In the summer of 1982, the Israeli army invaded Beirut. During this time, it raided the Palestinian Research Center and looted its entire archive. The archive contained historical documents of Palestine, including a collection of still and moving images. Taking this as a premise, A Fidai Film aims to create a counter-narrative to this loss, presenting a form of cinematic sabotage that seeks to reclaim and restore the looted memories of Palestinian history. It’s a poignant exploration of identity, memory, and resistance, told through a unique blend of documentary and experimental filmmaking techniques. Featuring a prerecorded intro by director Kamal Aljafari. Plays with UNDR Dir. Kamal Aljafari 2024, Palestine, 15 min Helicopter footage examines the desert, surveying ancient natural formations and human interventions. Dynamite changes the face of the land. Farmers work their fields. Children play hide-and-seek. Employing archival footage, UNDR constructs an eerie narrative of calculated incursion. We cannot help but recall that Palestine remains a land subjected to aerial surveillance that seeks to appropriate the landscape.

The light, the lives, and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated by writer/director Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for her revelatory fiction feature debut. Centering on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital—head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha)—plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), Kapadia’s film alights on moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment. Prabha, her husband from an arranged marriage living in faraway Germany, is courted by a doctor at her hospital; Anu carries on a romance with a Muslim man, which she must keep a secret from her strict Hindu family; Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction from her apartment. Kapadia captures the bustle of the metropolis and the open-air tranquility of a seaside village with equal radiance, articulated by her superb actresses and by the camera with a lyrical naturalism that occasionally drifts into dreamlike incandescence. All We Imagine as Light is a soulful study of the transformative power of friendship and sisterhood, in all its complexities and richness.

In his fourth and best feature, Totally F***ed Up, provocative and talented independent filmmaker Gregg Araki delves into the troubled world of gay teenagers. Araki here addresses the disproportionately high suicide rate among gay teens. Principal among six friends, two of them a solid good-humored lesbian couple (Susan Behshid, Jenee Gill), is the lonely Andy (James Duval), an appealing youth with a James Dean look and vulnerability, who doesn’t believe love exists – until he’s swept off his feet by the handsome, slightly older but vastly more experienced lan (Alan Boyce). Meanwhile, Andy’s pals Steven (Gilbert Luna), an aspiring filmmaker, and his lover Deric (Lance May) soon experience a crisis in their relationship when Steven strays, trying to blame it on the fact that the new guy in his life just happened to have a bootleg Nine Inch Nails tape to tempt him with. Rounding out the group is easygoing skater dude Tommy (Roko Belic). Araki effectively punctuates his story with quotes in the manner of one of his acknowledged idols, Jean- Luc Godard, and probing interviews with Steven, who’s always poking a camcorder in his friends’ faces. Astral Projection is a monthly screening series exploring astrology through film curated by our Box Office Manager, Nic Kaneski. Join us in celebrating the beginning of each zodiac season with a screening embodying the qualities of the sign, directed by a filmmaker of the sign. For stargazers and skeptics alike and anyone interested in the intersection of astrology, pop culture, and identity. Generously sponsored by IATSE 856 Manitoba.

Also known as Ghost Cat of the Cursed Pond, Bakeneko: A Vengeful Spirit is one of the many mid-century Japanese explorations of “Kaibyo” or “ghost cat” mythology, and one of the best. Director Yoshihiro Ishikawa was no stranger to kaibyo country, having co-written Nobuo Nakagawa’s equally chilling Black Cat Mansion (1958) and directed Ghost Cat of Otama Pond (1960). Released the same year as Kaneto Shindo’s more well-known Kuroneko, Bakeneko: A Vengeful Spirit mines that indelible trope of the cat ghost story: a violent and greedy Lord kills a young woman when she refuses to become his concubine, only for her cat to drink her blood and become her shapeshifting avenger. “Beginning in a quietly haunting vein reminiscent of Ugetsu,” wrote Spectacle Theatre in their promotional text for a 2016 screening of the film, “Bakeneko descends into a nightmarish parade of splattered blood, decapitations and ghosts gnawing on severed limbs.” Not to be missed by anyone with a beloved feline familiar! (Kier-La Janisse) New 4K restoration by Severin Films.

