Standing on the Line

Since the dawn of professional sports, being gay has remained taboo. Even today, few dare to come out of the closet for fear of being stigmatized and, for many, the pressure to perform is compounded by a further strain: whether or not to affirm their sexual identity.

Standing on the Line features candid interviews with a group of Canadian gay and queer athletes, including Olympic speed skater Anastasia Bucsis, who first came out to her family and friends after the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. A few years later, while heading to Sochi 2014 in Russia (remember how they banned gay “propaganda”), Anastasia came out publicly, making her the only openly gay North American Olympian at the time.

Breaking the code of silence that prevails on the field, on the ice, and in the locker room, Standing on the Line provides a thoughtful and empathetic portrait of gay athletes in Canada and the battles they’ve waged. They’ve set out to overcome prejudice in the hopes of changing things for this country’s next generation of athletes.

Trailer...

Standing on the Line (Trailer F.V.) from NFB/marketing on Vimeo.