In 2017, a mosque was destroyed by fire in the South Texas city of Victoria. It became a national news story. There were obvious questions to be raised by those events—questions of racism, immigration, Islamophobia, and what it means to be an American. Lu Li’s A Town Called Victoria is a three episode series on…
Just because something exists in the digital world, it doesn’t mean it isn’t real. In the new documentary, Another Body, we are introduced to Taylor, a young college student who discovers that someone has used deepfake technology to use her face in pornographic videos. Traumatized by the actions of a mysterious foe, Taylor sets out to…
Anna Hints’s Smoke Sauna Sisterhood provides a glimpse into the lives of a group of Estonian women. Their lives are shared with humor, sorrow, and compassion. The documentary won the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award and is Estonia’s entry for Best International Feature consideration. The smoke sauna is included in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of…
Roger Ross Williams opens (and will close) his adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi’s history of racist thought, Stamped from the Beginning, with the question: What is wrong with black people? The query is addressed to Dr. Kendi, and a group of black women academics and activists from whom we will hear throughout the film. It…
Directed by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, The Mission documents the life of John Chau, a young American missionary who tragically lost his life. Back in 2018, Chau had committed his life to reaching the indigineous population on a remote North Sentinel Island. But Chau’s evangelistic passion also became his own undoing as he ignored the warnings…
We should have seen it coming. Iron Butterflies looks at Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 on July 17, 2014, which was shot down on its way to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam over the airspace of Eastern Ukraine. All 298 lost their lives this day but, while the shock was immediate, the movement to bring justice to…
No matter how one has experienced trauma, it always leaves a mark on the soul. But, Here. Is. Better. wants to remind us that hope still lies on the horizon. In Here. Is. Better., the viewer has unprecedented access into the counselling sessions of military veterans who are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For each of…
If the pandemic has taught has anything, it’s the value of having other people in our lives. Directed by Brittany Farhat, July Talk: Love Lives Here follows the iconic Toronto band as they prepare for one of their more unique projects: a drive-in concert during the height of the global pandemic. As they attempt to navigate the…
Music is something I’ve always considered spiritual, because, as someone who loves music, the reaction I have to it really is inexplicable. Like why does it make me feel good? (I am also Christian, so the conclusion that music is spiritual was not a difficult one for me to reach). Echo of Everything explores the importance of…
In The Eternal Memory, Maite Alberdi puts memory front and centre in more ways than one. She reflects on journalist Augusto Góngora’s work documenting the dictatorship in Chile from the 1970s to the 90s, bringing that historical memory back to a new generation; and she follows Augusto and his wife, actress Paulina Urrutia’s, relationship as they…
