#WhileBlack follows citizen journalists like Diamond Reynolds and Darnella Frazier, whose cell phone videos from Minneapolis changed the conversation around policing and accountability overnight. Millions watched their footage, but almost no one saw what came next. Once the videos went viral, Diamond, Darnella, and others went into hiding to escape online trolls, media attention, and police surveillance, while Silicon Valley benefited from the explosion in user engagement from their videos. The film pulls back the curtain on what it actually costs to document the truth in real time, and what happens when everyday people become the record-keepers of history. As Minneapolis once again finds itself at the center of national debate over footage, surveillance, and state power, #WhileBlack feels especially urgent, asking who really benefits from citizen journalism today, and who is left to carry the burden when a moment meant to inform the public becomes profit-generating content for the internet.

A world-renowned but reclusive novelist, convinced he is about to die, summons his estranged sons to his home. But instead of seeking forgiveness for his countless mistakes, he instead reveals a truly unbelievable secret that brings his beloved ex-wife back into his orbit. With decades of resentment, jealousy, and rage on the verge of spilling over, this splintered family is forced to face an inevitable reckoning, for better or for worse. This star-studded, darkly comedic drama is led by spellbinding performances from Academy Award nominees Bill Nighy (Living, About Time) and Imelda Staunton (The Crown, Vera Drake), BAFTA nominee George MacKay (1917, Rose of Nevada), BAFTA winner Dominic West (The Wire, Downton Abbey), Johnny Flynn (Operation Mincemeat, Ripley), and rising star Noah Jupe (Hamnet, A Quiet Place).

Following a plane crash into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast, shockwaves of disaster spread throughout the small and tight knit community of Halifax. 111 Echoes from Halifax explores the stories of grief and resilience of affected community members, connecting through stories of loss and devastation. Grounded in real events, the film approaches its subject with care, focusing on the human connections and emotional landscapes that emerge in the aftermath of loss.

Laurent Perrier has made a definitive decision: he is choosing medical aid in dying, not out of despair, but by deep conviction. Before his planned departure, he calls his daughter to his country home to settle his affairs and break the news. The structured goodbye quickly turns to chaos when an unexpected stranger knocks on the door, a will creates massive drama, and a stubborn neighbor refuses to cooperate—ultimately shattering the family's peace and exposing deep secrets. By trying to control everything until the very end, Laurent sets in motion exactly what he was hoping to avoid—and forces everyone to confront a question most people would rather ignore: who does our life belong to? A warm, insightful human comedy about the weight of secrets, awkward expressions of love, and the right to choose.

Get ready to unlock the ultimate movie-watching experience with the exclusive WIFF Festival Pass. With this pass in hand, you'll have the keys to a cinematic wonderland, featuring over 300 screenings that span the full spectrum of storytelling. Price: $130 for Students (must show valid student ID) $360 for Adults Pass Details: Available for Purchase: Secure your pass online starting Sept. 4 or visit the Box Office from Oct. 22 to 28, daily from 12 PM to 6 PM (for advanced sales). The festival itself runs from Oct. 29 to Nov. 8. More Access to WIFF: Your pass will entitle you to one general screening ticket per time block. This pass is not a ticket. An individual physical ticket must be obtained at the WIFF box office to enter a screening. The festival pass is valid from October 29 - November 8, 2026. Redeemable for Individual Film Tickets: Starting Oct. 28 (one day before the festival begins), you can redeem your pass for individual film tickets. Collect tickets for two days of screenings at a time for your convenience. Pass Policies and Procedures: Pass Redemption: If you purchase your pass online, remember to visit the Box Office at 109 University Ave. W (The Gallery at the Capitol), just two doors down from the Capitol Theatre, to redeem your ticket for a festival pass and an exclusive lanyard. Online passes can be picked up at the Box Office starting Oct. 22. Comprehensive Coverage: Your pass will entitle you to one general screening ticket per time block. Premium screening tickets are not included [Opening Night Film ($40), Closing Night Film ($40), Centerpiece Film ($35), Special Event Screenings ($40)] Student Discounts: If you're a student, don't forget to bring your valid student ID when purchasing and picking up your pass. We've got special deals just for you! ID and Pass Verification: For every pass ticket pickup, you'll need to show a valid ID and your festival pass. It's all part of our commitment to ensuring a seamless and enjoyable experience for you. Passholder Station: During the festival, there is a designated station just for pass holders. It's your hub for hassle-free ticket collection! FYI: Reserved Tickets: We set aside an allocation of tickets exclusively for passholders. You're guaranteed a ticket up to 2 hours before the general screening, so you won't miss a moment of movie magic. After that, tickets will be subject to availability. Massive Savings: If you're planning on enjoying more than 18 films, the Festival Pass is your ticket to tremendous savings. With over 300 screenings to choose from, your cinematic adventure awaits!

Experience the thrill of the festival with our WIFF General Screening 10-Pack. Dive into the world of film and embark on a cinematic experience that will leave you wanting more. What's Included: Ten General Screening Vouchers: Get ready for an exciting lineup of films that cater to every taste. Our extensive film slate offers a diverse range of world-class cinema. Enjoy all 10 tickets yourself, or share the tickets with friends. Ultimate Flexibility: With the 10-Pack, you have the freedom to choose any ten general screenings that pique your interest, while saving you money. With the 10-pack you save a total of $20. How It Works: 1. Purchase Your 10-Pack: Buy your 10-Pack online (available now) or at our box office (starting October 22) and get a ticket order. 2. Pick Up Your Ticket Vouchers: Patrons must come to the box office and use their ticket order to collect ten general ticket vouchers. [109 University Ave W – (The Gallery at the Capitol Theatre) from Thursday, October 29 – Sunday, November 8] 3. Pick Your Films: Browse our extensive film catalog and over 300 screenings, and select the ten screenings you wish to attend. The world of film is at your fingertips. Mix and Match any film, or bring a friend – ticket vouchers can be used by anyone. 4. Redeem Your Vouchers: At the box office or online (using the code and pin on the back of the voucher), exchange your vouchers for tickets to your chosen screenings. 5. Experience the Excitement: Join us for an unforgettable movie-watching experience. 6. Do not worry, we hold seats back for bundle holders to allow time to redeem your vouchers before the screening date. Ticket Bundle Online orders can be redeemed at the Box Office for your vouchers during the following times: October 22 - 28: 12pm-6pm daily. October 29 - November 8: 8:00am until 11pm daily.

Calling all filmmakers! The Industry Program Pass is your coveted ticket to WIFF’s 2-day conference with inspiring discussions, in-depth panels, and networking opportunities with industry professionals and nominated filmmakers. Dates: Friday, October 30th & Saturday, October 31st What's Included in the Industry Program Pass: 2 days of workshops, masterclasses, panel discussions, free film screening, catered networking receptions, and more. The full program itinerary will be announced soon. Price: $299 Early Bird Discount before October 22. $375 Standard Pricing How It Works: 1. Purchase Your Industry Pass: Buy your Industry Pass online or at our box office and get a ticket order. 2. Get Your Industry Pass Lanyard: Delegates must come to the box office and use that ticket order to collect they Industry Pass & Lanyard. [109 University Ave W – (The Gallery at the Capitol Theatre) from Thursday, October 22 – Sunday, November 8] 3. Collect Your Film Tickets: When you pick up your lanyard, you will receive your tickets to the dedicated film screening(s). 4. Experience the Excitement: Use your Industry Pass Lanyard to gain access to our exclusive Industry Program events.

FREE COMMUNITY SCREENING Our audience has great taste! Join us for a free community screening of what our audience deems the best film at WIFF 2026. Vote all festival long, and the winner will be announced on the morning of November 8. Past winners of the LiUNA People's Choice Award include Mr. Goalie, Anora, Irena's Vow, Women Talking, and more.

