The next wave of Canadian and Indigenous storytellers
Boasting five world premieres along with the Vancouver bows for celebrated films that have already turned heads on the festival circuit, Northern Lights presents a collection of films that prove every bit as distinct as they are accomplished. Often deeply personal and uniformly singular in terms of their filmmaking approaches and sensibilities, these features prove both candid and captivating. Even when employing the tropes of the survival thriller or underdog sports movie, they subvert expectations and surprise at every turn.
Presented by
Relax, Open Your Eyes
Confronted with her husband's declining health, Carrie Radomski dedicates herself to building Canada's first cryonics facility in this intimate documentary about hope, conviction, and humanity's enduring quest to overcome death.
Send the Rain
In Kaayla Whachell and Hayley Gray's tender drama Send the Rain, a young Okinawan-Canadian attempts to evacuate her stubborn grandmother from a wildfire zone, forcing both women to confront family history, responsibility, and the pull of home.
Pocket Mirror
Lonely, isolated, and haunted by the possibility her cat has been replaced with a replica, Maisie’s closest confidant is an AI chatbot. Pocket Mirror is a striking distillation of modern alienation with wry humour and underlying suspense.
First Comes Love: Nakabingwit
An engaging hybrid documentary with a rom-com aesthetic, First Comes Love: Nakabingwit follows Canadian women in the Filipino diaspora as they search for the language to discuss race, privilege, and love with their white romantic partners.
Smudge the Blades
This rousing hockey drama centres on the Treaty 6 Blades, a team of Indigenous youth on a quest for redemption. Blessed with a terrific cast, this is a crowd-pleaser in which victory is about much more than winning the game.
In the Heart of the South
In the Heart of the South, from the director of Slash/Back, brings North of North co-stars Anna Lambe and Zorga Qaunaq together for a propulsive, psychological meta-thriller about an Inuk multimedia writer possessed by her own narrative.
Strong Son
A bodybuilder returns home to care for his ailing father in Ian Bawa's debut feature. A moving exploration of masculinity, filial duty, and the emotional distance between first-generation immigrant parents and their children.
The Bryce Lee Story
A 13-year-old immigrant and aspiring filmmaker falsely claims he's related to Bruce Lee in this Vancouver Island–set film. The Bryce Lee Story is a heartfelt coming-of-age tale about identity, family, and the search for belonging.
A Safe Distance
Following a camping trip gone awry, a woman is rescued by a free-spirited couple living off the grid. As she warms to the pair, she finds herself becoming dangerously entangled in their psychosexual affairs in Gloria Mercer’s red-hot crime drama.
Still Night, Burning House
A world premiere at TIFF Docs, Still Night, Burning House follows Vietnamese-Canadian filmmaker Carol Nguyen and her family to Vietnam to try and understand her uncle’s mysterious death and the grief left unspoken.
Turtle Island Rap
Taking us into the world of Indigenous hip-hop, this soulful doc profiles three up-and-comers in the genre. Exploring its subject’s personal lives as well as their career moves, the film is a work of complex human portraiture — and the music is terrific.
The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony
The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony follows a group of young female gymnasts in Pakistan's Machar Colony, a highly conservative fishing settlement. Habiba Nosheen's deeply empathetic documentary is a celebration of girlhood, resilience, and self-expression.