Theatrical starts January 14, 2021
2020 - 83 MINUTES - LITHUANIA/ LATVIA/ FRANCE
A FILM BY GIEDRE ZICHYTE
It’s Thanksgiving Day, 1970, the Atlantic Ocean. A US patrol boat meets a Soviet fishing vessel. A Soviet sailor jumps across the icy water onto the American boat in a frantic bid for freedom. To his horror, and to the outcry of the world media, the Americans return him to the Soviets. Through rare archival footage and a dramatic, first-person re-enactment by the would-be defector, 86-year-old Simas Kudirka, we relive one of the most unpredictable Cold War muddles.
ETHIOPIA - 2021 - 120 MINUTES - B&W - 1.78:1
A FILM BY JESSICA BESHIR
* TV Only
In her hypnotic documentary feature, Ethiopian-Mexican filmmaker Jessica Beshir explores the coexistence of everyday life and its mythical undercurrents. Though a deeply personal project—Beshir was forced to leave her hometown of Harar with her family as a teenager due to growing political strife—the film she returned to make about the city, its rural Oromo community of farmers, and the harvesting of the country’s most sought-after export (the euphoria-inducing khat plant) is neither a straightforward work of nostalgia nor an issue-oriented doc about a particular drug culture. Rather, she has constructed something dreamlike: a film that uses light, texture, and sound to illuminate the spiritual lives of people whose experiences often become fodder for ripped-from-the-headlines tales of migration.
Theatrical starts November 26, 2021
2021 - 179 MINUTES - JAPAN - 2K - 1.85:1 - 5.1 - ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: JAPANESE, KOREAN, ENGLISH, CANTONESE, MANDARIN, TAGALOG, INDONESIAN, GERMAN, MALAYSIAN
A FILM BY RYUSUKE HAMAGUCHI
*Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car wins Best Picture, Best International Film and Best Screenplay, Toronto Film Critics Association 2021
Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a stage actor and director is happily married to Oto (Reika Kirishima), a screenwriter. However, Oto suddenly dies after leaving behind a secret. Two years later, Kafuku, still unable to fully cope with the loss of his wife, receives an offer to direct a play at a theater festival and drives to Hiroshima with his car. There, he meets Misaki (Toko Miura), a reticent woman assigned to become his chauffeur. As they spend time together, Kafuku confronts the mystery of his wife that quietly haunts him.
Theatrical starts October 29, 2021
2020 - FRANCE - 106 MINUTES - COLOUR / IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES/ ORIGINAL TITLE : UN TRIOMPHE
A FILM BY EMMANUEL COURCOL
FEATURING: KAD MERAD, MARINA HANDS, LAURENT STOCKER
Etienne, an often out of work but endearing actor, runs a theatre workshop in a prison, where he brings together an unlikely troupe of prisoners to stage Samuel Beckett’s famous play Waiting for Godot. When he is allowed to take the colourful band of convicts on a tour outside of prison, Etienne finally has the chance to thrive. Each date is a new success and a unique relationship grows between this ad hoc group of actors and their director. But soon comes the final performance in Paris. Will their last night together be the biggest hit of them all?
Theatrical starts October 22, 2021
2020 - 115 MINUTES - JAPAN - IN JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLESA FILM BY KIYOSHI KUROSAWAFEATURING YÛ AOI, MASAHIRO HIGASHIDE, ISSEY TAKAHASHI
At the beginning of WWII, a Japanese businessman uncovers a disturbing government secret while traveling to Manchuria.
Theatrical starts September 30, 2021
88 MINUTES/ USA/ 2012
A FILM BY TOM SURGAL
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS RON MANN, PETER AFTERMAN
Fire Music tells the history of the Free Jazz Revolution. Capturing the sights and sounds of one of the most innovative movements in music history. The intensity of the music and the outlandish personalities of the artists who played it make for a compelling story.
