The Percy Foundation is proud to be partnering with Canadian International Pictures (CIP) to restore the 1974 independent film Montreal Main, directed by Frank Vitale, which is a powerful and provocative exploration of LGBTQ+ themes that were rarely explored onscreen at the time or even today. With all the actors using their real names (or nick names) to inhabit characters inspired by their own lives, this film offered a bold new fusion of fiction and documentary, building on the period’s daring new strategies in both areas. The film premiered to great acclaim at the Whitney Museum of American Art with subsequent screenings at the Locarno Film Festival, London Film Festival, and Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), among many others – and continues to inspire passionate discussion 50 years later. To explore and expand on this dialogue, a monograph on the film by Jason Garrison and celebrated film historian (and former Foundation director) Thomas Waugh was published in the Queer Film Classics book series from Arsenal Pulp Press. A testament to Montreal Main’s enduring impact, this publication describes the film as ‘’one of the unacknowledged masterpieces of Canadian independent fiction film, and of international queer cinema.’’
Set in the bohemian Montreal neighborhood known as “The Main,” the film describes a gay man’s developing relationship with the 12-year old son of two friends. Although the relationship is purely Platonic, the boy’s parents and others express concerns about it and force their gay friend (played by the director Frank Vitale) to break it off, much to the boy’s distress.
This film has long been out of commercial circulation and currently exists only in a highly deteriorated version on Youtube. CIP brings to this project an excellent record of restoring neglected Canadian classics in attractive Blu-ray DVDs with commentary by noted critics and individuals involved in the film’s production. Their films receive renewed attention through screenings at film festivals and are typically made available through streaming services such as Kanopy and Netflix.