Keyboard Fantasies

Co-presented with the Inside Out Ottawa LGBT Film Festival

Posy Dixon, 63 minutes, United Kingdom, 2019. In English

Born in 1944 in Philadelphia, Glenn Copeland was never afraid of breaking barriers. Moving to Canada at 17, the young vocalist was the only Black student in his classical music class at McGill University, and openly lived as a lesbian in the early 1960s before coming out as a trans man. Obsessed with sci-fi and living in near isolation in Huntsville, Ontario, Copeland self-released the electronic album Keyboard Fantasies on cassette in 1986. This collection of curious, visionary folk-electronica tracks went largely unnoticed, until a Japanese rare-record collector reissued it three decades later, bringing it to the ears of raving fans. Finally getting the recognition he deserved, the musical genius found himself catapulted to cult status and embarked on his first international tour at age 74. Featuring refreshingly honest interviews with the generous musician, this time-travelling tale will soothe those souls struggling to find their place in the world.