Named in honour of WIFF founder, Mark Boscariol, the 48-Hour FlickFest consists of a slate of short films shot and edited by local filmmakers and film lovers over one weekend. FlickFest is an intense, hyper-local movie-making challenge. Supplied with a line of dialogue, a character trait and a prop, filmmakers are given 48-hours to submit their films. This is a juried competition and the screening includes award presentations. Presented by Motor City Credit Union FRIDAY NOV. 6, 8:45P.M., OLG Pentastar Theatre - Capitol

Get ready for an unforgettable cinematic experience with our WIFF Premium 3-Pack! Dive into the most buzzworthy and anticipated films of the year and save big while you're at it. What's Included: Three Premium Screening Vouchers: Immerse yourself in the magic of cinema with three premium film screenings. These are no ordinary movies; they're captivating stories, breathtaking visuals, and unforgettable experiences. Enjoy all 3 tickets yourself, or share the bundle with friends. Premium screenings include: Opening Night Film, Centrepiece Film, Closing Night Film and other Special Event screenings. Savings: Experience world-class cinema without breaking the bank. With the 3-Pack, you save a total of $21. How It Works: 1. Purchase Your 3-Pack: Buy your 3-Pack online (available now) or at our box office (starting October 22) and get a ticket order. 2. Pick Up Your Ticket Vouchers: Patrons must come to the box office and use that ticket order to collect three premium vouchers. 3. Redeem your vouchers in person at our box office and collect your tickets to any of our premium screenings. 4. Do not worry, we hold seats back for bundle holders to allow time to redeem your vouchers before the screening date. Ticket Bundle Online orders can be redeemed at the Box Office for your vouchers during the following times: October 22 - 28: 12pm-6pm daily. October 29 - November 8: 8:00am until 11pm daily.

WIFF Local Shorts #1: Best Local Short Nominees WIFF is committed to promoting and fostering local films and filmmakers and welcomes local short and feature film submissions for programming consideration to the festival. This year’s films were selected by judges on the basis of quality and originality, and on their ability to contribute significantly to the overall success of WIFF 2026. WIFF is awarding a $3,000 cash prize to one film from the official selection of WIFF Local Shorts. Nominees and winners are selected by the independent jury comprised of industry professionals. Films included in this slate:WIFF Local Shorts #1 - Best Local Short Nominees (50 mins) FRUITBALL Directed by Jett Shields (5 mins) LUNA Directed by Julia MacDonald (14 mins) MINGOYA: LAND OF ORNITHOLOGISTS (8 mins) Directed by Juan Esteban Quintero & Nelsy Niño SUBJKT (9 mins) Directed by Julian Ferro A YOUNG DOCTOR'S FRIEND & GUIDE (14 mins) Directed by Nathan Bergs

WIFF Local Shorts #2 WIFF is committed to promoting and fostering local films and filmmakers and welcomes local short and feature film submissions for programming consideration to the festival. This year’s films were selected by judges on the basis of quality and originality, and on their ability to contribute significantly to the overall success of WIFF 2026. Films included in this slate: WIFF Local Shorts #2 (115 mins) THE ANN ARBOR BLUES FESTIVAL IN EXILE (30 mins) Directed by Michael Evans PARTY PEOPLE (9 mins) Directed by S.W. Jafar BETTER THAN A MUSTACHE (17 mins) Directed by S.W. Jafar A SHADOW IN THE CORNER OF THE ROOM (14 mins) Directed by Mercies May LIGHTS IN DARK ROOMS (45 mins) Directed by Michael Kehren

WIFF Local Shorts #3 WIFF is committed to promoting and fostering local films and filmmakers and welcomes local short and feature film submissions for programming consideration to the festival. This year’s films were selected by judges on the basis of quality and originality, and on their ability to contribute significantly to the overall success of WIFF 2026. Films included in this slate: WIFF Local Shorts #3 (105 mins) BY THE OAK TREES (11 mins) Directed by Larissa Jaden Cioci MARGARET (7 mins) Directed by Elizabeth Adams PLANTS GET LONELY (3 mins) Directed by Jett Shields 3 MINUTES (3 mins) Directed by John Strahl IN WOMEN WE TRUST (11 mins) Directed by Sonetta Duncan ASAHI BROTHERS (8 mins) Directed by Scott Yamamura FOR WHEN IT'S QUIET (8 mins) Directed by Rylan Cain VICARIOUS (13 mins) Directed by Grace McLinden SEMPITERNO (11 mins) Directed by Fiorella Limay Guisse MIDDLING (16 mins) Directed by Naomi Eidinger 12 HOUR LABOUR (14 mins) Directed by Natalie Rainhard

WIFF Local Shorts #4 WIFF is committed to promoting and fostering local films and filmmakers and welcomes local short and feature film submissions for programming consideration to the festival. This year’s films were selected by judges on the basis of quality and originality, and on their ability to contribute significantly to the overall success of WIFF 2026. Films included in this slate: WIFF Local Shorts #4 (119 mins) MONOLOGUE (12 mins) Directed by Zhe Huang THE HUM (8 mins) Directed by Christopher White THICKET (14 mins) Directed by Demetre Kalmantis THE VICTIMS IN THE MIRROR (17 mins) Directed by Christopher Chiasson CODE:\BLACK OUT (13 mins) Directed by Matthew Lupino THE ZONE (16 mins) Directed by Shane Nelson IMPERFECT IMPOSTERS (18 mins) Directed by Griffen Serre EVIL IN THE HOUSE (10 mins) Directed by Chris Fudge FRIENDS LIKE US (11 mins) Directed by Ray Savaya

WIFF Local Shorts #5 WIFF is committed to promoting and fostering local films and filmmakers and welcomes local short and feature film submissions for programming consideration to the festival. This year’s films were selected by judges on the basis of quality and originality, and on their ability to contribute significantly to the overall success of WIFF 2026. Films included in this slate: WIFF Local Shorts #5 (108 mins) GENIUS VS. GENIUS (12 mins) Directed by Ela Angermann and Kat Incitti SHELF IT (12 mins) Directed by Antoine James Taouil THE APPLICANT (10 mins) Directed by Liam Quinlan MARTA VS. THE BUGS (24 mins) Directed by Michael Poirier UNDER THE BANDAGE (13 mins) Directed by Seungjun Lee .44 CALIBER LOVE LETTER (7 mins) Directed by Evan Arraut LIMINAL (16 mins) Directed by Zhanyan Liu DESPERATELY SEEKING COMMITMENT (14 mins) Directed by Finise Avery

WIFF Local Shorts #6 WIFF is committed to promoting and fostering local films and filmmakers and welcomes local short and feature film submissions for programming consideration to the festival. This year’s films were selected by judges on the basis of quality and originality, and on their ability to contribute significantly to the overall success of WIFF 2026. Films included in this slate: WIFF Local Shorts #6 (106 mins) A CENTURY ON STAGE: THE HISTORY OF THE CAPITOL THEATRE (8 mins) Directed by Kensington Tuer BY-ELECTION (12 mins) Directed by Ryan Douglas Daniel NOT IN SERVICE (18 mins) Directed by Luyin Li THE DINNER PARTY (6 mins) Directed by Sean Thrawn O'Neil THE FOREVER HOME (6 mins) Directed by Sean Thrawn O'Neil HAMOND THE SQUIRE (11 mins) Directed by Jagger Riddell TWO BIRDS (13 mins) Directed by Nara Cho DIVINE BURDEN (18 mins) Directed by Alex Djordjevic ELORA (14 mins) Directed by Nathan St. Louis

FREE COMMUNITY SCREENING The winner of the 2026 WIFF Prize in Canadian film will be announced on Sunday, November 1st WIFF is committed to celebrating excellence in Canadian film by honouring Canadian films and filmmakers with an annual cash prize of $25,000. An independent jury comprised of film industry experts selects the winner. Past winners of the prize include MONTREAL, MY BEAUTIFUL directed by Xiaodan He; WHO DO I BELONG TO directed by Myriam Joobeur; HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON, directed by Ariane Louis-Seine; RICEBOY SLEEPS, directed by Anthony Shim; and KUESSIPAN, directed by Myriam Verreault.

Can AI enable us to live forever? Filmmaker Ann Shin sets out on a journey, exploring the latest AI and biotech with scientists and visionaries who foresee a ‘post-biological’ world where humans and AI merge. Will AI be the best, or the last thing we ever do? Featuring Nick Bostrom, author of Superintelligence; Japanese roboticist, Hiroshi Ishiguro; Douglas Rushkoff, author of Team Human; Ben Goertzel, founder of Singularity.net; and Deepak Chopra, who is creating his own A.I. mind twin.

Trapped in museum archives, Ancestors bend time and space to find their way home. History, spirituality, and the law collide as tribal repatriation specialists fight to return and rebury Indigenous human remains, offering a revealing look at the still-pervasive worldviews that justified collecting them in the first place. Audiences will leave the film with a deeper understanding of the ways Indigenous worldviews can and should be respected by this nation’s institutions. They will carry this knowledge with them, and perhaps wonder what's in the archive the next time they visit their favorite museum.

Following a court ruling, four-year-old Adam is hospitalised for malnutrition. Lucy, the head nurse, allows Adam’s mother to stay past the court-mandated visiting hours. Complications ensue when the mother, once again, refuses to leave her son’s bedside. For the sake of the child, Lucy will do anything to help this mother in distress.