The long-awaited return to fiction filmmaking from Academy Award-winner Andrea Arnold (American Honey, Fish Tank), BIRD is a tender, striking and extraordinarily surprising coming-of-age fable about marginalised life in the fringes of contemporary society. 12-year-old Bailey (astounding newcomer Nykiya Adams) lives with her devoted but chaotic single dad Bug (Barry Keoghan, Saltburn) and wayward brother Hunter in a squat in Gravesend, north Kent. Approaching puberty and seeking attention and adventure, Bailey’s fractured home life is transformed when she encounters Bird (Franz Rogowski, Passages), a mysterious stranger on a journey of his own. A wondrous portrait of the transition from childhood to adolescence that remains grounded in her typically empathetic social realism, Arnold’s latest strides to the wildly poetic rhythm of her own drum.

At Ibadan, Nigeria’s oldest university, a student association hosts a documentary screening and discussion group. In a country where dissent is frequently punished, this Thursday Film Series becomes a space for conversation and impassioned debate. Organizers program films by the likes of John Akomfrah (Ghana/UK), Jean-Marie Teno (Mauritania), and Med Hondo (Cameroon). With the films as a starting point, the students hold compelling discussions on issues including corruption, gender roles, LGBTQ+ rights, colonialism, housing, and corruption. In between screenings, we get a taste of their daily lives at university, as they play soccer, eat instant noodles and joke around with each other. But when nationwide protests against police brutality break out, students find themselves on the front lines of resistance — and the issues that occupied them take on a new urgency. Meanwhile, university life is far from carefree, with frequent blackouts, overcrowded conditions, and consequences for even the most benign actions to better their lives. “Coconut head generation” is a term used by older generations to denigrate young Nigerians as brainless. As this film makes abundantly clear, they are anything but.

From acclaimed filmmaker Mati Diop (Atlantics), DAHOMEY is a poetic and immersive work of art that delves into real perspectives on far-reaching issues surrounding appropriation, self-determination and restitution. Set in November 2021, the documentary charts 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey that are due to leave Paris and return to their country of origin: the present-day Republic of Benin. Using multiple perspectives Diop questions how these artifacts should be received in a country that has reinvented itself in their absence. Winner of the coveted Golden Bear prize at the 2024 Berlinale, DAHOMEY is an affecting though altogether singular conversation piece that is as spellbinding as it is essential.

A wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet. From the boundless imagination of the award-winning Gints Zilbalodis (Away) comes a thrilling animated spectacle as well as a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of friendship and community. Steeped in the soaring possibilities of visual storytelling, Flow is a feast for the senses and a treasure for the heart.

Join us for the world premiere of 10 new short documentaries created by local filmmakers. Gimme 10 in 30! is a new documentary incubator challenge wherein 10 participants chosen via random lottery draw were tasked with completing a new documentary film in 30 days. There were no restrictions or parameters to the films created, except they couldn’t be longer than 7 minutes long. The resulting films are presented here for your enjoyment and demonstrate the creative spirit and originality coming out of our local documentary scene. Each film is eligible for a $500 cash prize for the Audience Choice Award furnished by DOC Manitoba, which will be voted on live by the audience after the screening. Presented in partnership with DOC Manitoba.

To celebrate Gimme Some Truth, we’ve invited Brooklyn-based queer film historian Elizabeth Purchell to select a 16mm film from her own collection. Elizabeth has appeared on nearly forty home video releases from labels like Altered Innocence, Severin Films, and Vinegar Syndrome. She programs and hosts the monthly Queer Cinema: Lost and Found screening series at Austin Film Society and the weekly Weird Wednesday series at Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn. She also co-programs and hosts the monthly queer film series and podcast Cruising the Movies at IFC Center. She was also on the programming team for the 2024 iteration of Frameline. Her work has been shown at over two dozen international film festivals including BFI Flare, Frameline, and Outfest, as well as at venues like Anthology Film Archives, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Hammer Museum. Her programming, filmmaking, and research work has also been covered in several publications including The New York Times, Into, and The New Yorker. Admission is by donation and the event will take place in the Dave Barber Cinematheque. Generously sponsored by IATSE 856 Manitoba.

