Seven Indigenous-Centered Films for National Indigenous History Month
In honour of National Indigenous History Month this June, we’re excited to shine a light on a selection of seven critically acclaimed and award-winning Indigenous-made and Indigenous-focused films.
Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam
Taqwacore chronicles the nascent Muslim punk rock movement in America. It was inspired by the work of Michael Knight, who converted to Islam in rebellion against his white-supremacist father. He went on to pen the novel The Taqwacores (a term combining the Muslim concept of God consciousness with hardcore punk), a manifesto for disillusioned Islamic […]
Singing Back the Buffalo to Premiere at the 2024 Hot Docs Film Festival
Richly visualised and deeply uplifting, SINGING BACK THE BUFFALO from award-winning Cree filmmaker Tasha Hubbard will have its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Hot Docs Film Festival.
NOTES ON DISPLACEMENT – Sofia International Film Festival
Two Scoops
Hand-drawn animations punctuate this touching personal story about the 60’s “scoop” of Aboriginal children into the Canadian child-welfare system.
Cinema Politica co-presents Regent Park Film Festival’s “Faces of Resistance”
Cinema Politica is proud to co-present the “Faces of Resistance” program, alongside Shorts That Are Not Pants, as part of the 2021 Regent Park Film Festival. This collection of films reflects on the journeys of people who, either deliberately or unintentionally, defy the expectations and limitations placed on them by oppressive systems.
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL – Cinema Politica premiere at Sofia International Film Festival
Your Father Was Born 100 Years Old, and So Was the Nakba
A Palestinian grandmother returns to her hometown Haifa through Google Streetview, today, the only way she can see Palestine. In this experimental short film, filmmaker Razan AlSalah channels glitch aesthetics and digital erasure in a subversion of the physical borders and checkpoints imposed by the Israeli occupation.
Dinner with the President
What are the implications for democracy in Pakistan when secular political parties have succumbed to the Islamic agenda? What does it mean when the army appears to be the only force able to contain the opponents of democracy, the armed Islamists? President Musharraf agrees to explore this apparent contradiction over dinner at his official residence, […]
Big Fight in Little Chinatown
BIG FIGHT IN LITTLE CHINATOWN is a story of community resistance and resilience. Set against the backdrop of the COVID pandemic and an unprecedented rise in anti-Asian racism, the documentary takes us into the lives of residents, businesses and community organizers whose neighborhoods are facing active erasure. Coast to Coast the film follows Chinatown communities […]
The Chocolate Farmer
The Chocolate Farmer is the story of Eladio Pop, a cacao farmer in a remote district of southern Belize. A direct descendent of the ancient Maya, Eladio comes face to face with the moral dilemmas around the “fair trade” label within the multi-billion dollar chocolate industry. A tender and moving family tale, director Rohan Fernando’s […]
Call for Submissions
If you recently completed a politically engaged film and you want it seen far and wide submit your work to Cinema Politica today! We are interested in works of any length that contribute to justice and equality movements, activism, knowledge and discourse.
In the Rumbling Belly of Motherland
As the U.S. planned to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in September 2021, Canadian-Afghan filmmaker and journalist Brishkay Ahmed was filming IN THE RUMBLING BELLY OF MOTHERLAND. Revealing the ongoing dangers for women reporters, and the extraordinary risks they take, this brave film provides an in-depth look into Zan TV, Kabul’s female-led news agency. A professional journalist herself, Ahmed documents both the harrowing and inspiring work […]
