Someone Like Me – Hot Docs 2021

By Sean Patrick Kelly

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A group of 11 LQBTQ+ Vancouverites sponsor a refugee from Uganda in Someone Like Me. Canada is the only country in the world with legislation in place to allow LGBTQ refugees from around the globe into the country. Rainbow Refugee is a private sponsorship group in Vancouver, which is currently sponsoring Drake, a queer refugee from Uganda. Transgender lawyer Kay and their partner Emily volunteer to allow Drake to live with them as he adjusts to life in Canada.

Someone Like Me is a film by filmmakers Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams about the Canadian refugee program for people in the LGBTQ community. Rainbow Refugee has the difficult task of choosing only one refugee at a time to sponsor, despite Drake and his fellow Ugandan refugees being the victim of vicious homophobic machete attacks back home in African. Despite being jubilant about coming to Canada, Drake runs into some challenges adjusting to life in the country, with some group members taking issue with his consumption of alcohol and cannabis. Then there was the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, which puts a pause on Drake's dream of being a fashion designer.

Canada is one of the more progressive countries when it comes to the treatment of the LGBTW+ community, though this is not the case in other countries, where members of the community face persecution or even death. Someone Like Me takes an observational look at a single case in Canada's LGBTQ refugee program and the challenges that come with sponsoring a refugee. While the end result of this case study is a bit bittersweet, as stated at one point by one of the group members, Rainbow Refugee and similar groups are heroes at the end of the day for doing what they do.

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