Telling their own stories
Pride Month is here and that means parades, marches and an influx of queer content filling our screens. But while the content may be queer, many of the production companies creating it are composed of non-queer creatives. That is changing. We talk with two queer filmmakers who took the bold step to start their own production companies.
It’s been a slow, uphill climb but we are finally seeing queer creatives taking charge of their own stories.
“As a producer and director I've always believed this to the core of my being — it doesn't matter if you're shooting a TV episode, film or documentary, if it’s queer content, and you have queer people in the room, it's better. It's just better,” says Michelle Mama, co-founder of Toronto-based production company GAY AGENDA.
Founded in 2023, GAY AGENDA’s slogan is, “Unleashing queer voices through mentorship and production.”
Their works includes a Nature of Things episode, “Fluid: Life Beyond the Binary,” produced by Kensington Communications in association with GAY AGENDA , in which nonbinary comedian Mae Martin explores the science of gender and sexual fluidity, and Anti Diva: The Carole Pope Confessions, a documentary about the lesbian rock icon’s career that hits screens later this year. They are currently working on a documentary series about queer elders that is partially funded by the Canada Media Fund.
Starting a production company is scary, let alone a company focused on 2SLGBTQIA+ storytelling.
“It is scary and it's stressful,” admits Mama.
“Two years ago when we started it was, ‘Oh, let's call it GAY AGENDA and let's do the font in all caps and let's stylize it in honour of ACT UP, of the struggles that used to be.’ Suddenly in 2025 it's ‘Oh f-ck, we're back to protesting, we're back to being harmed and bullied,’ and suddenly my little production company becomes extremely political. And I’m not shying away from it. In fact, I think we should double down on it.”
REPRESENTATION AND CONTROL
“I think it’s always important to have the representation behind the camera that you’re trying to put in front of the camera, whatever that might be,” says writer-director-cinematographer J Stevens who runs their own production company, Spindle Films.
“There is an ease and a trust that comes from having a group of queer creatives telling queer stories. You don’t have to explain why something is inherently important, people just get it,” says Stevens. “And I think it leads to more complex, diverse and interesting films.
Spindle Films has offices in Toronto and Calgary, where it focuses on creating high-quality, boundary-pushing content that centres on 2SLGBTQIA+ characters and stories.
“I learned early on that if you want to maintain actual control of your project then you have to be a producer, and it becomes even easier if you have a production company,” says Stevens, who won the Jay Scott Prize at the 2024 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.
“So, as I was starting the process of writing my debut feature it became clear to me that creating my own company, so I could control every piece of the process, was the right way to do it. And it’s great because I get to support other filmmakers I believe in and help them get their stories told.”
Stevens’ feature debut, Really Happy Someday, centres on Z, a transmasculine theatre performer who bombs during an important musical-theatre audition because he’s unable to control his voice 12 months after starting testosterone. To save his own life and livelihood, Z must rediscover himself and his voice.
Stevens points out that gender-diverse creatives working in film and TV are few, and they need to be supported.
“I got into the world of union television directing, and when you look around there aren’t too many queer folks,” explains Stevens, “but specifically there are a small amount of gender-diverse folks on set.”
“And as any marginalized group knows, being ‘the only’ on set is not a fun experience. I know so many incredibly talented gender-diverse filmmakers who are just waiting for their opportunity and so I wanted to use my platform to try to uplift as many voices and creatives as I could. It’s been the most magical part of my career to date.”
STRONGER THROUGH CONNECTIONS
Despite a downturn in media spending, we are seeing much more 2SLGBTQIA+ representation across all screens and platforms.
But with the scarcity of funding, Mama believes companies like GAY AGENDA must look farther afield to get their projects made.
“I went to Content London in December, and the stats were so grim,” says Mama, referring to a three-day conference for the global content industry held in the U.K. where she learned commissions were down significantly from the previous year. “And then we started to take meetings and it was a really good reminder that there are so many other people to partner with in English-speaking territories.
“I was made aware of Virgin Media TV in Ireland that is extremely queer-friendly. And then there's Stan streaming service in Australia, which programs Drag Race Down Under, another English-speaking territory. I came out of Content London with the feeling this is a crisis, but it's also an opportunity to expand, to look elsewhere to collaborate with people.”
SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
The notion of working together and paying it forward led Stevens to create the Spindle Films Foundation. Last year the foundation launched its inaugural mentorship program, a six-month program that provides networking and training for transgender, non-binary, two-spirit and gender-diverse Canadian filmmakers.
Stevens says the challenges facing queer creatives are many, but supporting one another lessens the burden.
“It’s all of the little moments that add up to an exhausting journey,” says Stevens. “From not having a washroom that feels comfortable to use on set, to constantly being misgendered, or losing jobs explicitly because of your gender identity, these things start to feel really big and really impossible to handle.
“But having our mentorship program, and the amazing group of folks in it to share these experiences with, just makes you feel less isolated. And there is huge power in that.”
Mama also feels the need to share her decades of experience with younger 2SLGBTQIA+ creatives and to remind the queer community of its past struggles.
“Right now I feel I can mentor the next generation because of my experiences in a very particular way. We focus too much on youth and beauty in the queer community and yet I also think that it may not be entirely our fault because we did lose two generations of very wonderful, incredible men to the AIDS crisis,” she says.
“Some people have this arrested-development thing because they don't know how to age because they don't have the examples of it. Working on this queer elders series you realize there's a lot this generation has to tell us before it’s too late.”
