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