The life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who survived the Nazi reign as a trans woman and helped start the German gay liberation movement. Documentary with some dramatized scenes. Two actors play the young and middle aged Charlotte and she plays herself in the later years. Plays with Gendertroublemakers Dir. Mirha-Soleil Ross and Xanthra MacKay 1993, Canada, 20 min What happens when two Transdykes get sick of non-transsexual's uninformed representation of their sexualities and their lives? They grab their 8 millimeter home video camera, their last 200 bucks, and come up with an uncompromising in-your-face flick about their shitty relationships with gay men and their unabashed attraction to other transsexual women. Curated by Elizabeth Purchell, a Brooklyn-based queer film historian, programmer, filmmaker, and the creator of Ask Any Buddy. Elizabeth has appeared on nearly forty home video releases from labels like Altered Innocence, Severin Films, and Vinegar Syndrome. She programs and hosts the monthly Queer Cinema: Lost and Found screening series at Austin Film Society and the weekly Weird Wednesday series at Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn. She also co-programs and hosts the monthly queer film series and podcast Cruising the Movies at IFC Center. She was also on the programming team for the 2024 iteration of Frameline. Her work has been shown at over two dozen international film festivals including BFI Flare, Frameline, and Outfest, as well as at venues like Anthology Film Archives, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Hammer Museum. Her programming, filmmaking, and research work has also been covered in several publications including The New York Times, Into, and The New Yorker.

Invisible People is a multi-layered depiction of the unique Japanese contemporary dance Butoh that flows between revolt, eroticism, trance, prayer, ancestral experience, and physical anonymity. The film gradually drifts away from its core issue and becomes a general portrayal of life itself, with all its unforeseen strokes of fate and strange micro-connections.

A poetic portrait of contemporary wildlife conservation, Just Above the Surface of the Earth reflects on empathy, agency, and the role of hope in the midst of a sixth mass extinction. This debut nonfiction feature examines scientists and citizen scientists who conduct surveys of frogs, which serve as an indicator species; study sea stars threatened by disease; track bats whose populations have been decimated by white-nose syndrome; and collect data on insects declining at unprecedented rates. Set primarily at night, the film weaves together observational and lyrical sequences, texts written by authors including W.S. Merwin and Adam Nicolson, and an otherworldly soundscape. Just Above the Surface of the Earth is a visceral, sensory meditation on what it means to live in a broken world. Plays with Who Loves The Sun Dir. Arshia Shakiba 2024, Syria, Canada, 20 min In war-torn northern Syria, Who Loves the Sun delves into the world of makeshift oil refineries and the stark realities of life within this post-apocalyptic landscape. Mahmood is a prominent figure in these operations, navigating harsh working conditions and complex local dynamics.

They are women. They are mothers. They are prisoners serving long sentences in a correctional facility in Chile. Their children grow up far from them, but remain in their hearts. In prison, they find affection in other partners who share their situation. Mutual support among these women becomes a form of resistance and empowerment. Malqueridas builds their stories through images captured by them with cell phones inside the prison, recovering the collective memory of a forgotten community.

In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past. Presented on 35mm thanks to VVS Films and A24!

A brain surgeon marries a femme fatale, causing his life to turn upside down. Things go more awry when he falls in love with a talking brain. Join us for McDonald at The Movies, where comedian, star and co-founder of Kids in the Hall, comic Kevin McDonald will present a film handpicked from the archives of comic history. Generously sponsored by IATSE 856 Manitoba.

In China, a new industry has emerged devoted to helping couples stay married in the face of infidelity. Wang Zhenxi is part of this growing profession, a “mistress dispeller” who is hired to maintain the bonds of marriage—and break up affairs— by any means necessary. Offering strikingly intimate access to private dramas usually hidden behind closed doors, Mistress Dispeller follows a real, unfolding case of infidelity as Teacher Wang attempts to bring a couple back from the edge of crisis. Their story shifts our sympathies between husband, wife and mistress to explore the ways emotion, pragmatism and cultural norms collide to shape romantic relationships in contemporary China. Plays with 8 Times Dir. Adam Mbowe 2024, Canada, 14 min 8 Times delves into the life of Muhammed, a 39-year-old man who finds himself at a crossroads after experiencing the dissolution of his sixth marriage. As he embarks on his seventh and eighth attempts at matrimony, Muhammed begins to reflect deeply on the path that led him to this point, questioning the choices and circumstances that have shaped his complex romantic journey.

