A new gay movie coming out in Toronto focuses on the positive portrayal of young people who are confident in their sexuality.
“Erin’s Guide to Kissing Girls,” a film centered on the story of a young, quirky high school student, premieres Friday.
The Canadian film is director Julianna Notten’s first feature-length feature film, and is breaking down barriers in media by portraying a much younger gay person than is commonly portrayed, who is confident into your gender.
It will be introduced at the Toronto Carlton Cinema starting Friday.
The film follows Erin to middle school as she falls in love with a new girl and navigates her friendships and gender.
Notten said the film was a love letter to themselves.
“When I was 13, 14, I didn’t even know that my gender was a choice,” Notten told CTV’s Your Morning on Thursday. “So this movie deals with all the big emotions I went through at the age of 13, like getting into a fight with my friends for the first time, falling in love, going through puberty… but telling it through strange prism in a way that I did not experience at the time myself.”
Notten’s inspiration for the film focusing on young characters came from seeing less representation in other films. They said most of the strange stories seen in the mass media follow older characters.
They said: “I feel ashamed that young people are not being represented. “Especially with kids who feel more confident appearing at an increasingly younger age.”
Notten said most films that focus on characters that come to people are “rooted in tragedy.”
“That’s why it’s important to have a character whose problems don’t start and end with her being attracted to other girls,” Notten said.
The film was originally scheduled to begin production in the spring of 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a conundrum,” Elliot Stocking, who plays Erin in the film, told CTV’s Your Morning on Thursday. ” I got a call saying, ‘OK, so we’re pretty sure we want you to be in the movie (but) you’re not going to sign anything… Because of this pandemic it’s possible. a problem.'”
Finally, when Stocking got a call confirming they’d been cast in “Erin’s Guide to Kissing Girls,” they jumped over the couch to hug their dad.
“A bit shocked, but very excited,” Stocking said of the moment.
To hear more behind-the-scenes details of “Erin’s Guide to Kissing Girls,” click the video at the top of this article.
