Sara Mardini, once a competitive swimmer in Syria, became Europe’s most celebrated refugee after saving 18 people’s lives. After working as a rescue volunteer in the Mediterranean, she is accused of people smuggling and faces a 25-year prison sentence. We follow her fight for justice and journey of self-discovery against the backdrop of Europe’s refugee ‘crisis’.
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.
“I will not abandon you, like the systems abandoned me.”
Knott’s powerful voice explores her relationship with her identity and culture as she blooms into who she is becoming. This film demonstrates the growing strength of Knott’s Anishnaabe identity.
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.
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.
At Aunty Gladys’ funeral, Archer Pechawis heard a tap on the window — it was a bear named Jesus. This film is an allegory for religious interference, with an aching yet humorous look at estrangement, and mourning for the loss of someone still living.
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
Heart Like A Pow Wow explores the depths of grief from an Anishinaabe perspective of love and family. Viewers are called to witness Spirit as they shift to physical form while embodying the love that precedes grief and inevitably foreshadows it.
From the disappearing wildlife in his hometown of Owen Sound to the news stories about the melting of Greenland, psychotherapist Anderson Todd tells us how fragmenting ecosystems around the world have affected his psyche and his relationships. Do the realities of collapse necessarily spell paralyzing despair, or is there something positive we can take from this?
Guest in attendance, Q&A with Chen Sing Yap
The inspirational story of The Dalkurd Football Club, a scrappy group of Kurdish refugees in Sweden who defy all odds to climb the ranks of Sweden’s soccer leagues in hopes of becoming champions, and bringing glory and attention to the plight of their stateless people.
Register for the virtual Q&A | Wednesday, Jan 31 at 5:30PM EST
“Now when I close my eyes, I see endless possibilities.”
Taylor recounts his deep reconnection to his Grandma Bernice during a very challenging time in his life. Through his family, Taylor regains a sense of self and community. Taylor’s story demonstrates the importance of connection and ancestry.
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.
This is a playful, poignant & very memorable live action animation, where humans take from forests whatever they desire – leaving nothing. Shitty Little is critical of a prevalent attitude in western culture that says there is no inherent value in nature, that it must be taken and shaped into a product for sale to have worth.
From director Phillipe Falardeau, one of Canada’s most successful and acclaimed contemporary filmmakers, Lac-Mégantic investigates one of the worst oil train tragedies in history, a foreseeable catastrophe ignited by corporate and political negligence. The next Lac-Mégantic is not a matter of if, but when.
“During my employment, I was able to learn my culture on a daily basis while coordinating programs with community workers and provincial agencies.”
Taylor offers a glimpse into her extensive work with the Anishinabek Nation (formerly Union of Ontario Indians) in implementing the Ontario Indigenous Healing and Wellness Strategy. During her involvement, Taylor witnessed the government’s acknowledgement of Traditional Healers and First Nations communities’ reclaiming of their Anishinaabe Knowledge.
Each week, two friends born 67 years apart share their life stories in the living room of a seniors’ residence. When Raquel finds a way to bring Madeleine with her on a road trip to the sea, the result is a journey that plays with reality and fiction and brings a reflection on life, death and the certainty that there is always something to learn along the way.