What's On
Monica's News
Set in a conservative Catholic village in Nova Scotia in the early 1970s, Pamela Gallant's assured debut feature is the coming of age story of a precocious nine-year-old who stumbles across a clue to a murder on her paper route.
Modern Whore
In director Nicole Bazuin's cheeky, stylized documentary, Modern Whore-memoirist Andrea Werhun (Paying for It) recounts her experiences as an escort and stripper in Toronto, debunking misconceptions about the world’s oldest profession.
Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story
Kate Kroll's doc is a touching tribute to wrestling legend Luna Vachon, who redefined women's wrestling but struggled with her own demons outside the ring.
I Am the Blues + Robert Connely Farr Live
This VIFF Live event brings together Robert Connely Farr, performing an hour-long set of authentic Mississippi blues, followed by Daniel Cross's documentary I Am the Blues (106 min.) about the old time Delta Blues.
Kensington Market: Heart of the City
Stuart Clarfield's DIY doc is both an oral history of the character-full working class Toronto neighbourhood and a sobering story about the economic forces that spell its likely demise.
Starwalker
Corey Payette's musical Starwalker blends drag spectacle, Indigenous storytelling, and soaring emotion in a film that celebrates chosen family and the liberating magic of performance.
Intimate Moments: Short Films by Brendan Prost
Vignettes of loneliness, desire and fleeting connection, immerse yourself in the short, bittersweet films of Brendan Prost — who will also be filming proceedings for potential inclusion in his self-reflexive doc, The Performance of a Lifetime.
Winter Kept Us Warm
Often described as the first LGBTQ+ film ever to screen at the Cannes Film Festival, David Secter's lovingly observed portrait of a burgeoning queer romance came at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in the country
Last Wedding: Jubilee Screening with Bruce Sweeney
Named the Best Canadian film of 2001 by the Vancouver and Toronto Film Critics, Bruce Sweeney's third feature took a wry look at contemporary relationships through the experiences of three thirtysomething couples whose relationships are about to implode.
4 or 5 Things I Want You to Know About Me (An Essay)
Carl Bessai's playful Godardian riff on actors and acting gives us a portfolio of dramatic portraits and monologues focused on half a dozen female performers at different points in their journey. It's a grab-bag of a film, sparky and specific.
Heartbeats
With Heartbeats, Xavier Dolan captures the beautiful absurdity of unrequited love: a friendship unravels when both sides fall in love with the same enigmatic stranger.
Palestine '36
An epic historical drama from director Annemarie Jacir that follows an ensemble of rural villagers who face off against British colonial forces during the 1936 Palestinian revolt.