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synopsis Phil and Gavin have moved on with their lives after their break up three years ago. But when they run into each other at a bar one night, they are forced to confront their unresolved emotions, to reassess what they thought to be true about their relationship, in order to find stability in their own lives. director A recent graduate of Ryerson University's Film Production program, James Resendes is an aspiring writer/director and editor from Toronto, ON. His second-year film, Affliction, premiered at the 2013 Living Skies Film Festival in Regina, SK, and was followed with an award for Best Achievement in Editing at 2014's Maximum Exposure for his work on Snowblind. Since, James has written and directed a short documentary exploring gender identities and performances entitled What You Will, which premiered at the 2014 Toronto Inside Out LGBT Film Festival; and edited Menesetung, an official selection of TIFF's 2015 Canada's Top Ten Film Festival. James' work often focuses on themes of queer identity and relationships, aiming to challenge the heteronormative discourses that permeate the vernacular of popular filmmaking and its storytelling. Filmography filmmaker's note In my short time working in film, I've become increasingly aware of the way in which the LGBT community is portrayed both in mainstream and ‘queer cinema,' and the divide between the two. Our vocabulary for this sub-genre of film only furthers this divide. We don't use the term ‘straight cinema' as the specification is redundant; heterosexuality is culturally defined as the norm, making it an unnecessary linguistic addition because its presence is presupposed. When I was struggling with my own sexuality as a teenager, I scoured popular media for gay characters who could tell me more about myself. But much of what I found focused on the struggles that my sexuality would bring, both internally and with the world around me. And while these are valuable stories to tell, what I sought was a character whose sexuality wasn't over-emphasized or used as a plot device, a story that simply portrayed their sexuality as familiar and commonplace. The depiction of queer characters in films that break the mould of what ‘queer cinema' is often associated with has always been at the forefront of my work as a filmmaker. Portraying characters and stories that are not solely centered on sexuality, while still addressing it, is something I sought to further explore and reflect in HAZE. It's a film about gay people that isn't about being gay; the film is, at its core, about a relationship between two people, and the blurred line between resentment and longing that you hold for the other person long after you've parted ways. related links
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