The Fruit Machine (2018 film)

The Fruit Machine
Directed bySarah Fodey
Written bySarah Fodey
Produced byHan Nguyen
Derek Diorio
Sarah Fodey
CinematographyKarl Roeder
Michael Tien
Edited byMatt West
Justin Wotherspoon
Production
company
SandBay Entertainment
Distributed byTVOntario
Release date
Running time
81 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

The Fruit Machine is a 2018 Canadian documentary film, directed by Sarah Fodey.[1] The film focuses on the systemic discrimination against LGBT employees of Canada's federal public service and members of the military by the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from the 1950s to the 1990s.[2] The film profiles the "fruit machine", a controversial device used by the Canadian government in the 1950s and 1960s in an attempt to identify LGBT employees and disqualify them from the civil service, and its effects on the people whose lives and careers were disrupted or destroyed by the test.

Figures interviewed in the film include Michelle Douglas, John Ibbitson, John Sawatsky, Peaches Latour, and Gary Kinsman.

The film premiered at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival on June 1, 2018,[1] and had selected other film festival screenings before airing as a TVOntario special presentation on September 29.[3]

The film received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Documentary Program at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Peter Knegt, "The Fruit Machine: Why every Canadian should learn about this country's 'gay purge'". CBC Arts, May 30, 2018.
  2. ↑ "The Fruit Machine documentary". www.canada.ca. 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  3. ↑ "TVO Original documentary The Fruit Machine explores a dark chapter in the history of Canada and the LGBTQ+ community". TVOntario, September 18, 2018.
  4. ↑ "“Anthropocene”, “Amazing Race Canada” among Canadian Screen Award nominees". RealScreen, February 8, 2019.
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