An intimate portrait of Canada’s most enigmatic songwriter. Al Tuck My Blues Away explores the beauty and cost of artistic devotion, and asks timeless questions: what does it mean to succeed as an artist, and what is art without honesty? The film is an intimate portrait of a cult songwriter hailed by Leslie Feist as a living legend and by Joel Plaskett, who has called him his greatest musical influence. Despite the many accolades, Tuck has spent decades on the margins, shrouded in mystery, crafting deeply human songs from his small home on Prince Edward Island, where he now cares for his ailing mother. Featuring interviews from some of Canada’s most respected songwriters, including Amelia Curran, Catherine MacLellan, Matt Mays, Jason Collett, and Joel Plaskett, the film reveals a uniquely Canadian voice and the breadth of his influence.

Director of a care facility for the elderly, Marie-Lou strives to introduce an innovative care philosophy based on listening and respecting residents’ dignity, despite resistance from part of her staff. Her encounter with Mari, a Japanese theater director battling cancer, will profoundly reshape her path. By forming a deep, supportive friendship, the two women join forces in a shared struggle to make the impossible possible.

Blending documentary and visual art, this radical film dives deep into Western society, steeped in crisis and captive to the excesses of capitalism but still not lacking in collective solutions. Subverting the Latin proverb ceteris paribus sic stantibus, All Things Are No Longer Equal plumbs the extremes of a world wracked by social, environmental, and geopolitical uncertainties that undermine the very foundations of contemporary thought. Existing at the intersection of video art, documentary, and music video, this film by Quebec director and painter Martin Bureau is a dizzying riot of image and sound, depicting a Western society at once ravaged by late-stage capitalism and unable to free itself from it. Allegorical visuals set against Érick d’Orion’s musique concrète score make for a furious, visceral viewing experience, offset by the measured critical commentary of philosopher Alain Deneault, who analyzes the abuses of consumerism and explores alternate modes of existence.

When three American doctors–Palestinian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian–enter Gaza to save lives, they find themselves caught between medicine and politics, risking everything to expose the truth. From Oscar®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker Poh Si Teng ,American Doctor follows three American physicians united by a single oath to save lives. After volunteering in besieged hospitals in Gaza, they return home determined to fight for the patients and colleagues they left behind, taking their battle from the front lines of war to the halls of Congress.

No one would have bet on Jérémy (Raphaël Quenard), stuck behind the counter of a video store in Amiens, or on Bouna (Jean-Pascal Zadi), back when he was cleaning floors at Orly Airport. No connections, no money, and English that was far from fluent, nothing suggested they would one day become the most influential French NBA agents. Based on a true story, this film follows the journey of two underdogs who, driven by their deep love for basketball and their unbreakable friendship, overcame every obstacle to chase—and achieve—their American Dream.

After a lifetime marked by familial struggles, Elyse, a young Métis woman, finds herself at a crossroads. She lives with her older sister, Nikki, who has endured the same painful past. Elyse begins to realize that their relationship is toxic, while Nikki feels an overwhelming responsibility to protect and care for her sister. Elyse makes the choice to sever all ties and leave town, seeking clarity and independence. She retreats to her ancestral home in the countryside, hoping solitude will help her rebuild her mental health and sense of self. Soon after arriving, Elyse begins to feel a presence in the house. She dismisses it as the creepy neighbour messing with her. But as Elyse attempts to carve out a new life, the stigma surrounding her mental health begins to surface in disturbing ways, alongside a mysterious and terrifying creature that may be more connected to her past than she ever imagined.

Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions is a raw, rollicking portrait of Carole Pope—music icon, provocateur, and queer trailblazer whose fearless voice and unapologetic sexuality reshaped rock ‘n’ roll. From the underground grit of 1970s Toronto to opening for David Bowie, Pope’s incendiary lyrics and magnetic presence shattered expectations of what a woman, let alone a lesbian, could be onstage. More than a music doc, Antidiva is a time capsule of queer resistance and chosen family, charting Pope’s creative symbiosis with Kevan Staples, her complicated relationships, and the bittersweet realities of aging in an industry that sidelines outsiders. Through archival treasure, electrifying performances, and present-day vérité, director Michelle Mama captures Pope’s contradictions: tough yet tender, jaded yet vibrantly alive. Featuring k.d. lang, Peaches, Jann Arden, and Rufus Wainwright, Antidiva stands as a battle cry for self-expression, queer joy, and the artists who refuse to be tamed.

This is the story of Céleste, a young maid employed by Victoire and André in 1908. It is the story of Victoire, the model wife she does not know how to be. Two women who are worlds apart but live under the same roof, defying conventions and unspoken rules.

In the current context where bad news for the planet is multiplying and eco-anxiety blocks our initiatives, The Art of Trees is reaching out for a better hope. If only the trees could speak... In this latest film of the trilogy highlighting the vitality of the ecosystems of the Suroît (south-west of Québec), director André Desrochers leaves the word to the forest and its friends, the trees. These “beings” of wood reveal well-kept secrets, untold stories, but also present positive human actions that protect the forest, while allowing creative artists to give a second life to trees called “dead.” And why not change our egocentric behavior into an ecocentric one and give forests a legal personality before the law?

“Finishing a text doesn’t mean getting published; getting published doesn’t mean being read; being read doesn’t mean being loved; being loved doesn’t mean being successful; being successful doesn’t guarantee a fortune.” At Work tells the true story of a successful photographer, who at the peak of his career abandons his success to pursue writing, facing financial hardship and personal struggles as he chases his true passion.

Clyde Mortimer is a broke stressed-out funeral director on the edge of ruin in an economically depressed small town. It’s the end of the pandemic and there were no funerals or visitations allowed for the longest time. And now, nobody has died in town for months. His introverted granddaughter, Sam, can’t stand her grandparents fighting over finances and she decides to help out the family business by collaborating with fate in a most unusual way. The local police are no match for Sam’s criminal sneakiness, and she finds true love on her journey while an unlucky few pay the ultimate price for the Mortimer’s return to success. A darkly funny, increasingly unhinged story about family, money, and just how far people will go for the ones they love.

With her personal life falling apart, an ad-exec is reluctantly pushed by her fiery mother into the one challenge she never thought she’d have to take on: her family’s annual Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) celebration.

WIFF Prize in Canadian Film Nominee In Ba’s Book, filmmaker Ashley Da-Lê Duong travels from Canada to her father’s childhood village in Vietnam to understand her roots and meet her estranged family. While there, she receives letters from her father, recounting his youth during the war. Duong collaborates with her father and relatives to film participatory re-creations of their past. In these re-creations, we experience the Vietnam War and a student’s perspective of the Iranian Revolution. Duong’s father recounts finding his way through Saigon and Tehran, before securing his passage to Canada and escaping for good. While the film showcases imaginative re-creations of these events, its heart lies in the process. Building and performing these scenes gives the family a way to say things they have never said out loud. Fifty years after the end of the Vietnam War, Ba’s Book offers a disarming look at how a family heals from the generations-long impact of war.

Haunted by an abusive childhood, Audrey, a Korean American woman in her 30s, faces her emotional past. When her mother’s car accident brings her back to her parents’ home, she meets the man responsible for the accident. Their relationship builds, passions ignite, and they form a loving connection.

After the death of their abusive and tyrannic father, three children—now adults—and their aging mother return to their long-abandoned summer cottage. They will have to partake in a strange competition that tore their family apart 30 years prior—a nightmarish return to the past for the family’s children.

What is a “cheesemonger?” It’s sort of like a sommelier, but for cheese—with less pretension and more punk rock. In places like Europe, cheesemongering is a vaunted, prestigious career. In America, it often means working minimum wage at a grocery counter. Adam “Mr. Moo” Moskowitz is attempting to change the way American cheesemongers are seen by coaching a team of U.S. competitors to victory at the Mondial du Fromage, the “Olympics of Cheese,” in France. Team U.S.A. has never won.The Big Cheese follows these underdogs as they battle cultural clashes, personal struggles, and melting cheese while training for the ultimate cheese competition. With reputations, redemption, and a historic victory on the line, can they finally prove America belongs on the world’s biggest cheese stage?

Summer 2006, rural New Zealand. 14 year-old Sid is caught between childhood and adolescence, navigating a burgeoning sexual curiosity and a desperate desire for acceptance. Her coastal town is quiet and contained, but glimpses of life beyond—flickering reality TV, American pop culture, and the occasional seedy chatroom—ignite both longing and restless possibility. Each summer, wealthy out-of-towners arrive, carrying with them a world Sid can only imagine. Drawn to their effortless glamour and an older group of teens, she shapeshifts through versions of herself, hoping one might be enough. As New Year’s Eve nears—her imagined gateway to adulthood—Sid must confront the painful gap between who she is and who she’s pretending to be. Big Girls Don’t Cry is a tender, unflinching portrait of queer adolescence, class shame, and identity, told through the intimate, unvarnished lens of New Zealand girlhood at a moment when the wider world was beginning to seep in.

