Angela and Henry, a young couple with a baby on the way, embark on a short trip up to the Cree community of KiiWeeTin to visit Angela's beloved childhood nanny, Mary. The night before they leave, a menacing shadow figure starts harassing Angela. Mary, thrilled to have Elizabeth back, is eager to bless and protect Angela and her unborn child with illegal Cree ceremonies and medicine. The shadow figure continues to plague Angela, forcing Mary to reveal the truth: Angela is Mary's niece, and the shadow figure is the spirit of Angela's twin sister, AaSheNii. As the darker-skinned twin, AaSheNii couldn't escape residential school the way Angela did. It was only after the nuns starved her to death that Mary came to Ottawa to help raise Angela as her nanny. It all comes clear: Mary has summoned Angela to KiiWeeTin to draw her into her Cree community and bring peace to AaSheNii's restless spirit. When Henry hears the news, his wannabe-anthropologist heart is ecstatic. Then, as Angela's fear dissipates, Mary convinces her to stay in KiiWeeTin and have her baby there. Henry's outward enthusiasm masks a growing discomfort. The thought that his perfect, pure, unborn baby is part "Indian" starts to eat at him. He begins to see AaSheNii's shadow spirit; terrified, he decides to save Angela and his child from these "unclean savages". Torn between staying with her new family and placating the increasingly unstable Henry, Angela agrees to go back to Ottawa, until Henry-plagued by AaSheNii-descends into a murderous psychotic break. Angela, now in early labour, hides in the bush, where Mary helps her give birth. When Henry finds them, Angela must trust her sister's spirit, and her new-found traditions, to save herself and protect her daughter.

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, acclaimed director Dea Kulumbegashvili (Beginning) returns with her latest boundary pushing work, April. Skilled obstetrician Nina is accused of malpractice when a baby dies during delivery. The ensuing investigation threatens to expose Nina’s illegal sideline: offering abortions to local women. Nina remains fiercely committed to her patients, but she must walk a razor’s edge in order to survive as a pariah in a world which desperately needs her.

In the immense city of Tokyo, the darkness of the afterlife lures some of its inhabitants who are desperately trying to escape the sadness and isolation of the modern world. Content warning: This film contains scenes of suicide. Bikini Drive-In is a semi-monthly screening series examining horror films through a feminist lens curated and introduced by Cinematheque Film Programmer Olivia Norquay. Generously sponsored by IATSE 856 Manitoba.

After his laptop is stolen, an aspiring rapper goes on a quest across the gentrifying streets of Toronto to recover his music in time for the event that could change his life – a meeting with a Grammy Award-winning producer.

Ryosuke Yoshii (Masaki Suda) works at a small factory and makes money on the side as a reseller operating under the pseudonym “Ratel.” He deals in medical devices, handbags, figurines... Anything he can flip to make a profit. Buy low, sell high – that’s all there is to it. Muraoka (Masataka Kubota), a senior classmate from Yoshii’s technical college days who taught him the ins and outs of reselling, approaches him with a potentially high-earning proposal, but he shuns it and devotes himself to his own dubious deeds. For Yoshii, his growing bank balance is the only thing he can trust. When Yoshii is offered a promotion to a managerial position by his employer at the factory, Takimoto (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa), he steadfastly refuses, calling time on his three-year stint, and resigns on the spot. He rents a lakeside house outside the city for both residential and business purposes, and starts a new life with his girlfriend, Akiko (Kotone Furukawa). With the help of Sano (Daiken Okudaira), a local youth hired as a helper, Yoshii’s reselling schemes appear to be going from strength to strength until unsettling incidents begin occurring consecutively around him. Suspicious vehicles roaming his vicinity, a broken window, stalking shadows, and online malice... A negative spiral of animosity gathers momentum, eventually taking physical form and transforming into a crazed mob of unknown number. Their target is Yoshii, whose oblivious existence is rapidly torn apart…

Eternal trans icon (and Warhol superstar) Holly Woodlawn is a riot in Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers—a long-lost comedy musical that has been lovingly restored by the Academy Film Archive. Holly stars as a small-town Kansas girl who tries to make it big—or at least find a roommate—in New York City. One of the first features with a trans lead, this joyous valentine to individuality features a supporting role from Warhol scenester Tally Brown and cameos from Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. Welcome to Cult-O-Rama, our brand-new monthly screening series exploring beloved sleaze, trash, and cult cinema! A celebration of bad taste curated and introduced by Cinematheque Film Programmer Olivia Norquay. Presented in partnership with Sookram’s Brewing Co. Generously sponsored by IATSE 856 Manitoba.

