Image+Nation
Pink Elephant

Pink Elephant

MARIA DEL MAR | CANADA | 2025 | 13 MIN | ENGLISH

In attendance: JEN POGUE + JO VANNICOLA

MARIA DEL MAR | CANADA | 2025 | 13 MIN | ENGLISH

VIRTUALShortMADE AU CANADA

Synopsis

A long-standing friendship faces tension over gender identity, but everything shifts when one friend receives life-changing news, transforming their bond and perspectives forever.

Filmmaker Bio

Maria del Mar is a Canadian actress and filmmaker with a three-decade career spanning film, television, voice-over work, and theater productions across North America. She is known for her acclaimed performances in Star Trek: Discovery, *24*, and many others, including films that have premiered at the TIFF and Cannes Film Festival. Pink Elephant marks her directorial debut.

Producer

Jen Pogue, Lauren Saarimaki, Jill Purdy, Jo Vannicola

Writer

Maria del Mar, Jo Vannicola

Cast

  • Maria del Mar
  • Jo Vannicola

Also playing with

PosterShort
Supa Cottonelle[MADE AU CANADA]5 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

A celebration of House Mother Cotton and her sisters during Vancouver's ballroom scene of the 2000s. A tribute to the pioneering Canadian LGBTQ+ community and its dazzling legacy.

PosterShort
Bodyrebuilding[MADE AU CANADA]10 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

Vivek navigates the chronic pain caused by the pressures of advocating for diversity, finding healing and strength through weightlifting.

PosterShort
Salma![MADE AU CANADA]7 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

As Hadi is swept into a flood of childhood memories from Lebanon, he steps into the dreamlike whimsical world of Salma Zahore.

PosterShort
fastLOVE[MADE AU CANADA]16 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

On New Year's Eve, a broke and restless young man is drawn into a risky encounter with a hustler's client at a hotel. After being assaulted and scammed, with no help from the staff, he must face the consequences of his choices.

PosterShort
The Ride10 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

During a late-night drive, Sean and Louis reflect on their shared journey through surrogacy.

PosterShort
Queen Mother (Inang Reyna)[MADE AU CANADA]14 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

When a mother visits her son, a drag performer, a night of raw confessions forces them to confront the unhealed wounds of their past.

PosterShort
ATLS[MADE AU CANADA]11 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

In a dystopian future, two women flee exploitation and find love in a remote cabin, only to face relentless pursuit and a tragic fate.

PosterShort
Supa Cottonelle[MADE AU CANADA]5 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

A celebration of House Mother Cotton and her sisters during Vancouver's ballroom scene of the 2000s. A tribute to the pioneering Canadian LGBTQ+ community and its dazzling legacy.

PosterShort
Bodyrebuilding[MADE AU CANADA]10 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

Vivek navigates the chronic pain caused by the pressures of advocating for diversity, finding healing and strength through weightlifting.

PosterShort
Salma![MADE AU CANADA]7 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

As Hadi is swept into a flood of childhood memories from Lebanon, he steps into the dreamlike whimsical world of Salma Zahore.

PosterShort
fastLOVE[MADE AU CANADA]16 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

On New Year's Eve, a broke and restless young man is drawn into a risky encounter with a hustler's client at a hotel. After being assaulted and scammed, with no help from the staff, he must face the consequences of his choices.

PosterShort
The Ride10 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

During a late-night drive, Sean and Louis reflect on their shared journey through surrogacy.

PosterShort
Queen Mother (Inang Reyna)[MADE AU CANADA]14 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

When a mother visits her son, a drag performer, a night of raw confessions forces them to confront the unhealed wounds of their past.

PosterShort
ATLS[MADE AU CANADA]11 minutesThis programme includes 8 filmsMADE AU CANADA: STORIES WE TELL 86 minutes

In a dystopian future, two women flee exploitation and find love in a remote cabin, only to face relentless pursuit and a tragic fate.