For half a decade, Basel Adra, a Palestinian activist, films his community of Masafer Yatta being destroyed by Israel's occupation, as he builds an unlikely alliance with an Israeli journalist who wants to join his fight. Basel Adra, a young Palestinian activist from Masafer Yatta, has been fighting his community's mass expulsion by the Israeli occupation since childhood. Basel documents the gradual erasure of Masafer Yatta, as soldiers destroy the homes of families - the largest single act of forced transfer ever carried out in the occupied West Bank. He crosses paths with Yuval, an Israeli journalist who joins his struggle, and for over half a decade they fight against the expulsion while growing closer. Their complex bond is haunted by the extreme inequality between them: Basel, living under a brutal military occupation, and Yuval, unrestricted and free. This film, by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists, was co-created during the darkest, most terrifying times in the region, as an act of creative resistance to Apartheid and a search for a path towards equality and justice. Directors’ statement: We’re making this film together, a Palestinian-Israeli group of activists and filmmakers, because we want to stop the ongoing expulsion of the community of Masafer Yatta, and resist the reality of Apartheid we were born into - from opposite, unequal sides. Reality around us is becoming scarier, more violent, more oppressive, every day - and we are very weak in front of it. We can only shout out something radically different, this film - which at its core, is a proposal for an alternate way Israelis and Palestinians can live in this land - not as oppressor and oppressed, but in full equality.

This panel discussion Reconnecting with Reality: Exploring Physical Media, Archives, Restoration, and Distribution, moderated by Professor Andrew Burke, will delve into the importance of preserving and rediscovering films of all genres through physical media, archival work, restoration, and innovative distribution strategies. The panel will feature esteemed panelists Stephen Broomer, Kier-La Janisse, and Elizabeth Purchell. Presented in partnership with On Screen Manitoba.

Ricocheting between comedy, apocalyptic horror, and swooning soap opera, Rumours follows the seven leaders of the world’s wealthiest democracies at the annual G7 summit, where they attempt to draft a provisional statement regarding a global crisis. With unexpected, uproarious performances from a brilliant ensemble cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Alicia Vikander, and Charles Dance, these so-called leaders become spectacles of incompetence, contending with increasingly surreal obstacles in the misty woods as night falls and they realize they are suddenly alone. A genre-hopping satire of political ineptitude, the latest film from incomparable directors Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson is a journey into the absurd heart of power and institutional failure in a slowly burning world.