Bitter Christmas tells two alternating stories, one starring Elsa, an advertising director, in 2004, during a long weekend in December. The second takes place in 2026 and stars Raúl, a screenwriter and director who is writing a script that we soon discover is the story of Elsa, her boyfriend Bonifacio, and her friends Patricia and Natalia. Mixed with fiction, Elsa is, in a way, Raúl's alter ego, who, like him, resorts to autofiction as a solution to a long period of creative drought. He looks inside himself, and he can't help but also look at the people who make up his most intimate universe: his partner and his assistant. The film narrates the close relationship between reality and fiction, between inspiration and life, exploring the limits of autofiction and stories within stories.

When fetish camboy Aaron Eagle (Kieron Moore) visits a client in exchange for $50,000, he discovers a masked man (Reed Birney) with a camera and a series of increasingly probing questions. But when the man reveals a disturbing connection to Aaron’s past, the two drop their personas and gradually reveal their true desires in a seductive thriller being called "one of the most daring American films of recent vintage.”

When Nate is forced to leave his fabulous city life behind and move in with his grandparents after a bad breakup, he is determined to escape the confines of retirement community life and his meddlesome grandparents' relentless attempts to 'improve' him. But when his Holocaust-surviving grandfather, Saul, shows signs of cognitive decline and his grandmother, Miriam, refuses to acknowledge her husband's early dementia, Nate finds himself torn between his desire to flee, family responsibilities, and an unexpected romance with his grandparents' handsome doctor…

The documentary film Brunello: the Gracious Visionary charts the life of Brunello Cucinelli, the humanist entrepreneur who brought together the worlds of work and philosophy. Blending documentary and fiction, the film revisits the places and pivotal moments that shaped Cucinelli’s life journey—from his rural childhood to the hamlet of Solomeo, later transformed into a symbol of humanistic capitalism. Testimonies, archival footage, and personal recollections portray a man who, from humble beginnings, built a globally renowned company while remaining steadfast in his values of dignity, beauty, and social justice. The story ends with the awareness that dreams—when nurtured with courage—are the true force that guide one’s destiny.

Set on Vancouver Island in the 1990s, The Bryce Lee Story follows 13-year-old Bryce, a recent immigrant from China living with his uncle and younger sister. Making homemade action movies with his sister, Bryce dreams of becoming a filmmaker. Struggling to fit in and facing anti-Asian prejudice at school, Bryce Lee lies about being related to Bruce Lee to be accepted by classmates at school. What started as an effort to be accepted at school, snowballs into an ambitious martial arts production and a chaotic series of events.

In a Quebec where even artisanal butcher shops rely on industrial meat, Renée LeBlanc-Paulin has made a radical choice: to work exclusively with whole, locally raised carcasses, which she and her team butcher by hand every week at her shop in Trois-Pistoles. Around her, a network of committed women—a chef, a farmer, a slaughterhouse manager, an institutional cook—are helping her keep alive a supply chain that's as fragile as it is essential. The Butcheress of Trois-Pistoles follows their collective fight to build a viable model, navigating the very real obstacles that come with raising, slaughtering, processing, and distributing local meat. But the film doesn't stop at diagnosing the problem, it shows that solutions exist, as soon as people choose to act together. So what if we started by asking a simple question: where does our food actually come from?

Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd wrote a hip-hop record nobody in the industry would hear—because of how they said the words. Ridiculed for their Scottish accents, the two Dundee rappers make the decision that should have ended their careers: they reinvent themselves as American hip-hop artists from California, and audition as them. The accents hold. The lie holds. Based on a 'true lie', California Schemin’ is the story of two men who got everything they wanted from the music industry—on the condition that they never again be themselves.

Sarah and Antoine are on the verge of a breakup, their relationship strained by the overwhelming demands of daily life—balancing work and their two children. One day, Simon, their eldest, confides in his mother that he is hearing voices. While Antoine struggles to grasp the gravity of the situation, Sarah decides to stand by her son. How far will she go for the sake of love?

Call The Office is one of Canada’s most iconic music venues. The venue created a vibrant social hub in London, Ontario and thrived for generations. It brought such notable bands as Radiohead, The Tragically Hip, Bif Naked, D.O.A, Link Wray, and Bad Brains to London. It also helped launch the careers of musicians such as Danko Jones, Sum 41, Kittie, and Death From Above 1979. From the voices of the bookers, staff, patrons, and bands, this documentary examines what made the place so special. Director/Producer Sean Stanley frequented Call The Office for decades, and through a plethora of interviews with musical legends—including Joey Keithley, John Wright, Mike Watt, Lou Barlow—and a trove of archival footage, shows why it meant so much to so many people, and why it lasted for decades.

Maria Angeles, a 79 year-old Spanish woman, lives alone in Tangier, Morocco, and enjoys her daily routine. However, her life is turned upside down when her daughter arrives from Madrid to sell the apartment in which she has always lived. Determined to stay, she does everything she can to get her home and her belongings back and, unexpectedly, rediscovers love and sensuality.

Fresh out of prison, Toni struggles to reconnect with her daughter Anna, who was raised by her grandmother Betty, while resisting the pull of her ex-lover Max's criminal world. Working at her uncle Frank's restaurant, she discovers his ties to smuggling and faces mounting pressure from the police. After Max involves her in a violent incident at the docks, Toni seeks redemption by distancing herself from crime and building a new life as a mechanic. However, Max’s recklessness drags her back into danger. Toni risks everything to protect her family, ultimately exposing Frank’s operations to the police. In the end, she secures a chance at a brighter future, reconnecting with Anna and Betty.

Media mogul, athlete, creator of the psychedelic superhero Captain Newfoundland, and an activist against his home province joining Confederation: Geoff Stirling was all these things and more. To do justice to a character as complex as this film's protagonist, Mike Feehan turns the camera on himself and his co-director Jamie Miller as they weave together archival footage, animation, and fantastical recreations from Stirling's experimental 1970s late-night TV show, all very in keeping with NTV's original broadcast mission. Captain Newfoundland is an illuminating and wildly entertaining portrait of a complex man and his impact on the province that, according to Stirling, may or may not be the tip of the long-lost island of Atlantis.

Acclaimed director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s romantic crime thriller stars Samara Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner), and together they weave a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast. Also starring Kyra Sedgwick, the film features a wide-ranging country music soundtrack, with tracks from artists such as Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Loretta Lynn, and over a dozen others.

50th Anniversary In this chilling adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel, withdrawn and sensitive teen Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious mother (Piper Laurie) at home. When strange occurrences start happening around Carrie, she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers. Invited to the prom by the empathetic Tommy Ross (William Katt), Carrie tries to let her guard down, but things eventually take a dark and violent turn.

Two lost souls befriend each other and grapple with the hard truths of addiction, in Joey Klein’s Castle in the Ground. Across North America tens of thousands of people die every year as a result of opioid-related overdoses. Set in Sudbury, Ontario just as the crisis is taking hold, Henry (Alex Wolff) is the caretaker for his terminally ill mother (Neve Campbell). Henry’s daily routine is to prepare his mother’s medication by crushing an OxyContin pill with a spoon, mixing it with jelly to mask the taste, and serving it to dull the intense and agonizing pain she’s suffering through. Following his mother’s death, Henry befriends his loud and troubled — yet charming — neighbour, Ana (Imogen Poots). She’s the only person in his life who isn’t indulging his grief; she’s simply there, across the hall, and trying to kick her habit just as Henry is developing his own. Together, they become tangled in the sordid web of indulgence that encompasses drug dependence.

For 26 years, the ooligan have not returned to the Bella Coola River. From a ramshackle trailer, Nuxalk Radio opens the case and what the airwaves reveal reaches far beyond the fish: settler tapes, buried declarations, a land claim filed the very day smallpox arrived. As the broadcasts pull back the layers, the ancestors stir alongside the living. A family rebuilds in a village emptied for a century and when the trespass notice comes, they keep building. A Nuxalk biologist dreams the fish are coming home. Beneath the river’s surface, something is already moving.

Politics and planning collide in the struggle over the redesign of Brooklyn’s notoriously dangerous McGuinness Blvd. When a beloved teacher is tragically killed in a hit-and-run crash in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, a grassroots movement emerges to transform a notoriously dangerous four- lane boulevard into a safer, two-lane street with protected bike lanes. While many applaud the proposed redesign, it also sparks a backlash, led in part by a powerful local business owner. As government support begins to waver, neighbours unite to challenge entrenched interests and fight for a safer Greenpoint. This particular story is situated within the broader historical, environmental, political and social contexts through interviews with politicians, activists, urban planners, entrepreneurs, and cultural icons including David Byrne and Janette Sadik-Khan. Changing Lanes is a compelling call to action for democracy at street level.

