The Fairy Who Didn't Want to Be a Fairy Anymore
| The Fairy Who Didn't Want to Be a Fairy Anymore | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Laurie Lynd |
| Written by | Daniel MacIvor |
| Starring |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 16 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
The Fairy Who Didn't Want to Be a Fairy Anymore is a Canadian musical comedy-drama short film directed by Laurie Lynd, which premiered at the 1992 Toronto International Film Festival before going into wider release in 1993.[1] Made as an academic project while Lynd was studying at the Canadian Film Centre,[2] it won the Genie Award for Best Live Action Short Drama at the 14th Genie Awards.[3]
An allegory for gender stereotypes and internalized homophobia,[4] the film stars Daniel MacIvor as a fairy who approaches a surgical team (Holly Cole as the doctor and Micah Barnes as the nurse) to have his wings removed so that he can become a normal human being, after facing anti-fairy discrimination.[2] Following a musical debate between the three, the doctor agrees to perform the surgery. As he leaves the clinic the now-wingless fairy is initially happy to be just like everyone else around him,[2] but soon comes to regret his decision as he belatedly realizes the unique qualities and gifts, such as the ability to fly, that he has given up by pushing his identity into the closet.[2]
Michael Kennard and John Turner, in character as the clown duo Mump and Smoot, also appear in the film, depicted as reading the story in the form of a book they have found on the sidewalk.[2] MacIvor also wrote the film's screenplay.
The film also won the award for Best Short Film at the Seattle International Film Festival in 1993.
Several years after its original release, the film received a followup screening at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival as part of a special program commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Canadian Film Centre. In 2007, Toronto's Inside Out Film and Video Festival screened both The Fairy and Lynd's earlier film RSVP, along with an excerpt from his highly anticipated but not yet completed feature film Breakfast with Scot.[5]
References
- ↑ "Rock and role-playing". Toronto Star, July 2, 1993.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Contrary fairy tale is class work". Toronto Star, July 2, 1993.
- ↑ "Film centre grads making their mark". Toronto Star, December 24, 1993.
- ↑ "Radical Sissies and Stereotyped Fairies in Laurie Lynd's The Fairy Who Didn't Want to Be a Fairy Anymore". Cinema Journal, Vol. 45 Issue 1 (Fall 2005), p. 66.
- ↑ "Inside Out Wrap-Up: Laurie Lynd and the Gay-ple Leafs". Torontoist, May 27, 2007.