2021 - 112 MINUTES - FRANCE / EGYPT / NETHERLANDS / GREECE / IN ARABIC
A FILM BY OMAR EL ZOHAIRY
When a magic trick goes awry at a children’s birthday party, the authoritative father of the family turns into a chicken. An avalanche of coincidental absurdities befalls everyone; the mother, whose mundane life was dedicated to her husband and children, is now urged to come to the fore and take care of her family. While moving heaven and earth to bring her husband back and secure their survival, she goes through a total transformation.
Theatrical starts September 3, 2021
FRANCE - 2021 - 100 MINUTES - IN JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
A FILM BY JULIEN FARAUT
How does a Japanese women’s volleyball team from the late 1950s become an international sensation, feminist role models, the subject of a wildly popular comic book and a still-influential anime? This stranger-than-fiction story is dynamically told by Julien Faraut (JOHN McENROE: IN THE REALM OF PERFECTION), with an ironic twist on the original demeaning moniker, Oriental Witches. A group of Osaka textile workers are transformed into a fiercely competitive volleyball team by their astonishingly ruthless coach whose unconventional techniques emphasize speed and aggression. A record-setting winning streak and a dramatic 1964 Tokyo Olympics triumph follow. Wonderful archival footage of the women in training and on the court, animated versions of their championship games, and moving interviews with the women today are set to a pulsating electronic score.
Theatrical starts August 28, 2021
88 MINUTES - 2019 - MEXICO/ USA - IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
A FILM BY RODRIGO REYES
In acclaimed director Rodrigo Reyes' (Lupe Under The Sun, Purgatorio) bold new feature, a 16th century conquistador finds himself stranded in modern day Mexico encountering real- life ordinary citizens whose lives have been upended in ways that the Conquistador could never have envisioned 499 years prior, when Mexico was colonized by men like him. Using an innovative and immersive mixture of fiction and non-fiction, and finding a way to weave to magical realist and verité elements, Reyes has crafted an audacious, staggering work examining the lingering effects of colonialism as well as providing a way for a country and it citizens to heal from centuries old wounds.
Theatrical starts July 23, 2021
USA - 2020
A FILM BY JEREMY ELKIN
FEATURING ROSARIO DAWSON, JEFFERSON PANG AND CLARK KENT
The streets of N.Y. might be temporarily silent, but in downtown Manhattan in the early 90’s, they were the site of a dynamic collision between two vibrant subcultures: skateboarding and hip hop. Jeremy Elkin’s yet-to-premiere documentary, All The Streets Are Silent, narrated by Eli Morgan Gesner, brings to life the magic of this time period and the convergence that created an urban style and visual language that would have an outsized and lasting cultural effect.
Theatrical Starts July 2, 2021
2020 - 100 MINUTES - 1.85:1 - 5.1 - FINLAND, FINNISH - IN SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
A FILM BY ZAIDA BERGROTH
FEATURING: ALMA PÖYSTI, KRISTA KOSONEN, SHANTI RONEY
Helsinki, 1945. The end of the war brings a new sense of artistic and social freedom for painter Tove Jansson. Modern art, dizzying parties and an open relationship with a married politician: Her unconventional life puts her at odds with her sculptor father’s strict ideals. Tove’s desire for liberty is put to the test when she meets theatre director Vivica Bandler. Her love for Vivica is electric and all-consuming but Tove begins to realise that the love she truly yearns has to be reciprocated.
Theatrical starts June 4, 2021
2020 - 90 MINUTES - COLOUR - GERMANY (IN GERMAN WITH ENGLISH/ FRENCH SUBTITLES)
A FILM BY CHRISTIAN PETZOLD
FEATURING PAULA BEER, FRANZ ROGOWSKI, MARYAM ZAREE, JACOB MATSCHENZ, ANNE RATTE-POLLE, RAFAEL STACHOWIAK, JULIA FRANZ RICHTER
Undine works as a historian lecturing on Berlin’s urban development. But when the man she loves leaves her, the ancient myth catches up with her. Undine has to kill the man who betrays her and return to the water.