Using analogue, animation and digital filmmaking techniques, this collection of films explores memory, grief and personal transformation. avant seriana (before seriana), Dir. Samy Benammar, 2024, Canada, 20 min Mom, you brought me back to our homeland. All I know about these harsh landscapes I learned from books written by the hand that burned these mountains. I try to undo the colonial myths engraved into my memory, but the hills escape my gaze. Do you think I, too, have become the white djinn spoken of by the legends surrounding our martyrs? Salut Bébé (Hey Little One), Dir. Sarah L’Hérault, 2024, Canada, 6 min Combining drawing and collage, this animated film captures the deep attachment bond between Edna, a hospitalized baby, and friends of her parents who regularly visit to comfort her, exploring themes of connection, life, grief, and vulnerability with poetic grace. Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying, Dir. Natalie Baird and Toby Gillies, 2024, Canada, 7 min In Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying, Edith Almadi’s imagination transcends grief, revealing a vibrant world of art where love endures. Better Late Than Never, Dir. Ande Brown, 2024, Canada, 1 min From his first dose of testosterone, we witness the evolution of Ande’s physical challenges, changes and triumphs from a late transitioner’s perspective, revealing that age is irrelevant to becoming who we were always meant to be. In My Head, Dir. Irina Tempea, 2024, Canada, 7 min In My Head is an experimental first-person short film. It deals with the multiple sclerosis that has affected the filmmaker for over eight years: "Through my magnetic resonance images, my cervical slices and jerky sounds, everyday life unfolds. Life goes on. I'm fine, I'm not so fine." Today, this sprawling disease is the subject of a film that aims to get closer to the people who suffer from it. It aims to portray them through a lens that is close to their reality. This film-diary is part mourning, part sweetness. No Moon Tonight, Dir. Laura Ohio, 2023, USA, 16 min No Moon Tonight is an essay film that journeys through a personal archive of erotic thresholds and institutional borders. Ohio examines the possibility of personal transformation within both the dark, unsettling spaces of intimacy and the systems of hyper-visibility constructed by histories of enclosure and white supremacy. The Reluctant Icon, Dir. Kier-La Janisse, 2024, Canada, 20 min A poignant ode to the star of the Black Emanuelle series and the real-life love story at its core, written, directed and narrated by Kier-La Janisse based on an interview with longtime Italian journalist Manlio Gomarasca. Editor Stephen Broomer's layered visuals are punctuated by rotoscope animation by Ashley Thorpe (Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched) and handmade stop-motion sequences by Leslie Supnet, all rendered into a moody paean to one of exploitation cinema’s most beloved and bewitching stars.

The films in this collection explore how stories are documented and passed down, from beadwork and tattoo rituals, to phone numbers written on a bathroom wall. The Faith Healer, Dir. Karen Remoto, 2024, Canada, 2 min Two Filipino women casually discuss their peripheral experiences of superstition and sorcery. One claims dubious belief in one man's judgement to have nails pulled out of his body while the other woman chimes in with her friend's similar experience with paperclips from a different practitioner. Will these stories continue to be passed down generation to generation as a source of suspicion or hope? Michif Land-Based Knowledge, Dir. Robyn Adams, 2024, Canada, 4 min Weaving shots of historical and contemporary Métis beadwork with intricate flashes of prairie landscape, and native plants, this film explores relationship to the land through a place-based tactile knowledge. Featuring beadwork from Lor Brand and Jennine Krauchi this knowledge is shared throughout the film. Bringing the Pieces Together, Dir. Dylan Baillie, 2024, Canada, 17 min This documentary explores Renee Beaubien's passion for creating quilts, most of which are then given away as unique, handmade gifts. While facing the challenges of getting older, Renee continues to engage with the limitless possibilities of working with fabric. The Landmarks of Memory, Dir. Christina Hajjar, 2023, Canada, 7 min A tattoo ritual and hookah session memorializes a pre-war flower shop. After seeing its storefront in archival footage of the Lebanese Civil War, a first-generation daughter seeks information and connection to place. Scenes of 1976 Beirut are paired with today’s modern landscape, while roses are etched and coconut coals burn in a snowy diasporic setting. Tailor Made, Dir. Quan Luong, 2024, Canada, 12 min Tailor Made is a short documentary about the passion and perseverance of Tam Nguyen, a refugee from Vietnam who came to Canada in the ‘80s as part of the Vietnamese “boat people” and used his masterful tailoring skills to craft a new life for himself and many others. stationary (untitled), Dir. Nicole Shimonek, 2022, Canada, 1 min “stationery (untitled)” is a performative experiment for "study untitled study" a gallery and proposal, run by Connie Chapel using Collin Zipp’s sculpture "untitled study". Taking The Piss, Dir. Tavis Putnam and Christina Dovolis, 2024, Canada, 4 min Despite their pervading image as a bastion of utter grotesqueness, public bathrooms are a necessary community space. In theory, at least, they are a place for everyone. This film celebrates—in equal measure—the shared horror, refuge (and dare we say ecstasy?) of the public bathroom. At the End of the Hallway, Another Door, Dir. Sylvia Matas, 2023, Canada, 4 min This video was made with black and white photographs I took using unsecured streaming surveillance cameras. The subtitles start off as straightforward image description, but as the video progresses, the relationship between the images and texts unravels and becomes more mysterious. Still Presence, Dir. Tracy Peters, 2023, Canada, 6 min Still Presence tells the story about my relentless search for my great-grandmother’s hidden burial site. As I unearth the traumatic events of her life, my own experiences of loss, isolation and the will to keep going resurface through the meditative rhythm of digging. The distance that separates my great-grandmother from me seems to evaporate, bringing her into the present to begin again.