You might also like

PosterShort
Itty Bitty Betty[MADE AU CANADA]12 minutes

Betty, driven by fear of rejection, lives isolated at home among her miniature figurines. When she meets a woman she can’t stop thinking about, she faces a difficult choice: remain in her safe, private world or step outside and risk vulnerability for a real connection.

PosterShort
Their World in Colour[MADE AU CANADA]10 minutes

From Bye Bye, Binary to Love, Violet, Charlene Chua, an award-winning illustrator and author, embraces the challenges of fostering inclusivity through children's books.

PosterShort
Quinonia[MADE AU CANADA]6 minutes

When the church forces a choice between authenticity and acceptance, one person decides to carve out a new path.

PosterDocumentaryVIRTUAL EXCLUSIVE
CELESTIAL QUEER: THE LIFE, WORK AND WONDER OF JAMES MACSWAIN[MADE AU CANADA]72 minutes

Celestial Queer celebrates James MacSwain, Nova Scotia's beloved and beguiling queer artist, animator and gay-rights activist who passed away this past September 2025. Born and raised in the “backwater” of Atlantic Canada, MacSwain has been making ground-breaking experimental films, animations and provocative art performances for more than half a century. A quietly outspoken feminist, naturalist, and gay rights activist, Celestial Queer introduces audiences to a charmingly obscure and prolific Canadian artist. Through a combination of playful verité and rarely seen footage from his archive, Celestial Queer accompanies MacSwain and a revolving cast of characters as he revisits everything from the sites of some of his most recognized works to the rocky tidal shores of Nova Scotia. The film also includes rarely-seen footage from the infamous 1984 rooftop ‘Phallus Performance’ during which MacSwain was almost both arrested and charged with obscenity. Jim’s effusive character, prolific work, and community organizing have inspired generations of artists to fearlessly be themselves. Celestial Queer now introduces audiences to one of Canada’s best kept secrets, an artist who is effortlessly charming, engagingly prolific, and subversive to his surrealist core.

PosterShort
The Palace[MADE AU CANADA]9 minutes

At a secret forest hideout, suburban teen Dani meets her crush Jayde, only to encounter a mysterious, otherworldly presence.

PosterShort
Supa Cottonelle[MADE AU CANADA]5 minutes

A celebration of House Mother Cotton and her sisters during Vancouver's ballroom scene of the 2000s. A tribute to the pioneering Canadian LGBTQ+ community and its dazzling legacy.

PosterShort
Bodyrebuilding[MADE AU CANADA]10 minutes

Vivek navigates the chronic pain caused by the pressures of advocating for diversity, finding healing and strength through weightlifting.

PosterShort
Report from the Interior[MADE AU CANADA]4 minutes

An animated pop-poetic incantation to unconventional intimacy.

PosterDocumentary
FORBIDDEN LOVE: THE UNASHAMED STORIES OF LESBIAN LIVES[MADE AU CANADA]85 minutes

Mixing lively testimonials from unforgettable women at the forefront of mid-century lesbian bar culture with scripted segments taking the Hollywood melodrama in provocative new directions, Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives is an eye-opening cultural history—and one of the most memorable Canadian films of the ’90s. This documentary chronicles the era of lesbian-themed pulp romance paperbacks of the 1950s, a time when titles such as “Odd Girl Out” spoke to the isolated and confused young lesbians of the era. Ten women (including one of the authors of these novels), talk about being queer in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, discovering these books, and going through their own first love affairs and painful breakups. The hardships they faced (from being shunned by their families to enduring police raids) are interspersed with archival footage and four dramatized chapters from a pulp novel, Forbidden Love. The desperate measures resorted to by the protagonists in these works of pulp fiction are shown to have been quite tame compared to the real-life experiences of these women. “It is testimony to how clever the film and filmmakers are that a documentary about history continues to seem so utterly timeless.” – Matthew Hays, POV Magazine

PosterShort
Queen Mother (Inang Reyna)[MADE AU CANADA]14 minutes

When a mother visits her son, a drag performer, a night of raw confessions forces them to confront the unhealed wounds of their past.