Theatrical starts May 27, 2021
92 MINUTES - USA - 2021
A FILM BY ROB GORDON BRALVER
FEATURING: MOBY, DAVID LYNCH, DAVID BOWIE
Moby Doc is a surrealist biographical documentary narrated by Moby as he reflects on his turbulent personal life and iconic music from underground punk bands to chart-topping solo artist, and from struggling addict to vegan activist.
CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION - CANADA
A FILM BY BRIAN D. JOHNSON
The Colour of Ink explores the magic of ink-making through the adventures of Jason S. Logan, a contemporary alchemist who harvests natural pigments from unlikely landscapes.
2019 - CANADA - 79 MINUTES - COLOUR
A FILM BY ALBERT NERENBERG AND NIK SHEEHAN
From antiquity’s first fart joke to the ubiquitous whoopee cushion, the act of flatus both amuses and dismays... and now may contribute to civilization’s demise. Who Farted? is a frightening, illuminating, and funny journey through the absurd reality of 21st Century human survival.
1996 - CANADA
A FILM BY NIK SHEEHAN
Inspired by Plato’s Symposium, this post‑modern documentary asks the perennial question: What is love? From a queer perspective, director Nik Sheehan invites leading Canadian artists, writers, and thinkers—including Daniel MacIvor, Brad Fraser, Tomson Highway, Patricia Rozema, and Scott Symons—to offer their own cinematic interpretations and reflections on love.
109 MINUTES - CANADA - 1997
A FILM BY NIK SHEEHAN
A candid and poetic portrait of controversial Canadian writer Scott Symons, God’s Fool follows the eccentric author in self-imposed exile in Morocco as he reflects on art, sexuality, and the cost of living authentically. Featuring commentary from cultural figures like Patrick Watson and June Callwood, this richly layered documentary explores the life of a literary rebel who defied convention and paid the price.
49 MINUTES - CANADA - 1997
A FILM BY NIK SHEEHAN
Paul Young teaches his final year at the Ontario College of Art.After 33 years of inspiring generations of young artists, beloved Ontario College of Art instructor Paul Young steps into the unknown: retirement. The Drawing Master follows Young through his final year of teaching, capturing the passion, discipline, and quiet humour that made him a legendary figure in the classroom. As he leaves behind the structure of academic life, Young confronts the challenge of becoming the artist he has always encouraged others to be. Intimate and contemplative, the film is a portrait of a teacher at a turning point — trading chalkboards for blank canvases, and lessons for self-discovery.
Theatrical starts April 30, 2021
100 MINUTES - FRANCE - WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
A FILM BY GRÉGORY MAGNE
Anne Walberg is a master in perfumes. She creates fragrances and sells her incredible gift to many companies. She is a diva, selfish and temperamental. Guillaume is her new driver and the only one who dares facing her. This is probably why she does not fire him.
Theatrical Starts April 30, 2021
76 MINUTES/ 4K/ COLOUR/ SWEDEN/ GERMANY, NORWAY/ 2019 (WITH ENGLISH AND FRENCH SUBTITLES)
A FILM BY ROY ANDERSSON
WITH JAN-EJE FERLING, MARTIN SERNER, BENGT BERGIUS
A reflection on human life in all its beauty and cruelty, its splendour and banality.
We wander, dreamlike, gently guided by our Scheherazade-esque narrator. Inconsequential moments take on the same significance as historical events: a couple floats over a war-torn Cologne; on the way to a birthday party, a father stops to tie his daughter’s shoelaces in the pouring rain; teenage girls dance outside a cafe; a defeated army marches to a prisoner of war camp.
Simultaneously an ode and a lament, ABOUT ENDLESSNESS presents a kaleidoscope of all that is eternally human, an infinite story of the vulnerability of existence.