When small-town writer Samantha Lane lands a career-making assignment to profile Maple Creek's local winemaker and most eligible bachelor, William Crew, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to move closer to her dream of New York City. But after a rocky first meeting, Samantha discovers that behind William's charming reputation is a devoted son determined to preserve his family's legacy and create "a wine for everyone." As their professional partnership grows into an unexpected romance, Samantha finds herself writing a different story than the one she was assigned, while questioning whether the future she's always dreamed of is still the one she wants.

He is the talk of the town, the most romantic figure of decadent Parisian nights. When his lungs start bleeding, Chopin knows his days are numbered. Composing becomes his only obsession. The ticking clock rushes him to revolutionize music.

A modern reimagining of the Virginia Woolf novel Mrs. Dalloway. The film follows society woman Clarissa as she prepares to host a party at her home in Lagos, Nigeria, where she will unexpectedly encounter once-intimate friends from her youth. As the group reflects on their shared past over the course of a single night, memories of their intricate relationships, passionate love, hidden desires, and lost aspirations give rise to bittersweet reckoning.

55th Anniversary In an England of the future, Alex and his "Droogs" spend their nights getting high at the Korova Milkbar before embarking on "a little of the old ultraviolence," while jauntily warbling "Singin' in the Rain." After he's jailed for bludgeoning the Cat Lady to death, Alex submits to behavior modification technique to earn his freedom; he's conditioned to abhor violence. Returned to the world defenseless, Alex becomes the victim of his prior victims.

A celebrated actress’s life begins to unravel on the eve of her greatest performance. When her sister April arrives in New York after a 30-year estrangement, the stage is set for a tense family confrontation. The debut feature film from Cody Fern stars Sarah Paulson, Naomi Watts, and Dianne Wiest.

A hard-partying New York City club promoter sees his whirlwind lifestyle upended by the arrival of the 10-year-old son he never knew he had.

It started with a text. Sent in the early morning hours after a Hockey Canada gala in London, Ontario, the message lands in a group chat shared by members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior hockey team. What begins as a consensual encounter between a young woman and one player shifts, altering the course of the night and the lives of those involved. Years later, five former members of that team stand trial in a London courtroom, where sharply different accounts collide and a country begins to question the sport it holds closest to its identity. Through the present-day reporting of award-winning journalist Rick Westhead, Code of Misconduct follows the trial as it unfolds in real time, drawing on testimony, police interviews, and text message records to reconstruct what happened. As Westhead sits in court day after day, the film expands beyond a single case to examine the culture surrounding junior hockey in Canada—its rituals, loyalties, and silences—and the reckoning that comes when the game’s image meets the scrutiny of the justice system.

In three hours, Nina unveils her first production at the Comédie-Française. But in the hustle and bustle of the final rehearsals, nothing goes according to plan: delays, stressful moments, technical problems, and ego clashes shake the troupe. Yet, Nina has no choice but to see it through because if there's one golden rule at the Comédie-Française, it's that you don't cancel. A race against time then begins to save the performance.

Hélène, approaching 40, seemingly has it all—a successful career, two children, and a perfect life in Paris. Yet, she feels unfulfilled, restless, and disconnected from the life she once dreamed of. When an opportunity brings her back to her childhood hometown, she quickly realises how much she has changed compared to those who stayed behind. She encounters Christophe, a former classmate who has never left the town and whose dreams of becoming a hockey champion have faded, along with his marriage. As their reunion stirs old emotions and rekindles Hélène’s long-lost desires, they must determine if their new bond can bridge the gap that has grown between them over the years.

As the First World War drags on, Pierre, a soldier newly arrived at the front, is eager to prove himself. Behind the lines, he meets Francis, who decides to lift the spirits of his comrades by putting together a theatre show. While the violence continues, both men try to find ways to escape the brutality of war, even if only for a moment.

As anti-trans legislation and hostility escalate in the United States, a group of dads, building a nascent movement to support their trans and gender expansive kids, are forced to make an impossible choice: stay and fight or flee the country. Filmed over the course of a year spanning retreats in rural Maine and Minnesota, protests, family milestones, a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court decision, and the collapse of gender-affirming care for youth, The Dads captures this national reckoning with remarkable intimacy through verite footage and interviews with the film’s main protagonists, as documented by Emmy Award-winning director and producer Luchina Fisher and executive producer Dwyane Wade. This is fatherhood as an act of radical love and resistance.

When Nora’s (Sheila McCarthy) son drops her off at Shady Rest Retirement Home, she’s pretty sure there's not much left to hope for. That is, until unfiltered firecracker Edna (Mary Walsh) wheels into her life and reminds her it ain’t over till it’s over.

Darlene Love has one of the greatest voices in American music—and for decades, almost no one knew her name. Darlene Love: I Know Where I've Been traces her path from a church choir in Los Angeles to Phil Spector's hit factory, where she created timeless hits of the 1960s, including the ultimate holiday standard, ""Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home).” Her voice carried some of the biggest stars of the era, including Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Marvin Gaye, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley, while she herself went unpaid and unrecognized. Told in Love's own words, what emerges is the story of an artist who refused to disappear: from the margins of the industry to her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, embraced at last by the generations of musicians she shaped all along. Darlene Love: I Know Where I've Been charts one of the music industry's biggest comebacks of all time.

Aya is waiting for her husband at the airport, but following an innocent mix-up, finds herself welcoming a complete stranger instead. The sense of immediate intimacy that develops between the two—in sharp contrast to Aya’s dull encounter with her husband that night—leads her to return to the hotel to explore her relationship with this stranger further. But the stranger disappears, leaving Aya with the key to his hotel room and a gnawing hunger. Aya finds herself unable to forgo that short-lived connection, and returns to the hotel room to a new encounter with a random occupant. Soon it is her husband who becomes a stranger to her. Perhaps it is exactly that alienation which will allow them to begin anew. Once again two strangers meet.

Dear Lara is a deeply personal documentary that exposes decades of sexual abuse and institutional complicity in the classical musical world. Beginning in 2019, when renowned violinist Lara St. John speaks out about the sexual assault she endured as a 14-year-old student at the elite Curtis Insitute of Philaelphia. After her story is published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, she is flooded with letters and outreach from fellow survivors. Determined to make these voices heard, Lara travels across the North America and Europe to meet others who, like her, were failed by the very organizations meant to protect them. As these personal accounts accumulate, a pattern emerges of institutions shielding predators at the expense of the vulnerable. Blending unflinching testimony, investigative rigor, and a haunting original score, the film exposes ingrained practices of harm and cover-ups, rooted in power, silence, and the worship of reputation over justice.

When Caro, the heiress to a colonial cacao plantation in Venezuela comes from abroad to claim her inheritance and sell the property. On arrival, she finds that the family mansion is occupied by its former staff, who are determined to remain at all costs. She is forced to confront the land’s current occupants as well as its dark, violent legacy buried in the land and its memory.

WIFF 2026 CLOSING NIGHT FILM - When Mona Friedman (Julianne Moore) is cast in a bit part at a small community theater, she transforms from a shy, unassuming housewife into a zealous method actor willing to do anything to protect the artistic integrity of her marginal role—even if it means waging war against the show’s domineering director (Paul Giamatti).

A humanistic documentary, carrying essential values, about the "soul" of the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes: Pierre-Henri Deleau. A remarkable enabler. A man of influence, with great sensitivity and vast culture, the defender of bold and avant-garde cinema. Deleau: Cinema Unchained traces an era when cinema was still being discovered, through the testimonies from the greatest: Michael Haneke, Ken Loach, Denys Arcand, Atom Egoyan.

The Delivery Line reframes and re-examines some of our most overwhelming global issues—migration, crime, poverty, climate change, and war—through one of life’s most joyous experiences: childbirth. From Central Asia and Africa to the Americas, the film follows midwives on the front lines, as they help women give birth in the most challenging of environments. Right now, women are dying in childbirth in shockingly high numbers, and midwives are often their only hope for survival. Whether in Taliban controlled Afghanistan, on the Mexican border, or Toronto’s city streets, the midwife’s goal remains the same: to protect the life of both mother and child. And with each birth comes hope for change.