Before Stranger Things combined science fiction, Spielberg-ian thrills, and 1980s nostalgia to much acclaim, Richard Kelly set the high-water mark with Donnie Darko. Initially beset with distribution problems, it would slowly find its audience and emerge as arguably the first cult classic of the new millennium. Described by its director as "The Catcher in The Rye as told by Philip K. Dick," Donnie Darko stars Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, and Noah Wyle. Presented on 35mm thanks to the American Genre Film Archive. Join us for our Staff Picks series, where our Winnipeg Film Group staff will select and introduce new and old favourites. This month’s selection was chosen by Collections Coordinator Skye Callow. Generously sponsored by IATSE 856 Manitoba.

Indonesian superstar Suzzanna is Alisa, an ex-prostitute who marries the handsome Hendarto (Barry Prima). Hoping that she can put her old life far behind her, Alisa is soon confronted by her ex-madam Mami (Ruth Pelupessi) and sexually assaulted by several of Mami’s henchmen. After an emotional trial, Alisa finds out she’s pregnant and kills herself while attempting to perform an impromptu abortion. Her anger at the injustice of her life manifests itself into Sundelbolong, a vengeful ghost hellbent on vengeance. A popular – and much feared – legend in Indonesia, Sundelbolong (which roughly translates into “Prostitute with a Hole”) is the name of a spirit known for the large hole in her back. More than a ghost story, the horror of her situation also speaks to the political state of Indonesia in the early 1980s. As Sophie Siddique writes, “[During] the height of former President Suharto's power, Sundelbolong occupies a space in which the gender ideologies of the New Order Indonesian government and the gender fantasies of the world of the vampire ghost are confronted with each other, with the Sundelbolong threatening to rupture the symbolic order with its grotesque fantasies of the feminine.” Playing the dual role of Alisa and her sister, Shinta, Suzzanna’s legendary hypnotic stare elevated the actress to superstardom in Indonesia. (Amanda Reyes) Courtesy of Severin Films. Content warning: This film contains scenes of sexual assault, suicide and violence.

A documentary about Suzzanna, “the Queen of Indonesian horror” - an actress who starred in many of the country’s most iconic and beloved horror pictures.

The Lake Winnipeg Project is a four-part documentary series that calls attention to stories of ingenuity and resilience among the Anishinaabe, Cree and Métis communities of Matheson Island, Poplar River First Nation, Fisher River Cree Nation and Camp Morningstar, at a time when many external forces are imposing change. The series highlights their responses to various challenges and factors such as a shifting climate, industrial encroachment, government policy, and the COVID-19 pandemic, among others. Anishinaabe/Cree director Kevin Settee takes an “own-voices” approach to storytelling that gives Lake Winnipeg communities and peoples the opportunity to tell their own stories, in their own voices, and to speak to the challenges and successes experienced within their communities. Join us on November 8 at 7pm for a Q&A with director Kevin Settee. Presented in partnership with the Winnipeg Indigenous Filmmakers Collective.

Three Promises is the story of a mother and her camera, of a son and his suppressed memories, and of an entire country. At the start of the 2000s, while the Israeli army is retaliating against the second intifada in the West Bank, Suha films her daily family life, punctuated by frequent trips underground and overwhelmed by the anguish of her two young children. At every moment of intense danger, she promises God that she will leave if they survive. In 2017, her son, the director of this film, discovers this archive and reconnects with this suppressed past, wondering with his mother what drove her to record a daily life of suffering, a stolen childhood, and why she delayed fleeing, paralyzed by the hope for change and burdened by the impossible choice between physical safety and emotional upheaval. While on the surface there emerges the heartrending portrait of everyday life in times of war, it is the staggering beauty of a mother’s love that is revealed between the lines. Blending the voice of the present with impressive family footage, Yousef Srouji completes the story begun by Suha, thus averting the act of forgetting, both personal and collective. Plays with The Diary of a Sky Dir. Lawrence Abu Hamdan 2024, Lebanon, 45 min Arabic with English subtitles The Diary of a Sky unfolds an atmospheric symphony of violence over Beirut, revealing the haunting fusion of incessant Israeli military flights and the hum of generators during blackouts. This 45-minute video essay plunges viewers into a chilling chronicle of daily life transformed by the weaponization of the air, where the terror of repeated incursions becomes a disconcertingly banal backdrop.

