A minor hockey player finds the courage to accept himself after being hazed and in turn inspires another teammate to be fearless.
Lions in Waiting (2017)
The newest member of a minor league hockey team, Ray, experiences hazing by his new teammates as he struggles to fit in both on and off the ice. Ray will have to find the courage to accept himself first—and maybe even inspire a fellow teammate.
Winner of Best of BC Award, 2018 Chilliwack Independent Film Festival.
Nominated for Best Student Production, 2018 Leo Awards
imdb.com/title/tt6431590/awards
Finalists for the 2016 MPPIA Short Film Pitch, Whistler Film Festival
Lions in Waiting Film Screenings:
2017
• Vancouver Queer Film Festival (World Premiere)
• The Moonrise Film Festival in Wells, B.C.
• Reel Pride Film Festival, Winnipeg (Manitoba Premiere)
• Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (East Coast Premiere)
• Image +Nation LGBT Film Festival, Montreal
• Rainbow, Visions Film Festival (Alberta Premiere)
• Whistler Film Festival
2018
• Reelout Film Festival
• Vancouver Short Film Festival
• Canada Not Short on Talent at Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival (International Premiere)
• Victoria Film Festival
• Seattle Asian American Film Festival (US Premiere)
• BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival (British Premiere)
• qFlix (East Coast Premiere) in Philadelphia
• Lovers Film Festival – Torino Lgbtqi Visions in Italy
• DisOrient Asian American Film Festival in Eugene, Oregon.
• BCN Sports Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain
• Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (California Premiere)
• CAAMFest in San Francisco
• KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival (Asian Premiere)
• Inside Out LGBT Film Festival in Toronto
• FilmOut San Diego
• Queer North in Sudbury, Ontario
• Outeast Film Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Shanghai Pride Film Festival in China (Chinese Premiere)
• Asian American International Film Festival (New York Premiere)
• San Diego Asian American Film Festival
• Fresno Reel Pride in California
• Proud Film Festival in Aarhus, Denmark (Danish Premiere)
• Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival Tour (Tofino, Dawson City, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Salt Spring Island, Nanaimo, Juneau)
• Slovak Queer Film Festival (Bratislava, Nitra, Banská Bystrica, Liptovsky Mikulas)
• Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival
• St. Louis International Film Festival
• Chilliwack Independent Film Festival (“Best of BC” Award)
2019
• Local Sightings Film Festival, Seattle, Washington
Jason is a Vancouver-based screenwriter and director whose short films have screened at festivals in Brazil, Hong Kong, Australia, across Europe, United States and Canada. He received the Gerry Brunet Memorial Award at Vancouver Queer Film Festival in 2011, and in 2015 was recipient of the Jury Choice Award at Reel Pride Winnipeg. Jason is recipient of 2016 James Lee Foundation Scholarship.
Director Statement
As Canadians, we celebrate how hockey has become one of the defining symbols of our nation. The game is still dominated by males; masculinity is constructed at an early age, performed within competitive relationships, allowing the connection to be made between weak and being LGBTQ. Normalizing accepted forms of shameful behavior is part of indoctrination culture, but it can create feelings of complicity and lead to concealment. Initiation is supposed to be empowering. Maintaining dignity while pursuing your passion does not have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, they can work in tandem through open dialogue and lead to the creation of a stronger identity.
