Returning Home
Canada’s Residential Schools are the legacy of a world where relationships are severed in the service of power and where people become detached from one another and the complex webs of interdependence. Among the Secwépemc in British Columbia, one such story is that of Phyllis Jack-Webstad, a residential school survivor whose experiences inspired the Orange […]
FINDING SALLY – Toronto Film Screening and Q&A with Director Tamara Dawit
The Shirley Card
Gesturing to the racial bias behind Kodak’s mid-century skin-tone “Shirley cards,” Sonya Mwambu brings deeply textured layers of Black artistry, history and the racial politics of popular culture. Initially optimized for white skin through the 1970s, Shirley cards eventually began to be produced with a wider range of skin tones in the late 20th century. […]
SG̲aawaay Ḵ’uuna – TMU Film Screening and Q&A with Director Helen Haig-Brown
Frontera Invisible
FRONTERA INVISIBLE is the true story of communities trapped in the middle of the world’s longest war, in which big landowners’ rush for palm oil to produce ‘green’ fuel has displaced peasant farmers and indigenous people. It has destroyed natural habitats and concentrated land in the hands of the rich. One part environmental documentary […]
Extractions
A personal film about Canada’s extraction industry and its detrimental effects on the land and Indigenous peoples. This film parallels resource extraction with the booming child apprehension Industry currently operating in Canada which is responsible for putting more Indigenous children into foster care than were in Residential Schools. As the filmmaker reviews her life and […]
Gritos del Silencio (Silent Screams)
GRITOS DEL SILENCIO, investigates the issue of gender violence, also known as “Feminicidio”, in El Salvador. Centered around the story of Lazaro Moran, a man seeking refugee status in Canada after his wife is brutally murdered by their godson and his friend, both gang members. Lazaro, and his daughter America, share their story as the […]
Tracing Blood
When Maria falls asleep while trying to find a connection to her estranged family, a mysterious figure appears to her and leads her on a surreal journey that is full of surprises and unexpected lessons. In this experimental film-made debut, Tracing Blood tells the story of one woman’s search for family and the deep-rooted connectedness […]
More than a Word
MORE THAN A WORD analyzes the Washington football team and their use of the derogatory term R*dskins. Using interviews from both those in favour of changing the name and those against, the film presents a deeper analysis of the many issues surrounding the Washington team name. The documentary also examines the history of Native American […]
Little Palestine, Diary of a Siege
In his directorial debut, LITTLE PALESTINE, DIARY OF A SIEGE, filmmaker Abdallah Al-Khatib offers a glimpse into the daily life of the residents of Yarmouk, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in the world. Home to thousands of Palestinians, Yarmouk was seized in 2015 by ISIS/Daesh in alliance with al-Nousra. Syrian government forces retaliated to the […]
Islands of Forgotten Cinemas
A poetic documentary about the lost film culture in small villages on Croatian islands, during the second half of the last century. Six witnesses of the time are remembering their favorite films and events related to their viewing and screening experiences, which marked their lives.
THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED
Midnight Traveler
When the Taliban puts a bounty on Afghan director Hassan Fazili’s head, he is forced to flee the country with his wife and two young daughters. Capturing the family’s uncertain journey firsthand, Fazili documents their harrowing trek across numerous borders revealing the danger and uncertainty facing refugees seeking asylum juxtaposed with the unbreakable love shared […]
Nations and Migrations
November 28, 2016 – May 31, 2017 Working with the curatorial guideposts of mobility, origins, community and belonging, Cinema Politica has selected a program of independent film and videos that highlight issues of nationhood and migration from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Canada is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse places on […]
Documentary Futurism: The Next 150
How do we document that which has yet to occur? Cinema Politica’s Documentary Futurism: The Next 150 project seeks to usher in a new kind of filmmaking that brings actuality into conversation with speculation, and realism with the imaginary. Taking inspiration from Afrofuturism, Indigenous futurism, speculative fiction and non-fiction, these 15 films inaugurate a new […]
I Am Rohingya: A Genocide in Four Acts
I AM ROHINGYA: A GENOCIDE IN FOUR ACTS chronicles the journey of fourteen refugee youth who take to the stage to re-enact their families’ harrowing experiences in Burma and beyond. This story chronicles their journey before, during, and immediately after the escalation of military violence in their native homeland, Rakhine state; their unforgiving escape by […]