The Female Prisoner Scorpion cycle charts the vengeance of Nami Matsushima (Meiko Kaji, Lady Snowblood), who becomes an avatar of survival and an unlikely symbol of female resistance in a male-dominated world. Spiritually akin to Ms. 45, Coffy, and The Bride Wore Black, Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701 (the first film in the cycle) introduces Nami — a gullible, unjustly imprisoned woman who must find a way to escape and exact revenge upon the man who betrayed her. Featuring stunning pop-art compositions and ultra-violent outbursts, it’s easy to see why this movie was a direct inspiration for Uma Thurman’s character of “The Bride” in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Content warning: This film includes challenging and/or triggering subject matter, including depictions of graphic violence and sexual violence. Trash Cult Tuesdays is sponsored by Sookram’s Brewing Co. Join us every Tuesday for cheap cult classic films paired with Sookram’s Cult Classic Pilsner on special!

The Female Prisoner Scorpion cycle charts the vengeance of Nami Matsushima (Meiko Kaji, Lady Snowblood), who becomes an avatar of survival and an unlikely symbol of female resistance in a male-dominated world. Spiritually akin to Ms. 45, Coffy, and The Bride Wore Black, Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (the second film in the series) finds Nami continuing her quest for dark vengeance and becomes an unlikely symbol of female resistance in a male-dominated world. Content warning: This film includes challenging and/or triggering subject matter, including depictions of graphic violence and sexual violence. Trash Cult Tuesdays is sponsored by Sookram’s Brewing Co. Join us every Tuesday for cheap cult classic films paired with Sookram’s Cult Classic Pilsner on special!

This presentation of Canadian underground films emphasizes works with a direct relation to ’truth’—encompassing reportage, appropriation, the travelogue, and intimate, diaristic films. These films, spanning 1968 to 2011, reflect a broad range of engagements with the documentary tradition by filmmakers whose work engages formal experimentation, material self-consciousness, and personal exploration. Sugar Beach, Dir. Mark Loeser, 2001, Canada, 4 min Fugitive L(i)ght, Dir. Izabella Pruska-Oldenhof, 2005, Canada, 9 min Going, Dir. Keith Lock, 1975, Canada, 5 min Essai à la mille, Dir. Jean-Claude Labrecque, 1970, Canada, 7 min Green Dream, Dir. Josephine Massarella, 1994, Canada, 23 min Remembrance and Goodbye, Dir. Robert Cowan, 1968, Canada 9 min Curated by Stephen Broomer, a filmmaker and film preservationist. He is the author of three books about Canadian experimental film, and is the founder of Black Zero, a home video label focused on the celebration of Canadian underground cinema. He teaches courses in Canadian cinema at University of Toronto.

Lance received a diagnosis of schizophrenia at the age of 17, coinciding with the onset of his visual hallucinations. Now, four decades later, we follow his day-to-day life dealing with these “visions”. Accompanied by animated sequences, Lance narrates three key episodes that forever changed his life. This is Lance’s personal story of resilience told with poignant wisdom.

To commemorate the 20 years that have passed since DC-based post-hardcore band Fugazi's last live appearance (November 4, 2002, at The Forum in London), Joe Gross, Joseph Pattisall and Jeff Krulik presented a screening of crowd-sourced, fan-recorded live shows and rare archival footage to pay tribute to Fugazi's prowess as a live act — for old fans to remember and for a new generation to discover what they missed. This film celebrates the fans and their cameras, as much as the band itself — a collision/collusion of the ephemeral moment on stage, and the moments captured on camera.