Someone Like Me

When Kay, a transgender lawyer, decides to lead a group of 11 LQBTQ+ Vancouverites in their mission to sponsor Drake, a queer refugee from Uganda, they never imagined the affecting journey to come. Through a composed observational lens, the film captures the group's struggles with interpersonal relationships, while having to simultaneously face the difficult reality of what it means to support a newcomer for the first year of their life in a strange country. Drake, a spirited, fun-loving man, arrives in Vancouver full of hopes and dreams for a career in fashion, but within months the pandemic hits. He struggles to find his footing, and conflicting ideas on how to support him split the group apart. A welcome addition to contemporary debates on the realities of refugee sponsorship, Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams’ Someone Like Me offers a rare look at the experience through the eyes of the queer community. (Aisha Jamal - Hot Docs)

A National Film Board of Canada Production.

Press kit and festival bookings available here.

“Truly Exceptional”
Peter Knegt, CBC

“Unexpected”
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

“A riveting examination of what it means to be free”
Courtney Small, That Shelf

“Complex”
Norman Wilner, Now Magazine

“Gripping”
Queer FM

Awards:

Winner, Rogers Audience Choice Award - Hot Docs 2021

Grand Prize, Alternative Spirit Award - Rhode Island International Film Festival 2021

Winner, Best Documentary Feature - Las Cruces International Film Festival 2022

Nominated, Allan King Award for Excellence In Documentary - Directors Guild of Canda Awards 2021

Nominated, Best BC Film - Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2022

Official Selection:

Hot Docs 2021

DOXA 2021 (Special Presentation)

NorthwestFest 2021

Rhode Island International Film Festival 2021

Newport Beach Film Festival 2021

Melbourne Queer Film Festival 2021

LGBT Film Festival Poland 2021

Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival 2021

Seattle Queer Film Festival 2021

Guelph Film Festival 2021

Image+Nation Festival Film Festival LGBTQ Montreal 2021

Victoria Film Festival 2022

KDocs Film Festival 2022

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival 2022

Available Light Film Festival 2022

Las Cruces International Film Festival 2022

Belleville Docfest 2022

Buenos Aires International Documentary Film Festival 2022

Directors: Sean Horlor + Steve J. Adams

Producers: Shirley Vercruysse, Teri Snelgrove

Executive Producer: Shirley Vercruysse

Cinematographers: Farhad Ghaderi, Blake Davey

Additional Photography: Bryce Zimmerman, Jeremy Cox, Mike Dinsmore, Vince Arvidson csc, Alfonso Chin

Editor: Graham Kew

Composers: Edo Van Breemen, Johannes Winkler

Sound Recordists: Oscar Vargas, Alex Shamku