Synopsis
A Place Where I Belong follows six LGBTQ+ individuals with intellectual disabilities as they navigate identity, love, and systemic barriers through an innovative program called Connecting Queer Communities (CQC). As the participants find safety and solidarity within CQC, their stories—ranging from self-advocacy and family rejection to the joy of coming out—highlight the urgent need for inclusive spaces. With CQC’s future uncertain due to funding challenges, the film is a portrait of resilience and a call to action for lasting change.
Director Biography – Rheanna Toy
Rheanna’s goal as an artist is to capture stories that ask important questions about our lives as individuals and as a society. She’s directed films that have screened at multiple film festivals including the NSI Online Film Festival and Seattle Transmedia Film Festival, among others. Her short documentary debut “Serisa 26” won the 2018 Audience Choice Award at the Cinema Spectacular festival in Vancouver. As a filmmaker, Rheanna’s skill set is well-rounded. She most recently produced and edited the short film “Wok Hei”, which received funding from the Canada Council of the Arts and screened at festivals such as Devour! The Food Film Festival, Vancouver Asian Film Festival, and Spokane International Film Festival. A Place Where I Belong is her first feature documentary.
I’ve worked as a video creator in disability spaces for over ten years. When a colleague approached me about filming a short promotional video for a non-profit initiative that would support LGBTQ+ people with disabilities, I felt there was the potential for a larger story. So, I proposed he allow me to film their progress and see if we could find something. With no funding and off the side of my desk, I started hanging out at and filming their non-profit work, while also getting to know the cast of characters that are now in the film. After 9 months of filming and research, I still wasn’t clear on the story, and felt unsure about my own capacity to continue working on the project as a one-person team with zero funding. Just before I abandoned the project, a disability organization approached me about what I had been doing and took a chance on funding the remainder of production. Upon delivery of a rough cut, they decided to fund post production along with two other organizations—feeling strongly about how the film could bring these disability issues to light, create impact, and promote inclusion. Overall, the film is a labour of love and ultra low budget production.
While filming “A Place Where I Belong” I got to know the people in the film well and truly fell in love with them. My main goal for the film is that audiences fall in love with them just as much as I did. Stories humanize us, and people with disabilities have had many of their stories taken away from them or hidden in the shadows. I hope this film is at least a small drop in changing that.