The 2026 festival kicks off on April 23 with the world premiere of Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions, director Michelle Mama’s rockin’ and revelatory profile of the Rough Trade frontwoman, trailblazing queer icon, and music-industry pioneer. We posed our Qs à la mode to Michelle, and here’s what she shared!
If I had to describe my film using only three adjectives, they would be: Juicy, surprising, overdue.
I wanted to make this film because: Carole has been a beacon to so many queer people for decades. They say “if you can’t see it you can’t be it,” and so many thousands of closeted Canadian fans got a peak into a sexy, queer demimonde that they inherently knew they belonged to.
Not to mention the MUSIC! Rough Trade had a hardcore following and one of the most impressive runs in history – their raunchy and hilarious live performances were legendary, and Carole especially developed a cult following.
And she’s still with us and actively touring and out there! I simply couldn’t believe nobody had made the film yet and had to get it done.
The thing that surprised me most while making my film was: How many straight men are OBSESSED with Carole Pope! Sebastian Bach from Skid Row does a nice job of explaining why in the film.
My favorite moment/scene/sequence in my film is: Anything we got on tape with the late, great Kevan Staples – the man behind the woman and her musical partner of 50 years.
My most invaluable piece of doc-making equipment was/is: Small-format cameras that are good in low light – like the Sony FX3 and FX6. Travelling in cars, squeezing into corners and weird spots is par for the course, but when you have the flexibility of not lighting AND a genius like Stephen Chung making poetry with his lens, it gets you maximum cinematic effect without spooking your subject.
My must-have snack to get me through hours in the editing room is: Granola bars and Sarah Jane Bachinski’s bananas!
One piece of documentary-filmmaking advice I’d like to share with aspiring documentarians is: There is no such thing as an “auteur” documentarian. The crew shifts the energetic sphere so immensely when it’s just 4 or 5 people and a subject. Find your crew – the ones that you know you align with artistically and in a human way – and take them with you. Build your language and challenge each other. With the kind of trust you can forge, the best work emerges.
Want to check out Michelle’s film or just learn more about it?
Get the scoop, and your tickets, here!
