captioning, are outlined at TOpictureshow.com/accessibility.