We understood one thing: never ask Dad what he does for work.” That rule governed the childhood of filmmaker Mike Lobel and his siblings. Don’t Come Upstairs begins as an investigation into a long-buried family secret, echoing true-crime, before turning inward to examine the emotional cost of secrecy. Through interviews, home movies, and recreations using his childhood toys, Mike explores how silence becomes a survival strategy within families, and how patterns of coping can quietly pass from parent to child. As he prepares to become a father himself, the film asks whether generational trauma can be interrupted without facing what’s been buried. Don’t Come Upstairs is a deeply personal exploration of truth, resilience, and the courage it takes for families to move forward.

When filmmaker Jean-Daniel Lafond and Michaëlle Jean first saw the Gordie Howe International Bridge, they were immediately struck by its significance. Beyond the engineering feat itself, they recognized an extraordinary and powerful metaphor: the determination of two communities, on opposite sides of the Detroit River, to sustain and deepen a relationship extending over more than two centuries. It's a place where people on both shores, through changing political climates, continue to resist division and preserve what binds them together. In a period of unprecedented tensions affecting Canada and the United States, Windsor and Detroit continue to speak in unison. Between these communities is a profound attachment that generations continue to celebrate.

Since the death of her parents, Peggy Casey has not only been running her father's pub, she has been doing a great job of keeping it open. She does not understand how her sister and brothers want to sell the pub and live their lives elsewhere. Peggy realizes that selling would mean the end of her family, and she is determined to stop them. Just as things are coming to a head, a body is found under the receding waters of the lake. It is generally assumed to be a forgotten grave from the old cemetery, part of the ghost village located at the bottom of the lake. But when a Detective is sent from Dublin to investigate, it is understood that more is involved. During this hot, dry weekend at the end of September 1975, the investigation will not only reveal the terrible truth behind the dead woman's story, but will also reveal the deepest secrets of the Casey family.

Timid Catholic school dork Edie Arnold is dragged to a punk show where a mishap lands her on stage behind the drums. She's mortified... but a natural. Convinced by her best friend, she secretly forms a band called The NunDead. Her newfound confidence leads to a date with the altar boy but also a fight that gets her suspended. Thinking she bailed on their first gig, her bandmates bust her out of the house just in time to win a Battle of the Bands. But when she faces expulsion and her mother's wrath at a disciplinary hearing, footage of her kick-ass performance has an unexpected effect on her mom.

Paris, 1928. Suzanne, a desperate carnival performer known as “La Venus Electrificata,” earns a living in a degrading act where men pay to kiss her and receive an electric shock to feel the “electricity of love.” One night, she’s mistaken for the psychic by Antoine, a grieving painter seeking contact with his dead wife. Though hesitant, Suzanne cannot turn down the money and delivers a convincing séance that moves him deeply. Antoine invites her to his home for another sitting, paying generously. As Suzanne leaves his villa, she is confronted by his agent, Armand, who initially condemns her for exploiting his friend’s grief—until Antoine, newly inspired, begins painting again. Sensing an opportunity, Armand proposes they continue the ruse, offering Suzanne a share of the profits. As a romantic spark begins to form between Suzanne and Antoine, the line between performance and genuine feeling blurs, threatening to unravel everything.

A tragedy brings a mother, daughter, and teenage boy together. Struggling with blame and forgiveness, the unlikely trio take a trip to Tenerife for a family holiday that never happened. Under the glow of the sun, past and present quietly start to overlap.

During a time of rapid technological growth, online personas and a call for ecological heroism, Sam finds herself nearing her 25th birthday and has adopted what seems to be a fear surrounding the topic of death. Plagued by this anxiety, Sam slowly starts backing away from life, putting off her goal of pursuing a career in children's books, relying on the financial stability of her exploitative au pair job. With the sudden return of her mother's cancer, her world begins to unravel. Despite the burgeoning sense of instability Sam tries to live a seemingly normal life by going on dates, attending friends' baby-showers, work interviews, and maintaining her responsibilities as an au pair. Extravagant Ways To Say Goodbye is a comical look at a young woman in the 21st century and how she navigates grief and a kaleidoscope of dysfunctional relationships as she forges her way forward.

A father’s fading memory and echoes of a free Tibet lie at the heart of this intimate family story filmed across 20 years. In 1959, as the Dalai Lama escaped Chinese occupation over the Himalayas on foot, thousands of Tibetans followed him into India. More than six decades later, as TC Tethong—former deputy to the Dalai Lama—begins to lose his memory, remarkable family archives resurface, bringing to life a hopeful love story between TC and Judy, a young Canadian volunteer who chose to build a life alongside Tibetans in exile. Their shared commitment began with urgent humanitarian work, and grew into a life devoted to the political struggle for Tibet and preserving Tibetan identity. Unfolding in a delicate dance between past and present, loss and hope, Far From Home is an exploration of love, resilience, and the longing for a home out of reach. As one generation begins to disappear, can remembering itself become an act of resistance?

Isabel, a 17-year-old from the rural north of the Philippines, works at a posh country club outside Manila. Amid stifling heat and pervasive drought, she lines up golf balls for powerful men to drive into the carefully manicured verdant horizon. Between shifts, she wanders the immaculate grounds, sampling its luxuries and exploring its liminal spaces. The club’s members, including an industrialist and his expatriate niece, the president and his pampered wife, and a slew of Chinese tourists, engage in a complex dance with the doting and subservient staff. But something is rotting beneath the pristine fairways of the elite resort, as Isabel discovers when she tries to return a mislaid golf club to its patriarchal director, Dr. Palanca. The deeper she journeys into its most exclusive corners, the closer she gets to the violent truths of the club, her native Philippines, and her own past.

In an isolated Tuscany valley, Adriano, a 50-year-old man haunted by a troubled past, lives alone in the renovated stables of a crumbling villa. Suddenly, a group of young idealists, led by Matilde, take over the empty villa, hoping to restore its long-abandoned vineyards

After the deaths of Mihai’s parents, Mihai (Sebastian Stan) and Lisbeth Gheorghiu (Renate Reinsve) leave everything behind in Romania and move with their children to a remote village in Norway, hoping to rebuild their lives near Lisbeth’s family. There, they grow close to their neighbors, the Halbergs, whose warmth offers the promise of a fresh start. But the fragile peace begins to unravel when the Gheorghius’ young daughter, Elia, arrives at school covered in bruises.

A struggling musician takes a last-resort job from her overachiever best friend: supervising misfits at their childhood Jewish summer camp. With the camp’s survival in the balance as it ramps up for competition with a longtime rival, the clashing friends and campers must overcome their differences to save the camp.

1943. Franco has blocked the path of the Jews fleeing Nazi oppression over the Pyrenees mountains. At the border crossing in a small village, Manel Grau, a civil servant with a Republican past, decides to go against the orders of his superiors and aid the refugees across the border, with the help of Juliana, a fellow inhabitant of the village, and Jerôme, a French smuggler. Between them, they will start a crusade to help as many Jews as they possibly can. It is then that Manel will find himself embroiled in a dangerous odyssey. One that will awaken in him and his wife, Mercé, old ghosts of the still-recent Spanish Civil War.

At 8, Arjie loves dressing up like a bride. When discovered by the adults, he wonders why he’s called “funny”, a word he can’t understand but knows is ‘bad’. Arjie is taken up by his aunt Radha, who sees he’s gay and protects him. But her life gets complicated when a new relationship crosses ethnic boundaries in a world that simmers with tensions. Radha must choose between family and love. Witnessing this, Arjie learns some bitter lessons about the world. Flash-forward to Arjie at 17, where his relationship troubles mirror those of his aunt’s. The family then flee to Canada, and Arjie now is ‘free’ to pursue his sexual proclivities (homosexuality is still illegal in Sri Lanka). But freedom has a price—preconceptions a white society has about people of colour. On one level, Funny Boy is a coming-of-age love story and on another, about oppression of minorities, whether it is race, culture, or sexuality.

When Waterloo gets its new semi-pro men’s hockey team, the local women’s amateur leagues are kicked out of the arena. Determined to avenge their lost ice time, an impulsive hockey player and a ruthless octogenarian—once a roller derby legend—comes up with a plan: to recruit the town’s outcasts and form an underground roller derby team. With the backing of the Knitting Circle, they’ll prove that women’s sports can ignite crowds—and that sisterhood is the ultimate act of resistance.

Ghost in the Machine is a gripping and urgently relevant investigative documentary that exposes the buried history of artificial intelligence, not as a neutral system of algorithms, but as a technology shaped by racism, misogyny, eugenics, and entrenched structures of power long before it entered everyday life. Rejecting the notion of AI as inevitable or objective, the film traces how myths of progress and efficiency have obscured deeper political and cultural agendas, revealing the ideological foundations beneath the systems now reshaping modern society. This is not a film about machines. It is a film about power. Ghost in the Machine interrogates who builds AI, who benefits from it, and who bears the cost.

