Film Lens
Two Soft Things, Two Hard Things is a Canadian documentary that focuses on the LGBT Inuit community in Nunavut. It centers around the establishment of an LGBT Pride festival in Iqaluit, which occurred shortly after the city participated in a national campaign to raise the pride flag during the 2014 Winter Olympics. This event sparked discussions about homosexuality's role in Inuit culture, set against the backdrop of historical influences from the Roman Catholic Church.
The film features perspectives from Inuit elders who discuss the historical context of LGBT identity and same-sex relationships within their culture. It reveals that while same-sex sexual activity was accepted, the concepts of LGBT identity were not recognized until the 1950s, when Catholicism began to dominate Inuit society. The documentary includes interviews with notable figures such as filmmaker Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and politicians Jack Anawak and Paul Okalik.
Why Watch
- •Meet filmmaker Alethea Arnaquq-Baril.
- •Find out about Iqaluit's Pride festival.
- •See the impact of Catholicism on Inuit culture.
Did You Know
•The film debuted at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival on June 3, 2016.
•Iqaluit raised the pride flag during the 2014 Winter Olympics to protest anti-LGBT laws in Russia.
•The film's title translates the Inuktitut words for lesbian and gay, meaning 'two soft things rubbing together' and 'two hard things rubbing together'.
•Same-sex sexual activity was common among the Inuit before the 1950s.
Perfect For
LGBTQ+ historyInuit cultureCanadian documentaries