Welcome to the House of Borealis! For Star (Dillian Chiblow), this East Van drag house is the home they’ve been searching for, an alternate family that’s genuinely supportive and inspiring. At its centre is Mother (Stewart Adam McKensy), who’s seen it all, been it all, and somehow knits together a wayward group of orphans and runaways. Corey Payette’s musical blends drag spectacle, Indigenous storytelling, and soaring emotion in a film that celebrates chosen family and the liberating magic of performance.
Apr 13: Q&A with filmmaker
From the rousing opening number to the sombre close, Starwalker brings audiences a joy and light we all desperately need right now. Corey Payette’s latest opens the world of drag in a musical drama brimming with punchy songs, tender performances and wondrously dry comedic elements. Gentle and rapturously heartwarming […] A beacon of hope.”
Rachel Ho, exclaim!
Corey Payette
Dillan Chiblow, Jeffrey Follis, Stewart Adam McKensy, Jesse Alvarez, Jason Sakaki, Connor Parnall
Canada
2025
English
Best International Film, Best Direction, Best Original Score, Best Costume, Bridges International Film Festival
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Corey Payette, Fabian Aspell Morales, Melissa Tsang
Screenwriter
Corey Payette
Cinematography
Ian Mrozewski, Parham Banafsheh
Editor
Christian Diaz Duran
Production Design
Anna Shearing
Canadian Film Showcase
Canadian Film Showcase features returning festival favourites, brand-new premieres, free screenings on National Canadian Film Day (April 15), and a specially curated program by Sook-Yin Lee (Paying for It).
Agatha's Almanac
Shot over six years on vibrant 16mm film, Agatha’s Almanac is an artful documentary portrait of filmmaker Amalie Atkin’s octogenarian aunt, who has fashioned herself an endearingly simple and self-sustaining lifestyle on her Manitoba farm.
The Art of Adventure
The unbelievable adventure story of how painter Robert Bateman and ecologist Bristol Foster drove a Land Rover from Africa to Australia in 1957, developing a love of nature to last a lifetime. An inspirational love letter to the adventure of life itself.
Follies
After two kids and 16 years of marriage, François and Julie decide to open up their relationship in a bid to rekindle their dwindling sex life. A painfully hilarious and brutally honest depiction of love, sex, and intimacy in the age of the internet.
Castration Movie Anthology 1: Traps
Louise Weard's underground movie is a talk-a-thon in two chapters and four hours: a sex worker contemplates having her testicles removed, and a movie production assistant pitches himself right out of a job, and other misadventures in Vancouver life.
Modern Whore
In director Nicole Bazuin's cheeky, stylized documentary, Modern Whore-memoirist Andrea Werhun (Paying for It) recounts her experiences as an escort and stripper in Toronto, debunking misconceptions about the world’s oldest profession.
Intimate Moments: Short Films by Brendan Prost
Vignettes of loneliness, desire and fleeting connection, immerse yourself in the short, bittersweet films of Brendan Prost — who will also be filming proceedings for potential inclusion in his self-reflexive doc, The Performance of a Lifetime.
Winter Kept Us Warm
Often described as the first LGBTQ+ film ever to screen at the Cannes Film Festival, David Secter's lovingly observed portrait of a burgeoning queer romance came at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in the country
Last Wedding: Jubilee Screening with Bruce Sweeney
Named the Best Canadian film of 2001 by the Vancouver and Toronto Film Critics, Bruce Sweeney's third feature took a wry look at contemporary relationships through the experiences of three thirtysomething couples whose relationships are about to implode.
4 or 5 Things I Want You to Know About Me (An Essay)
Carl Bessai's playful Godardian riff on actors and acting gives us a portfolio of dramatic portraits and monologues focused on half a dozen female performers at different points in their journey. It's a grab-bag of a film, sparky and specific.
Paying for It
Talk about a hall of mirrors! Sook-Yin Lee wittily adapts the graphic novel of the same name by her ex-boyfriend, Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown, about the end of their relationship and Brown's subsequent decision to start paying for sex.
Dead Lover
A foul-smelling gravedigger's romance ends in tragedy, spurring her to attempt a resurrection through a madcap series of science experiments. Grace Glowicki and Ben Petrie’s film is a zany DIY horror that zaps fresh life into Mary Shelley's classic.
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
When Atanarjuat displaces Oki, the Chief's son, by winning the hand of the beautiful Atuat, his brother Amaqjuaq pays the ultimate price. This cautionary tale showcases the consequences of putting personal desires ahead of community needs.
Parsley Days
Kate is ambivalent about her relationship with Ollie. While he's undeniably a great guy, she's curious about what else the world might hold. But when she discovers she's pregnant, breaking up becomes a little more complicated. A magical realist delight!
Outrageous!
Two misfits find love and support in this cult classic and landmark for Canadian queer cinema. Determined to retain her freedom after being treated for schizophrenia, Liza grows equally committed to seeing Robin realize his potential as a drag performer.
Love & Independence
A program of shorts that introduces daring new voices in Canadian cinema. Personal, playful, provocative, and self-financed, these films offer the freedom to express boldly through practices rooted in filmmaking among friends.
Endless Cookie
Are you ready for the most Canadian comedy of recent years? It's a documentary about half-siblings sharing stories, but it's mostly about interruptions, digressions, diversions, and free pizza. It's also animated, but you probably already noticed that.