What’s it like to live down the rabbit hole? False flags. Forbidden archeology. Chemtrails. Nefarious extraterrestrials. Fake pandemics. Through the intertwined stories of truth-seekers, influencers, and ex-believers, the film explores what draws people into the gravitational pull of conspiracy culture, and what happens when your truth becomes your identity.

The Tuches are once again leading a peaceful life in Bouzolles. But when Jeff and Cathy's grandson is selected for a soccer camp in London, it's the perfect opportunity for the whole family to discover England and meet the royal family. Between culture shock and awkwardness, the Tuches find themselves plunged into the heart of English royalty, who won't soon forget their stay!

When Cat is high, life becomes a warm, poetic rush. First love, first sexual experiences and her parents’ scorched-earth divorce combine to bring the 16-year-old to a turning point. In her new circle of friends, she encounters mescaline, which is known for inducing ecstatic states and soon rules Cat’s everyday routine. Such deep intoxication helps to liberate her from the verbal and emotional brutality of conflicts at home, while her clique provides her with support and diversion. It’s the mid-90s in provincial Canada—punk rock, Kurt Cobain’s suicide and the Mia Wallace look are animating teens to try to get free themselves. Filmed with great immediacy, an unflinching portrait of a maturing rebel emerges, as strong and as weak as a lost goddess.

Fresh from prison in 1980s Spain, Migueli reunites his gang for heists to settle past debts. His brother Sabino, now a cop assigned to the case, knows his methods—but Migueli won’t stop until he reaches his goal.

Matt Vasseur (Pierre Niney) is the man of the hour. Once a high-school dropout, Matt is now the successful founder of his life coaching company, Expand. He draws large crowds who hang on his every word, eager to regain control over their lives. With his impressive job, supportive girlfriend, and countless devoted fans, Matt is the person everyone aspires to be. However, when a Senator starts to threaten his business and some of his followers begin to exhibit intense, even dangerous levels of obsession, Matt’s world begins to unravel, revealing the hidden darkness behind his seemingly perfect life.

The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony is an intimate coming-of-age documentary by 3x Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Habiba Nosheen that follows three teenage girls in Pakistan, offering a rare and tender portrait of girlhood, joy, and play told through the eyes of young Pakistani girls navigating the margins of society. At its core, it is a story of hope and quiet defiance. Through the intimate journeys of three teenagers we witness as their passion for gymnastics begins to clash with deeply rooted expectations around what girls can and cannot do. The film follows their journey as they find themselves straddling two polar opposite worlds as they push to make space for themselves through gymnastics. The result is a lyrical and deeply human portrait of three young girls from a corner of the world we rarely see on screen. These are girls who dare to dream.

Haru and Luis love competing in Tokyo’s ballroom dance scene, but after tragedy strikes, Haru withdraws into isolation. When friends coax her back to the studio, she develops an infatuation with the new instructor. She must face what comes next as sparks fly.

Every dawn, Min-joon, his shoulders burdened with parcels and weariness, ascends the countless high stairs to deliver. Around him, the radio keeps spilling fragments of the world—North Korea’s missile launches, fine dust warnings, cracks in nuclear plants—an endless litany of unease. By morning he finishes his work, buying a two-for-one meal at the convenience store, quietly eating inside his truck parked in a back alley, before collapsing into a brief sleep. Once dedicated to the independence movement, the family’s forgotten name has become a heavy burden for the youngest son, Min-joon. He endures each day in silence, yet the weight of life pulls him further down, leaving cracks within. And then, one day on the street, he encounters a mysterious astrologer who sparks a strange new fire in his heart: “Just trust me and follow your halo.”

WIFF Prize in Canadian Film Nominee Mathilde, a teenager forced to move to a rural area with her family for mysterious reasons, discovers that her new house is haunted by Isabeau, a 19th-century woman who has surprisingly adapted well to the modern world, but remembers nothing about her past life. As they investigate the ghost’s history, this unlikely duo embarks on an adventure that gradually forges a deep friendship between them.

Farid is four years old when his beloved father disappears. Rumor has it he fled Morocco for another woman. Farid grows up in that absence, marries the beautiful Sofia, and builds a promising career. Then a letter arrives from Montreal. The truth comes out: it was his mother who drove his father away—not for another woman, but because he longed to become one. Farid then sets out to finally meet the lost parent he had so deeply idealized.

When violence erupts before the 1985 European Cup Final between Liverpool and Juventus at Brussels’ Heysel Stadium, killing 39 people, the mayor’s daughter and a journalist with Italian roots are drawn into the heart of the tragedy, caught between professional duty, family loyalty, and moral responsibility.

From the writers of Vampire Zombies... from Space! and the studio behind Letterkenny comes a hilarious four-part series that takes the piss out of our nation’s history. Ever wondered what really caused the 1916 Parliament fire? Why the penny was actually phased out? Whether the Leafs truly won the Stanley Cup in 1967? Or if the mafia had a hand in the creation of Canadian Tire money? These are the questions we dare to ask. Big laughs, local talent, and 100% historical accuracy. (Except for all the shit we made up.)

Following the finale of his TV series, filmmaker John Wilson looks to the bedrock of his beloved New York City for inspiration and structure. Concrete, the world's most widely used building material, appears as an ever-present life force, and John sets out to make the definitive documentary on the matter. To tell this seemingly drab story, he decides to use the industry-approved Hallmark formula to increase his movie's appeal. But his foundation soon begins to crumble—literally and figuratively—as he struggles to balance artistic freedom with the realities of the modern film industry.

How We Stand follows the story of three Oklahoma sisters and their mother who travel to Los Angeles through a 1950s relocation program that gave Native Americans the opportunity to become “civilized” by getting jobs in urban centres. When they arrive, they begin to understand that like many east-to-west dreams, the reality is not the new beginning they sought. Abandoned by government policy and in acute poverty, they begin to search for their own, finding community in “the tombs” – the cemented riverways of LA. It is here that tragedy strikes, and the lives of the children separate down three very different paths before emerging in 1970s Los Angeles—weaving together one telling, one flood.

On August 26, 1980, an elaborately constructed bomb packed with 1,000 pounds of dynamite was wheeled into Harvey’s Wagon Wheel Casino in Lake Tahoe alongside a handwritten demand for $3 million. What followed was a surreal 33-hour standoff between the FBI and a device so intricate it was considered virtually undefeatable. With a ticking clock, a brazen extortion plot, and a mastermind convinced he couldn’t be caught, the crisis gripped law enforcement and captivated the nation. But beneath the spectacle and suspense lies a far more dark and personal story. Told through the eyes of the bomb builder’s son, I Got Bombed at Harvey’s transforms an outrageous true-crime saga into an intimate portrait of a family trapped in the orbit of a volatile, domineering father.

Intrigued by a theatre artist’s creative process, a filmmaker tries—over 16 attempts—to make the film she wants. As the years go by, unexpected turns of events blur the boundaries between art and life. And the work emerges when we expect it least. From Montreal to the far reaches of the Canadian Shield, from the mountains of Iceland to the depths of the Earth, I Lost Sight of the Landscape is an improbable comedy that reveals the uncontrollable nature of life, with honesty—and a good dose of humour.

I Play Rocky is an electrifying true story about an unknown actor with an unshakable belief that he wasn’t just meant to write Rocky—he was meant to be Rocky Balboa. Told “no” at every turn, Sylvester Stallone bets everything on himself, holding the line on playing the lead against seemingly impossible odds. The result is the ultimate underdog story behind the ultimate underdog movie.

I Swear is the inspiring, extraordinary life story of notable Tourette’s Syndrome campaigner, John Davidson, MBE. Kirk Jones’ emotionally engaging, funny and compelling script charts John Davidson’s troubled teens and early adulthood, stemming from his diagnosis at 15 years old for Tourette’s, which was a little-known and entirely misunderstood condition in 1980s Britain, and his attempts to live a ‘normal’ life against the odds.

Ajna, Alen and Lejla were born after their mothers were raped in the war. Ajna was kept by her mother, while Alen and Lejla were adopted. They grew up and lived differently and learned the truth about their origins in different ways. All three have turned to the effort to make the world a better place and in this they have found common ground with each other. Alen is the father of two children and is considering how to explain his own origins to them. Ajna, who discovered the truth about herself at the age of 15, speaks publicly about stigma through art. Lejla, who grew up in Great Britain, returns to Bosnia and Herzegovina to explore her roots and her relationship with her biological mother. Their stories intertwine through the fight for the legal status of war victims, very personal searches and public appearances, while the film explores identity, trauma and the possibility of community and belonging through archives and an observational approach.