PosterShort
Itty Bitty Betty[MADE AU CANADA]12 minutes

Betty, driven by fear of rejection, lives isolated at home among her miniature figurines. When she meets a woman she can’t stop thinking about, she faces a difficult choice: remain in her safe, private world or step outside and risk vulnerability for a real connection.

PosterShort
Their World in Colour[MADE AU CANADA]10 minutes

From Bye Bye, Binary to Love, Violet, Charlene Chua, an award-winning illustrator and author, embraces the challenges of fostering inclusivity through children's books.

PosterShort
Quinonia[MADE AU CANADA]6 minutes

When the church forces a choice between authenticity and acceptance, one person decides to carve out a new path.

PosterDocumentaryVIRTUAL EXCLUSIVE
CELESTIAL QUEER: THE LIFE, WORK AND WONDER OF JAMES MACSWAIN[MADE AU CANADA]72 minutes

Celestial Queer celebrates James MacSwain, Nova Scotia's beloved and beguiling queer artist, animator and gay-rights activist who passed away this past September 2025. Born and raised in the “backwater” of Atlantic Canada, MacSwain has been making ground-breaking experimental films, animations and provocative art performances for more than half a century. A quietly outspoken feminist, naturalist, and gay rights activist, Celestial Queer introduces audiences to a charmingly obscure and prolific Canadian artist. Through a combination of playful verité and rarely seen footage from his archive, Celestial Queer accompanies MacSwain and a revolving cast of characters as he revisits everything from the sites of some of his most recognized works to the rocky tidal shores of Nova Scotia. The film also includes rarely-seen footage from the infamous 1984 rooftop ‘Phallus Performance’ during which MacSwain was almost both arrested and charged with obscenity. Jim’s effusive character, prolific work, and community organizing have inspired generations of artists to fearlessly be themselves. Celestial Queer now introduces audiences to one of Canada’s best kept secrets, an artist who is effortlessly charming, engagingly prolific, and subversive to his surrealist core.

PosterShort
The Palace[MADE AU CANADA]9 minutes

At a secret forest hideout, suburban teen Dani meets her crush Jayde, only to encounter a mysterious, otherworldly presence.

PosterShort
Supa Cottonelle[MADE AU CANADA]5 minutes

A celebration of House Mother Cotton and her sisters during Vancouver's ballroom scene of the 2000s. A tribute to the pioneering Canadian LGBTQ+ community and its dazzling legacy.

PosterShort
Bodyrebuilding[MADE AU CANADA]10 minutes

Vivek navigates the chronic pain caused by the pressures of advocating for diversity, finding healing and strength through weightlifting.

PosterShort
Report from the Interior[MADE AU CANADA]4 minutes

An animated pop-poetic incantation to unconventional intimacy.

PosterDocumentary
FORBIDDEN LOVE: THE UNASHAMED STORIES OF LESBIAN LIVES[MADE AU CANADA]85 minutes

Mixing lively testimonials from unforgettable women at the forefront of mid-century lesbian bar culture with scripted segments taking the Hollywood melodrama in provocative new directions, Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives is an eye-opening cultural history—and one of the most memorable Canadian films of the ’90s. This documentary chronicles the era of lesbian-themed pulp romance paperbacks of the 1950s, a time when titles such as “Odd Girl Out” spoke to the isolated and confused young lesbians of the era. Ten women (including one of the authors of these novels), talk about being queer in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, discovering these books, and going through their own first love affairs and painful breakups. The hardships they faced (from being shunned by their families to enduring police raids) are interspersed with archival footage and four dramatized chapters from a pulp novel, Forbidden Love. The desperate measures resorted to by the protagonists in these works of pulp fiction are shown to have been quite tame compared to the real-life experiences of these women. “It is testimony to how clever the film and filmmakers are that a documentary about history continues to seem so utterly timeless.” – Matthew Hays, POV Magazine

PosterShort
Queen Mother (Inang Reyna)[MADE AU CANADA]14 minutes

When a mother visits her son, a drag performer, a night of raw confessions forces them to confront the unhealed wounds of their past.