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Fri Jan 26

The image is a monochrome photograph of a child's hands interacting with magnets. The hands are small with youthful features, suggesting the person's young age. The magnets on the fingertips have attracted iron filings, which have clustered around the poles of the magnets, creating a visual display of the magnetic field lines. The activity seems to be an exploratory or educational play with the principles of magnetism.

Iron Butterflies

On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by Russian forces over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. The attack was immediately questioned and obscured by the Russian government and media. As evidence piled up, the reality only became more shocking and incredible.

The photo shows the lower half of an individual walking with the aid of a prosthetic leg. The person is wearing shorts, a single black sock, and black shoes. The flooring is a smooth, reflective surface, and there are handrails alongside, suggesting a rehabilitation facility or a space designed for physical therapy. The focus on the prosthetic leg highlights themes of mobility, recovery, and adaptive technology.

Fitting

Fitting explores the relationship between the director, an amputee, and her prosthetist during the making of a prosthetic leg. It demystifies an unfamiliar space and asks what it means to create an extension to someone else’s body, questioning prejudice widely seen within our society’s consideration of body image.

This image shows a behind-the-scenes view of a video production set. A video camera is in the foreground, focused on a person who is backlit against a large screen displaying colourful, stylized imagery resembling a landscape. The person's silhouette is also visible on the screen, indicating they might be performing or presenting. Monitors attached to the camera display the same image, allowing the crew to see what is being captured.

Janelle Niles: Inconvenient

Janelle Niles is a Black, Mi’kmaw, two-spirited woman from Sipekne’katik First Nation in Nova Scotia and a stand-up comedian. Despite a tumultuous upbringing, Janelle embraces her biracial experience and queer identity, using stand-up to usher in a new era of inclusive, Canadian comedy.

A person stands confidently in a power stance against a vibrant red background. They are dressed in a black leather jacket over a t-shirt with the phrase "Ignorance is Your Enemy" written on it, a short brown skirt, and thigh-high tan boots. Their right hand is on their hip and they wear a black beret with a gold emblem. Beside them is a placard leaning against their leg with "POWER TO THE PEOPLE" in bold letters. The environment suggests an urban setting, possibly a staged or artistic setup given the uniform red colour and lighting.

Orlando, My Political Biography

In Orlando, My Political Biography theorist, critic, and curator Paul B. Preciado takes Virginia Woolf’s classic novel as a starting point for a bold, joyous reflection on the nature of contemporary trans life and a celebration of queerness.

Close-up of the left side of a person's face, focusing on a clear blue eye. The image captures detailed textures such as skin and eyelashes, with the rest of the face softly out of focus. The background is indistinct, providing a neutral setting that highlights the eye.

Clean

One woman’s love letter and final goodbye to heroin, as she attempts to come off the synthetic opiates that have kept her clean for the past six years. This short documentary attempts to reframe some of the stigmas of addiction, and poses the following question: what does it mean to be ‘clean’?

A group of people dressed in casual attire is gathered outdoors holding a banner that reads, "Women for Life on Earth Peace March '81". The banner features symbols of peace and the Earth. The setting is a sunny day with trees and open skies in the background.

Sew to Say

Thalia is an artist, banner-maker, and one of the original marchers and founders of a women-only peace camp against nuclear weapons. In this film, Thalia shares the untold story of the longest feminist protest in British history, and reflects on how collective action changed the lives of the women of Greenham Common and inspired several generations.

A promotional image for a documentary described as a participatory exploration of Ontario's Basic Income Pilot. The image features a wall with several photographs of individuals holding signs, and a person on a stepladder placing or adjusting one of the pictures. The wall also includes laurels indicating the film's selection for various festivals. Additionally, there's a symbol for the International Motion Picture Awards. The setting appears to be an exhibition or a public area.

A Human Picture

Centred on Ontario’s short-lived, but transformational Basic Income Pilot, this documentary sparks curiosity, fosters understanding, and encourages open dialogue about the transformative potential of basic income by combining emotional narratives, real-life impact stories, expert insights and creative visuals.

Following the film, join us for Panel: Impact of Basic Income.

A BMX rider is captured mid-air performing a stunt, with their body horizontal to the ground and legs kicked out to the side, above a yellow bicycle. The bike's reflection is visible on the wet surface below. The shot is set against an urban park backdrop with historical buildings, bare trees, and a clear blue sky. Onlookers are seen in the distance. The low angle of the photograph emphasizes the height of the jump and the skill of the rider.

The Engine Inside

The Engine Inside tells the stories of six everyday people from all over the globe who reveal the unique power of the bicycle to change lives and build a better world. Through their stories, the film uncovers the often-overlooked potential of this 200-year-old machine, exploring its impact on a wide range of global issues such as physical and mental health, socioeconomic inequality and climate change.

