Trailer for Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie.

THRIVING: A DISSOCIATED REVERIE

A film by Nicole Bazuin, featuring Kitoko Mai.
World Premiere: Sundance Film Festival 2023. International Shorts Program 4.

Named to TIFF’s annual Canada’s Top Ten List for 2023

Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie is a surrealist exploration of dissociative identity disorder (DID) based on the lived experience of Black, non-binary, disabled emerging multidisciplinary performance artist and former sex worker Kitoko Mai. Grappling with their DID diagnosis while attempting to survive capitalism, we meet a range of “alters” (alternate personalities) representing the various emotional states of Mai, the "system host." Featuring a tour-de-force performance by Mai, Thriving is directed by Nicole Bazuin (Modern Whore, SXSW 2020), and co-written/co-produced by Mai and Bazuin, alongside sex worker advocate and author Andrea Werhun. This visually striking film lensed by Ashley Iris Gill is complete with lush animations by Society of Illustrators triple-gold-medallist Dylan Glynn. Thriving was created with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Council.

FESTIVAL SCREENINGS & AWARDS

  • Sundance Film Festival - Park City, Utah, USA 2023

  • The Bush Films: Black Queer Power - New York, New York, USA 2023

  • BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival - London, England 2023

  • Aspen Shortsfest - Aspen, Colorado USA 2023 - WINNER Special Mention: Comedy

  • Outfest Fusion - Los Angeles, California USA 2023

  • Calgary Underground Film Festival - Calgary, Alberta, Canada 2023 - WINNER Jury Award: Best Canadian Short + WINNER Audience Award: Best Canadian Short

  • SouthSide Film Festival - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA 2023

  • DeadCenter Film: Femme Film Mini-Fest - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA 2023

  • Chicago Critics Film Festival - Chicago, Illinois, USA 2023 - WINNER Audience Award: Best Short Film

  • Inside Out - Toronto, Ontario, Canada 2023

  • Queer North - Sudbury, Ontario, Canada 2023

  • Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival - Los Angeles, California 2023

  • Fantasia Festival - Montreal, Quebec, Canada 2023

  • Vancouver Queer Film Festival - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 2023

  • FIN Atlantic Film Festival - Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 2023

  • Kaaffilm International Short Film Festival - Milan, Italy 2023

  • Tallgrass Film Festival - Wichita, Kansas, USA 2023

  • Appalachian Queer Film Festival - Huntington, West Virginia, USA 2023

  • Toronto After Dark - Toronto, Ontario, Canada 2023

  • Mental Filmness Film Festival - Chicago, Illinois, USA 2023

  • AFI Fest - Los Angeles, California, USA 2023

  • Cineffable International Lesbian and Feminist Film Festival - Paris, France 2023

  • Aesthetica Short Film Festival - York, England 2023

  • Bratislava, Slovak Queer Film Festival - Bratislava, Slovakia 2023

  • Named to TIFF Canada’s Top Ten List for 2023