''RSVP'' is a Canadian short film, directed by

Laurie Lynd Laurie Lynd (born May 19, 1959, in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian film and television director and screenwriter, best known as the director of the feature film ''Breakfast with Scot''. In his early career, Lynd made the short films ''Together and ...

and released in 1991. It was one of the films singled out by film critic

B. Ruby Rich B. Ruby Rich is an American scholar; critic of independent, Latin American, documentary, feminist, and queer films; and a professor emerita of Film & Digital Media and Social Documentation at UC Santa Cruz. Among her many contributions, she is ...

in her influential 1992 essay on the emergence of

New Queer Cinema "New Queer Cinema" is a term first coined by the academic B. Ruby Rich in ''Sight & Sound'' magazine in 1992 to define and describe a movement in queer-themed independent filmmaking in the early 1990s. It is also referred to as the "Queer New W ...

, "New Queer Cinema" in Michele Aaron, ''New Queer Cinema: A Critical Reader''.

Rutgers University Press Rutgers University Press (RUP) is a nonprofit academic publishing house, operating in New Brunswick, New Jersey under the auspices of Rutgers University. History Rutgers University Press, a nonprofit academic publishing house operating in New B ...

, 2004. . pp. 14-22.

Plot

The film, mostly musical with very little spoken dialogue, stars

Daniel MacIvor Daniel MacIvor (born July 23, 1962) is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director, and film director. He is probably best known for his acting roles in independent films and the sitcom ''Twitch City''. Personal MacIvor was born in Sydney, Nov ...

as Sid, a man returning home for the first time since his partner Andrew's death of

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 m ...

. He turns on

CBC Stereo CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

's classical music program ''RSVP'' just as the announcer is reading a request, submitted by Andrew himself shortly before his death, to play

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but refused to be limited to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

's recording of "Le Spectre de la rose" from

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

's ''

Les nuits d'été ''Les nuits d'été'' (''Summer Nights''), Op. 7, is a song cycle by the French composer Hector Berlioz. It is a setting of six poems by Théophile Gautier. The cycle, completed in 1841, was originally for soloist and piano accompaniment. Berlio ...

''. As the music begins, Sid reminisces about the relationship; after it ends, he calls Andrew's sister in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

to advise her to listen to the program when it airs in her time zone. His sister, in turn, notifies other family members and each relives their own memories of Andrew as they listen to the song, creating an extended community of people united in their grief as the shared experience of the music metaphorically collapses their geographic distance from each other.Laurie Lynd
at mediaqueer.ca.

Cast

* Stewart Arnott as Sid's Friend (voice) * Ferne Downey as Andrew's sister * Gordon Jocelyn as Andrew's father * London Juno as (unnamed) *

as Sid *

Ross Manson Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...

as Andrew * Judith Orban as Andrew's mother

Reception

The film premiered at the

1991 Toronto International Film Festival The 16th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and September 14, 1991. Jodie Foster's directorial debut film Little Man Tate, premiered in the ''Gala Presentation'' at the festival. A ...

. Lynd sent the completed film to Jessye Norman in advance of its theatrical premiere, seeking her approval. Norman was so moved by it that she flew to Toronto to attend the screening, at which she held Lynd's hand throughout the entire film. It aired on television later in 1991 as a special, and garnered two

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

nominations, for Short Dramatic Program and Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series. The film was subsequently re-broadcast on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

's ''

Canadian Reflections ''Canadian Reflections'' is a Canadian independent short film television series which began on CBC Television in 1978. Premise This series features independent Canadian short films of various styles and topics, including both original works an ...

'' in 1993. In 2007, Toronto's

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 ...

screened both ''RSVP'' and Lynd's subsequent film ''

The Fairy Who Didn't Want to Be a Fairy Anymore ''The Fairy Who Didn't Want to Be a Fairy Anymore'' is a Canadian musical comedy-drama short film directed by Laurie Lynd, which premiered at the 1992 Toronto International Film Festival before going into wider release in 1993. Made as an academ ...

'', along with an excerpt from his highly anticipated but not yet completed feature film ''

Breakfast with Scot ''Breakfast with Scot'' is a 2007 Canadian comedy film. It is adapted from the 1999 novel by Tufts University professor Michael Downing. The screenplay was adapted by Sean Reycraft from the book by Michael Downing, and the film was directed by L ...

''."Inside Out Wrap-Up: Laurie Lynd and the Gay-ple Leafs"
''

Torontoist ''Daily Hive'', formerly known as ''Vancity Buzz'', is a Canadian online newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It began digital publishing in 2008 and became Western Canada's largest online-only publication by 2016. In September 202 ...

'', May 27, 2007.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0137183 1991 films 1991 drama films 1991 LGBT-related films LGBT-related drama films Canadian LGBT-related films Films directed by Laurie Lynd 1991 short films LGBT-related short films Canadian musical films LGBT-related musical films HIV/AIDS in Canadian films 1990s English-language films Canadian drama short films 1990s Canadian films