''Laugh in the Dark'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Justine Pimlott and released in 1999.

Thomas Waugh Thomas Waugh is a Canadian critic, lecturer, author, actor, and activist, best known for his extensive work on documentary film and eroticism in the history of LGBT cinema and art. A professor emeritus at Concordia University, he taught 41 years ...

, ''Romance of Transgression in Canada: Queering Sexualities, Nations, Cinemas''. McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006. . p. 288. The film profiles a group of gay men who, in response to the

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

crisis of the early 1980s, moved to the faded resort town of Crystal Beach,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

with an eye to reviving it as a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

resort comparable to

Provincetown Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Province ...

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lo ...

;Susan Walker, "Gay and lesbian fest shows how far they've come ; Films and filmmakers of Inside Out are gaining acceptance, at least here". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', May 14, 1999. spearheaded by Gary Colwell and Don Morden, the group launched a

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

, a restaurant and a drag cabaret.Gordon Bowness
"Steelworkers, miners & faggots. Oh my"
''

Daily Xtra ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former ...

'', May 19, 1999. The film's name is taken from a

dark ride A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music and special effects. Appearing as early as the 19th century, su ...

of the same name that operated at

Crystal Beach Park Crystal Beach Park was an amusement park in Crystal Beach, Ontario from 1888 to 1989. It was serviced by the ''Canadiana'' passenger ferry in Buffalo, making it a popular tourist destination for both Canadians and Americans. The park was know ...

. In his book ''Romance of Transgression in Canada: Queering Sexualities, Nations, Cinemas'',

called the film "one of the most effective and affecting elegies in Canadian queer cinema." The film premiered at the

Inside Out Film and Video Festival Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...

in 1999, winning the award for Best Canadian Film. It was subsequently screened at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in 2000, winning the award for Best Film on Social Issues.Fiona MacDonald
"Ooh la la – Hot Docs wraps"
'' Playback'', May 15, 2000.

References

1999 films Documentary films about gay men 1999 LGBT-related films Documentary films about HIV/AIDS 1999 documentary films 1990s English-language films HIV/AIDS in Canadian films 1990s Canadian films English-language Canadian films English-language documentary films Canadian LGBT-related documentary films {{1990s-Canada-documentary-film-stub