From the theatre to the living room: comparing queer film festival patrons and outcomes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

As a strategy for survival from the COVID-19 pandemic, festivals and events have been conducted virtually to provide this form of leisure from home. Replicating transformative outcomes such as social interaction, community building, and fostering of culture in a virtual setting is essential, particularly for traditionally underrepresented communities. Often considered transgressive to broader normative society, LGBT2Q+ festivals offer leisure experiences that provide a platform for history makers, storytellers, and community gathering. Given the unprecedented shift to virtual festivals, it is important to understand whether a virtual platform can achieve these same outcomes for LGBT2Q+ people. The current research examined the attendees and outcomes at the in-person Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) in August 2019 (n = 362) and the virtual VQFF in August 2020 (n = 211). An analysis of socio-cultural impacts of VQFF on the local community and resident attendees’ expectations showed similarities and differences between the in-person and virtual versions of VQFF.

KEYWORDS:

• Vancouver Queer Film Festival
• LGBT2Q+
• community
• well-being
• events
• COVID-19

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Fairleigh Dickinson University [Provost Seed Grant 2019-2020].

Notes on contributors

Jarrett R. Bachman

Dr. Jarrett R. Bachman is an Associate Professor of Hospitality & Tourism Management at the Vancouver, Canada campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University and the Associate Director of the International School of Hospitality, Tourism, & Sports Management at FDU. Dr. Bachman received his Ph.D. in Tourism Management from Clemson University, and his primary research interests are in festivals and events as well as craft beer and wine tourism.

John S. Hull

Dr. John S. Hull is an Associate Professor in the Tourism Management Program at Thompson Rivers University. In 1998, John completed his Ph.D. in tourism geography at McGill University in Montreal. His present research addresses many aspects of sustainable tourism in peripheral regions with a specific focus on community-based tourism development.