Tuesday Sept 23, 2025, 7:00 – 8:30 pm (doors 6:30 p.m.)
Bachir/Yerex Presentation Space, 4th floor, 401 Richmond St. West
Admission free
Join Gallery 44 Curator Sameen Mahboubi, 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, Directors Janis Cole & Holly Dale (1975, 11 min.)
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, Directors Janis Cole & Holly Dale (1976, 9 min.)
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, Director Rodney Werden (1978, 19 min.)
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 Gallery 44 Curator Sameen Mahboubi, Artist-in-Residence Jordan King, and filmmaker Janis Cole.
Canadian International Pictures (CIP) will be present at the event, selling copies of their discs, including the 4K UHD/Blu-ray for Janis Cole and Holly Dale’s Hookers on Davie (1984). In addition to the film, this disc features a wide range of extras, including the shorts Cream Soda (1975) and Minimum Charge No Cover (1976), which were newly scanned by CIP for this release.
Image credits: home page & top: Minimum Charge No Cover, by Janis Cole & Holly Dale (1976); above: Baby Dolls, by Rodney Werden (1978)
Presented in partnership with Gallery 44
