Fighting for Belonging in a World That Looks Away

Read Time:5 Minute, 28 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
A Place Where I Belong
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Genre: Documentary, Family, Social Justice
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 7m
Director(s): Rheanna Toy
Where to Watch: shown at the 2025 Vancouver Queer Film Festival

RAVING REVIEW: A PLACE WHERE I BELONG begins in a way that feels both intimate and immense. What unfolds isn’t just another documentary about identity—it’s a feature debut that tells stories often neglected in both queer and disability cinema. Director Rheanna Toy captures the lives of six individuals—Amyn, Alison, Lyle, Noah, Peter, and Brian—as they navigate what it means to be LGBTQIA2S+ and living with intellectual or developmental disabilities. At the center is their participation in Connecting Queer Communities (CQC), a program that offers a sense of belonging, solidarity, and a haven in Vancouver’s Lower Mainland. However, with funding in jeopardy, the program’s delicacy becomes a chilling metaphor for how society treats its most marginalized members.

From its first scenes, the film establishes an atmosphere of respect. There’s no exploitation in how these subjects are framed. Toy resists the temptation to flatten their stories into narratives of inspiration or tragedy. Instead, she allows contradictions, frustrations, joys, and vulnerabilities to exist together. Viewers encounter moments of celebration—coming out with pride, finding romance, discovering self-confidence—intertwined with the sobering realities of rejection, ableism, and family alienation. This balance makes the documentary feel lived-in, authentic, and affecting.

The choice to spotlight six different individuals is bold, and it works because Toy ties their lives back to CQC as a connective thread. Each story could have sustained its own documentary, but placing them side by side highlights the shared struggle for recognition while still giving space for individuality. Amyn’s warmth, Alison’s strength, Lyle’s determination, Noah’s openness, Peter’s humor, and Brian’s vulnerability all come across clearly. What unites them isn’t just identity—it’s the desire for dignity, and the reminder that dignity is not optional.

CQC is more than a social group; it is a matter of life and death. Toy doesn’t present it as a utopian solution, but rather as a fragile and necessary lifeline. The looming threat of its funding being cut adds urgency to the film. It becomes impossible not to see the disconnect between governmental rhetoric about inclusion and the reality that programs like CQC struggle to stay afloat. That systemic critique gives the documentary its teeth—it isn’t just a collection of personal stories, it’s a challenge to institutions that fail those most in need.

Toy’s direction demonstrates a quiet confidence. Long takes allow conversations to breathe, while carefully chosen cuts juxtapose moments of joy with reminders of struggle. At 67 minutes, the runtime feels deliberate. Yet, if there’s a critique to be made, it’s that some viewers may crave more time with each of the individuals. Certain moments—such as the way family rejection lingers in subtle gestures—could have been expanded to deepen the impact. The brevity gives the documentary a sharpness, ensuring no time feels wasted.

Disability justice and queer liberation are often discussed separately, but A PLACE WHERE I BELONG insists they can also coexist. The film challenges the viewer to consider what inclusion truly means: Is it enough to celebrate queer pride if disabled voices are sidelined? Is it enough to advocate for accessibility without recognizing the queer identities of disabled people? Toy doesn’t lecture; instead, she lets her subjects embody these questions through their lives. The effect is more powerful than any talking head expert could deliver.

Another strength lies in the film’s tone. There’s heartbreak here—stories of rejection, loneliness, and systemic indifference—but the documentary never collapses into despair. Instead, it emphasizes resilience. Joy is not portrayed as naive, but rather as a force of resistance. When Alison smiles while speaking about self-acceptance, or when Peter shares his humor, these moments become radical acts of self-expression. The film reminds viewers that resilience isn’t a cliché; it’s a daily necessity when the world refuses to see you.

A PLACE WHERE I BELONG demonstrates remarkable clarity of vision. Toy’s background in short filmmaking shows—her pacing is tight, her framing careful, her trust in her subjects absolute. What’s most exciting is how she uses her platform not to elevate herself as a filmmaker, but to amplify the voices of those who rarely get to shape their own narratives.

Programs like CQC should not exist at the mercy of uncertain funding cycles. By embedding its critique within deeply personal stories, the film avoids abstraction. Viewers leave not only moved but also confronted with a responsibility: if we claim to value inclusion, how do we show up for those most excluded?

A PLACE WHERE I BELONG succeeds as both art and advocacy. It’s tender without being sentimental, political without being didactic, and urgent without being alarmist. It’s both a wake-up call and a vital reminder that belonging is not a luxury—it is a fundamental right. Toy has delivered a debut that feels like a promise: more stories are waiting, and more barriers can be broken.

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