The Fruit Machine

The Fruit Machine

From the 1940s through the 1990s, the Canadian government purged homosexuals from civil and military service. Survivors unite to seek justice. The Fruit Machine (you are now leaving the Government of Canada website) is an investigative documentary about Canada’s policy of surveillance and interrogation of 2SLGBQI+ people by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) during the Cold War. At the time, homosexuality was considered a “character weakness,” and LGBT federal employees and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members were thought to be susceptible to blackmail by Soviet spies.

Through interviews with academics, historians, journalists, and victims, the film explores how the purge became a form of persecution, with victims pressured to name others. Despite many having exemplary service records and no concrete proof of their homosexuality, they were dismissed. The documentary also discusses the “fruit machine,” a device purportedly designed to identify homosexuals, and the increased purge in the military, especially among women, following the decriminalization of homosexuality in the early 1970s. Many suffered psychological effects, and some took their own lives. It was one of the largest bullying campaigns in Canada’s history.

In Conversation with Director Sarah Fodey

An accomplished producer and writer, Sarah Fodey’s 21 year career in motion storytelling has spanned feature films, scripted series, factual entertainment, documentary production, and branded corporate communications. Sarah has executive produced, produced, and line produced for networks including the CBC, Global, APTN, Comedy, Bravo!, TVO, TFO, City, and TMN. She is currently co-producing the 7th season of Qanurli, and producing a feature film funded by Telefilm Canada and Unis. Sarah has also written and produced hundreds of hours of awardwinning content in branded corporate storytelling. Sarah led a team of writers, directors, researchers, designers, and creative post personnel on a large-scale project for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Canada, delivering dozens of original films and two sound landscapes for the Museum’s inaugural launch. Sarah earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Queen’s University and an honours diploma in the Television Broadcasting program at Algonquin College. Sarah is a member of the Writers Guild of Canada.

Screening With:

The Hole in Reservoir Hill

Canadian Shorts Showcase

A timely revisiting of a Cold War-era bunker in North Bay, Ontario, and the individuals who know its secrets.

13 mins
Canada, 2018
Dir. Shasha Nakhai
Language: English