Join Artist-in-Residence Jordan King and filmmaker Janis Cole for a screening of three short films at The Commons @ 401’s Bachir/Yerex Presentation Space (401 Richmond St. West, 4th Floor). As part of Jordan King’s year-long residency at Gallery 44, she has explored analogue film and photography techniques alongside representations of transfeminine subjects on screen.
Cream Soda (1975) Directors Janis Cole & Holly Dale. 11 mins
Cream Soda offers an unparalleled look inside one of Yonge Street’s renowned massage parlors, filmed with the business owner’s reluctant permission. At the time the film was completed, businesses like the one documented in this short were clustered on Yonge Street between Dundas and Gerrard. This unofficial area was known as Toronto’s Sin Strip. Filmmakers Janis Cole and Holly Dale were still students at Sheridan College at the time this short was completed, yet the aesthetic considerations and editing, both of the film itself and the recorded audio, are sublime.
Minimum Charge No Cover (1976) Directors Janis Cole & Holly Dale. 9 mins.
Minimum Charge No Cover is a rich portrait of a handful of individuals Cole and Dale encountered as participants in the Yonge Street scene of the 1970s. These include workers who appeared in their previous short, Cream Soda and drag performers. Rare, sumptuous footage of Yonge Street in neon light, bring the textures of the Sin Strip to life.
Baby Dolls (1978) Director Rodney Werden. 19 mins.
In Toronto video artist Rodney Werden’s intimate portrait, a young trans person discusses their upcoming gender affirming surgery. The camera’s vantage is often uncomfortably close, while in the voice over audio, the interview subject shares their perspective on the changes that lie ahead for them. Werden was a participant in the Yonge Street world, which consisted of many outsiders like those featured in Cole and Dale’s early short films
Following the screening, stay for a panel discussion with Curator of Exhibitions Sameen Mahboubi, Artist-in-Residence Jordan King and filmmaker Janis Cole.
Presented in partnership with Vtape.
Jordan King is a Canadian multi-disciplinary artist, curator and writer. Her practice is rooted in performance, archival research and intergenerational dialogue. She completed a Master of Fine Arts degree at OCAD University in 2024 with a focus on documentary film and multimedia documentation of underground queer performance. King spent her formative years immersed in nightlife culture, which continues to influence her work and research. Recent projects have included a curated exhibition of archival material focused on LGBTQ2S+ stage performers in the mid/late 20th Century, an oral history interview podcast series, short video works and an autobiographical cabaret performance.
Janis Cole is a Canadian filmmaker, producer, writer, editor and professor. She has directed several films over the span of her career, most in cooperation with her friend and professional partner, Holly Dale. Her most notable films include; Cream Soda (1975) Minimum Charge No Cover (1976), Thin Line (1977), Prison For Women (1981), Hookers on Davie (1984), Calling the Shots (1988), Shaggie: Letters from Prison (1990) and Bowie: One in a Million (2000).
