Producer: Jane Farrow Writer/Director: Roy Mitchell An intimate, funny, and completely engaging family photo album of a thriving little queer community buried in the heart of the rugged and isolated Ontario steeltown of Sault Ste. Marie. Bob Goddere is at the centre of this historic demi-monde. Director/writer Roy Mitchell accesses this intriguing story through his personal relationship with Bob and the community as someone who grew up in the Sault, and like so many young queers, came out at Bob’s parties in the 1970s and 80s. Conventional wisdom has it that good fences make good neighbours. But when you meet the much-loved retired gay steelworker Bob Goddere, you will question that notion. Mother Goddere, as he’s known to most, hosted over two decades worth of queer dance parties in the basement of his small town house with his lover Jean-Guy. He was the central figure of Sault Ste Marie’s gay underground – its organizer, therapist and archivist. His basement was a pride laboratory and just about anyone queer in Northern Ontario knew about these parties as word traveled fast between the other “mothers” of nearby towns such as Sudbury and Sault, Michigan. The socials often lasted for three days including a dinner party on Friday, featuring Bob’s famous meatloaf, a big bash on Saturday night with drinking and dancing, and a cozy social brunch on Sunday. “I Know a Place” is an important and refreshing contribution to queer history and geography.