21-year-old Kana (rising star Yuumi Kawai) works a disaffected job at a beauty salon, where she bristles against the beauty expectations placed on women her age. Her erratic mood and default to self-destruct impacts all of her relationships, as moments of levity erupt into violence and optimism simmers to despair. Bored with her slavish boyfriend, she finds another; the novel excitement of it all soon devolving into a volatile predicament. Uncommitted and trapped in her own life, Kana slowly makes her way towards the inner desert of her emotions. Alternating between claustrophobic blocking, ample zooms and expressive whip-pans brought together by dryly comedic editing and an intense actor’s direction, the sophomore effort from director Yoko Yamanaka (the youngest filmmaker to have a film selected at the Berlin International Film Festival with her 2017 debut Amiko) provides a frank and dynamic examination of womanhood and mental health in contemporary Japan. Inspired by the female protagonists of Yasuzo Masumura as much as the intense Cassavetes/Rowlands collaboration, Yamanaka breaks out with a work of stark confrontational honesty.

After reconnecting with his high school crush Mercedes, Matthew is inspired to break free from his lonely, stagnant life. But when a chance encounter with his ex-girlfriend sends him spiraling back into old habits, he must confront his past in order to find a new path forward.

When reformed gambler Lucky falls victim to a tax scam, he returns to playing poker to make the money back. Meanwhile, his family tries to make ends meet by resorting to their own morally dubious strategies. Lucky Star is a family drama about fatherly love, deceit, and redemption, and a slice of life from the Chinese-prairie diaspora.

Ninth in line for the D'Ascoyne fortune, poor relation Louis (Dennis Price) sets out to bump off the other eight heirs ahead of him, including a general, a parson, and a dowager all played by Alec Guinness. 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.

Noriko Oi, a Japanese-Canadian who has lived in Montreal for over 20 years, is preparing to return to her hometown of Nagasaki. She must return to help her siblings empty the family home, which will soon be sold. Within the walls of this old house lie fragments of the Oi family's history. What remains of memory when family secrets are buried underground and silence darkens collective memories? Noriko decides to reconstruct the past of her mother, Mitsuko, an atomic bomb survivor, in the hopes of taming her family legacy and healing the dark remnants of her cultural heritage's tragic past. Her quest promises to be arduous. Mitsuko, who died over 30 years ago, never shared her story. Throughout her search, Noriko meets various allies who will help her uncover her mother's past and uncover unknown details about this era in her native Japan.

Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance captures pivotal moments that sparked Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ movement, honouring the activists and elders whose resistance led to the rights we have today. Through rarely seen archival footage and first-person accounts, audiences are brought to the frontlines of the struggle. From police raids to early drag shows, community organizing to the House of Commons—the complex history of the country’s diverse communities is brought to life. Key milestones illustrate the power of taking it into the streets and underscore how easily the rights we’ve fought for can be revoked, making the documentary essential viewing for all Canadians. Unflinching, bold, enraging, hopeful; Parade is a vital new chapter in the queer canon.

Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and stand-off with the police. As Sonny’s motives for the robbery are slowly revealed and things become more complicated, the heist turns into a media circus. Join us for our Staff Picks series, where our Winnipeg Film Group staff select and introduce new and old favourites. This month’s selection was chosen by Cinematheque Projectionist Dina Hamid. Generously sponsored by IATSE 856 Manitoba.

From Executive Producer Macklemore, The Encampments offers an urgent, intimate portrait of America’s student movement, ignited at Columbia University as students protested their universities’ ties to the war on Gaza. Their actions sparked a nationwide uprising, with encampments spreading across hundreds of campuses. Featuring detained activist Mahmoud Khalil, alongside professors, whistleblowers, and organizers, the film captures the deeper stakes of a historic moment that continues to reverberate across the globe. Presented in partnership with CKUW 95.9 FM

Displaced Palestinian refugees Chatila and Reda are saving to pay for fake passports to get out of Athens. But when Reda loses their hard-earned cash to his dangerous drug addiction, Chatila hatches an extreme plan, which involves them posing as smugglers and taking hostages in an effort to get him and his best friend out of their hopeless environment before it is too late.