| Laugh in the Dark | |
| Director: | Justine Pimlott |
| Producer: | Justine Pimlott |
| Starring: | Gary Colwell Don Morden Doris Mehegan |
| Runtime: | 47 minutes |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
Laugh in the Dark is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Justine Pimlott and released in 1999.[1] The film profiles a group of gay men who, in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis of the early 1980s, moved to the faded resort town of Crystal Beach, Ontario with an eye to reviving it as a gay resort comparable to Provincetown or Fire Island;[2] spearheaded by Gary Colwell and Don Morden, the group launched a bed and breakfast, a restaurant and a drag cabaret.[3]
The film's name is taken from a dark ride of the same name that operated at Crystal Beach Park.
In his book Romance of Transgression in Canada: Queering Sexualities, Nations, Cinemas, Thomas Waugh called the film "one of the most effective and affecting elegies in Canadian queer cinema."[1]
The film premiered at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival in 1999,[2] 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.[4]