REINA COWAN

Art by: Michael Rancic | SÜRF photo by: Marcus; Hotel Dog photo provided by the band

Welcome to New Feeling’s Group Chat. In this feature, we invite a panel of writers to give their takes on two songs selected by our editorial team, with the goal of offering a variety of perspectives of each track and discovering common threads of interest, analysis, and interpretation.

To kick off Group Chat, Jordan Currie, Karen K. Tran, and Jesse Locke answer the call to offer their thoughts about the runwa

On a Monday afternoon in early July, I receive a phone call from a hiring manager I’ve never met. He’s seen my resume on LinkedIn and is looking for help at his Yorkville restaurant—a full-time server, five shifts a week. Over the phone, he sounds jovial, but there’s a tinge of desperation in his voice. When I tell him I’m not looking for full-time work, just one shift a week, he asks if I can reach out to any friends who might be interested. I say I’ll try my best. When I hang up I wrack my bra

“I think you’re trying to capture the audience. Not really trying to explain every bit of what’s going on in your mind, but to make them believe in that moment that you’re going through something. And that they went through that something with you, even without words or meaning. I think the purpose is to pass a message,” says Sheila, the young protagonist of the film Quickening.

And that’s exactly what director Haya Waseem has done, expertly conveying a wordless message and visceral experience

After a year of suffering under COVID-19, the first ever Hamilton Queer Film Festival will celebrate this year, a growing collection of films that aren't about trauma.

It's time, guest judge Cheyenne Lynn says, for stories with some happy endings.

Lynn, who is non-binary, says "Everyone has collectively experienced a very traumatic year. I think they need that sort of push to be like 'all right, we're over the sadness guys. We've been through a lot this year. Can we just smile, maybe?'"

The f

“Deflating is the word we use over here. It was very deflating when everything went down. It’s taken the wind out of our sails,” says Dwayne Dixon over the phone.

Dixon is the business manager for SugaCayne Designs, a Carnival arts organization and Mas design company. He’s talking about the COVID-19 pandemic that has shaken the world this year with no slowing down.

But Dixon is resilient. He and his business partner Candice are working from home in Toronto. Although they can’t create their usu