A dense crowd of people gathered at night on a city street, viewed from an elevated perspective. The black and white image captures the scene's high contrast, with streetlights illuminating the scene and a canopy tent visible in the distance. Buildings line the street and a spire looms in the background. The crowd's attention seems directed towards a point not visible in the image, possibly a stage or event out of frame.

Poisoned Well

On October 12, 2022 a terrorist attack in Bratislava results in the death of innocent LGBTQ+ people. There is no political response. Through intimate interviews, Poisoned Well explores the emotional toll of fear and self-defense in the face of widespread homophobia.

A black and white photograph of two individuals at a dining table, one of whom is in focus. The person in focus is seated and looking contemplatively to the side, not directly engaging with the other person, who appears to be gesturing with their hand to their head. Above the table hangs a pendant lamp, casting a soft light on the scene. The table has a few items on it, including a clear pitcher, a martini glass, and some drinking glasses, suggesting a social or dining setting. The mood is reflective, with attention drawn to the expressions and body language that suggest a serious or intimate conversation.

Halves & Doubles

Despite the close bond between Adam and her sibling Khadija, there is trauma unspoken between them. In this short documentary, the two hold a conversation where they attempt to find mutual understanding through the winding road of expressing emotions.

The image is a composite with a layered visual effect. In the foreground, there is a semi-transparent overlay of a person's head and upper torso. The person has short hair, wears glasses, and is looking slightly to the right. The background is a dramatic scene with a fiery explosion near the bottom and lightning in the upper right corner against a dark, stormy sky. Overlaid text at the bottom of the image reads: "There are brilliant flashes of red, yellow and azure blue in the reaches of my grey matter." The overall effect is surreal, suggesting a dynamic and possibly tumultuous inner state.

Winding Our Way Home

Winding Our Way Home explores a journey of creating short films with women who live with Brain Injuries. It is about their experiences of living with invisible disabilities, their sense of belonging and identity.

Guests in attendance, Q&A with Melissa Addison-Webster

Three people are working in a garden during what appears to be the early morning, given the soft sunlight. They are all dressed in the same white garments while tending to the plants, which are in neat rows and supported by a wire structure. The lush greenery in the background suggests a fertile, well-maintained agricultural environment.

Seeds of Change

An organic farmer in Maine sets out to transform the prison food system. Filmed over the course of two years, Seeds of Change chronicles the intersecting stories of lifelong farmer Mark McBrine and several incarcerated men as they grow their own food from a five acre prison garden unlike any other.

A sunset over a desert cityscape with the sun low in the sky, casting a warm glow and creating a silhouette of the mountains in the background. There are outlines of buildings and palm trees against the light, and the foreground shows arid terrain with sparse vegetation typical of a desert. In the lower left corner, there's text that reads "HOW TO POWER A CITY," suggesting the image may be related to a documentary or educational content focusing on urban energy topics. The sky above is clear with minimal clouds, allowing the sunlight to dominate the scene.

How To Power A City

How to Power A City provides a front-row seat to communities battling fossil fuel dependence by bringing solar and wind projects to their hometowns. Filmed in six locations, the stories reveal how a diverse cast prevailed against myriad obstacles such as indifferent politicians, technical impasses, public ignorance, cost, and natural and manmade disasters. It is a solutions-focused climate story.

Guest in attendance, Q&A with Melanie La Rosa

A close-up image of a goose with its beak open, revealing the unique structure of its mouth and tongue. The serrated edges inside the beak are visible. The goose's black head with white markings is distinctive, and the texture of its feathers can be seen in detail. The background is blurred.

Modern Goose

Able to navigate by reading the Earth’s magnetic field, at home on land, air and water, geese straddle the territory between ancient instincts and the contemporary world. Combining beauty, humour and profound empathy, director Karsten Wall’s exquisitely observed film essay follows the daily life of these iconic animals to reveal a deeper message of continuity and connection.

A lone white plastic chair sits on a small, narrow balcony with green railings. The balcony is part of a building with a facade of large, beige stone tiles. The viewpoint is from an adjacent building, capturing the scene at a slight angle, which gives a voyeuristic glimpse into this quiet urban space.

A Short Film About a Chair

A lonely chair on an abandoned balcony, a photographer watching it days and nights, a strange thing happens that will change the life of the chair for ever.

A person stands on a balcony with their arms crossed, surrounded by graffiti-covered walls. Behind them, a cityscape with various buildings in different states of construction and maintenance is visible. The contrast between the neglected foreground and the bustling city background highlights a narrative of urban resilience and perhaps social issues. The sunlight casts shadows, adding to the gritty ambiance of the setting.

The Cities I Live In

Newly settled in Belfast, a filmmaker tells his infant twins about his life journey. They see him leaving one violent place for another, longing for places that he will never see again, and hoping they will not carry his curse.

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