When Night Is Falling

Long considered to be a pivotal addition to the LGTBQ+ canon, the film centres on the story of Camille (Pascale Bussières), a professor at a Protestant college who is engaged to Martin (Henry Czerny), a respected minister and fellow professor. As ‘career Christians’ they are urged to get married so that they can become co-chaplains of the New College of Faith. When Camille meets Petra (Rachel Crawford), a wry and flamboyant performer in a modern Felliniesque circus troupe, she is inexplicably drawn. Camille pursues this sensual, dream-like woman, throwing her whole conservative life, not to mention her engagement, into disarray. A Canadian classic that was in Official Competition at the 1995 Berlin International Film Festival, When Night Is Falling tells a lesbian story beautifully photographed by Douglas Koch, catching a romantic wintry Toronto landscape.