Frank Remley’s car refuses to start. Stranded on a highway, he accepts the help of a mysterious stranger who leads him into a vast parking structure, promising a simple repair. Reluctantly, Remley follows—only to realize this is no ordinary place.

Frank Remley’s car refuses to start. Stranded on a highway, he accepts the help of a mysterious stranger who leads him into a vast parking structure, promising a simple repair. Reluctantly, Remley follows—only to realize this is no ordinary place.

Il Paese: The Village is set between Montreal and Joppolo Giancaxio, a depopulating Sicilian village where residents await the return of paesani who emigrated to Canada half a century ago. As the village briefly comes back to life, the long-awaited reunions reveal the enduring fracture known as la spartenza: the sorrow of families and communities divided by an ocean. Through vérité intimacy, lyrical cinematography, and evocative archival footage, the film reflects on migration’s bittersweet legacy—its power to create prosperity for both those who leave and those who remain, and the wounds of separation it cannot erase.

After accidentally shooting at the TransAlaska Pipeline, Woody, a 17-year old Inuit, becomes the target of a terrorist manhunt. The chase through wilderness is led by veteran FBI agent Susan Tarheel, torn between doing her job and her empathy for the young man…

Yura Ivalu is an ambitious Inuk multimedia artist who spirals out of control when an estranged childhood friend, Sesi Ilupaalik, forces Yura to confront the trauma she’s built her career on and the identity she built as an avenue to escape.

Coline Morel, the intrepid explorer of the North Pole, sees her life spiraling out of control. After years spent hunting the yeti she alone believes in, she loses her job and her partner leaves her. In the midst of this debacle, Coline has no choice but to return to her hometown. There, she reunites with her two brothers, Basile and Lolo, and her childhood sweetheart. From the Jura mountains to the vast, unchanging lands of Greenland, a new adventure begins for "the incredible snow woman."

Renowned social media influencer Dzanielle (Jill Kargman) navigates fake friends among the Black card-swiping, workout-addicted Upper East Siders of New York. In her comedic quest for a million followers, she finds her first real new friend and her true self. Influenced is a hilariously foul-mouthed, warm-hearted satire of New York City's Upper East Side "influencer" culture from co-writer/star Jill Kargman (New York Times best-selling author and creator of Bravo TV's Odd Mom Out) and director Rachel Israel (Keep the Change), Kargman leads an all-star ensemble cast including David Krumholtz, Justin Bartha, Christine Taylor, Laura Bell Bundy, Jessica Capshaw, Eugene Cordero, and Dan Hedaya—plus hilarious cameos by Drew Barrymore, Jason Biggs, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Matt Damon.

*2012 Winner of the LiUNA People’s Choice Award With 36 awards and 40 nominations, this irreverent, uplifting comedy about friendship, trust and human possibility is one of the top-rated movies of all time. The Intouchables is also a perennial favourite at WIFF with sold-out screenings every year. When a paragliding accident leaves him paralyzed from the neck down, Philippe (Francois Cluzet) requires a caregiver to assist him with his daily physical needs. With the help of his assistant Magalie (Audrey Fleurot), he interviews a number of highly qualified candidates, all of whom he subsequently rejects in favour of Driss (Omar Sy), a recently released ex-con who has only applied for the job to ensure that he keeps getting welfare payments. Based on a true story of friendship between a handicapped millionaire and his street-smart ex-con caretaker, The Intouchables depicts an unlikely camaraderie rooted in honesty and humour between two individuals who, on the surface, would seem to have nothing in common.

70th Anniversary In Santa Mira, California, Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) is baffled when all his patients come to him with the same complaint: their loved ones seem to have been replaced by emotionless impostors. Despite others' dismissive denials, Dr. Bennell, his former girlfriend Becky (Dana Wynter) and his friend Jack (King Donovan) soon discover that the patients' suspicions are true: an alien species of human duplicates, grown from plant-like pods, is taking over the small town.

Elizabeth, a burlesque performer and sex worker, pursues both professions with passion. But after years of keeping her life as a sex worker a secret, she begins to wonder if she can continue living this way. As she prepares to turn the page, she takes on one last client, a man with a disability. Their unexpected encounter shakes her convictions and leads her on an intimate and transformative journey.

Jim, sexy icon of the Parisian gay scene, sees his life turned upside down when he contracts Heterosis, a strange virus that transforms gay men into heterosexuals! It’s then everyone turns their backs on him except for his last follower (and first admirer), Lucien, a young man who struggles to assume himself. Together, they will leave in search of a mysterious remedy capable of healing Jim and preventing the extinction of Homosexuality…

After witnessing a sexual assault, a young girl is haunted by the trauma of the disturbing incident, opening her eyes to the violence that surrounds her.

WIFF Prize in Canadian Film Nominee Wide-eyed Julián is about to spend the summer with a grandmother he barely knows. He is amazed to discover her treasure-trove apartment, his own Caribbean heritage, and the lively Brooklyn community he is surrounded by. But most surprising of all, Julián discovers that he is, in fact, a mermaid!

A comedy about that period of childhood when the hope of changing the world was not “just an illusion.” 1985. Vincent, almost 13, lives in the suburbs of Paris in a middle-class family, between a distant older brother and parents in constant conflict. Although he is no longer a child and not yet an adult, the film follows his reflections and doubts about identity, friendship, family, and his questions about religion, desire, and love.

After a year of filming abroad, Manu, a 39-year-old, once prominent actor, returns to his hometown and tries to re-enter the industry. Against all odds, he lands a job hosting a nighttime call-in radio show. In the midst of an existential crisis, Manu uses this platform to voice the philosophical questions that plague him late into the night. Through his interactions with listeners, a group of lonely souls, his life takes on new meaning. Kairos reflects on uprootedness, the poetry of everyday life, solitude, and the power of human contact.

From filmmaker John Bolton comes King Arthur’s Night, a genre-defying documentary film inspired by a medieval musical play created by an amazing company of artists with and without Down syndrome, including award-winning playwrights Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef; visionary director James Long; and iconic musician Veda Hille. Think: “The Green Knight” meets “Crip Camp,” but with songs. Brimming with magic, memory and metaphor, King Arthur’s Night explores themes of difference and disability, and asks questions about who gets to tell stories, and who gets to wear the crown. A deeply emotional and powerful story of fathers and sons, by turns comic and tragic, and real and surreal, it’s about the powers of imagination and inclusion to change lives and worlds.

From Cannes-winning directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi—popularly known as Los Javis—La Bola Negra follows three generations of men across pivotal moments in Spanish history, bound by pain, desire, and love. Carlos (Milo Quifes) longs to belong in a fractured Spain. Sebastián (Guitarricadelafuente) finds connection across enemy lines. And Alberto (Carlos González) uncovers a long-buried family secret—one that finally gives voice to truths the past tried to erase.

A group of French high-school students travel to Naples on a school trip to discover the ruins of Pompeii and the bodies petrified by Vesuvius. There, they are drawn into a dizzying descent. One by one, they are swept up in desire and anger, until they surrender to them completely.

WIFF Prize in Canadian Film Nominee Once upon a time, there was a boy from Baie-Comeau. That boy would become a man of the people and a furnace of political ambition, destined for the bright lights of our nation’s capital. Haunted by the ghost of John Diefenbaker and the disembodied voice of Pierre Trudeau, he sets out to accomplish the Progressive Conservative dream: winning over Quebec, uniting a fragmented country and creating fiscally responsible prosperity for all. In a genre-bending collage of VHS-ravaged Canadiana, filmmaker Matthew Rankin (Universal Language) remixes and reimagines 80,000 pieces of archive, chronicling our 18th prime minister’s crash course with destiny as he clobbers Joe Clark and ushers in a new kind of conservatism for the 80s. What emerges is a fever dream of politics, propaganda and pop culture as hypnotic as its subject. Behold the unstoppable ascent of a generational political genius who charmed a nation into oblivion. Ladies and gentlemen, Brian Mulroney.

In 1975, when the civil war breaks in Lebanon, a mother decides to exile her two oldest daughters, one to Montréal, the other to France. The third will stay home with her brother and their nanny. Hoda (Naïade Aoun), the Montréaler, returns to Lebanon in 1980, 1983, 1990, and today for, respectively, a wedding, an illness, a funeral, and an inheritance. The Lady in White is a film structured in five segments, while they are set during major events of the Lebanese civil war, each opens with Hoda’s new life and evolution in Montréal. Bringing the horror of the combat back to life through Hoda’s transformation in contact with her new country, the film illustrates the cultural abysses that deepen the rifts of a more intimate and devastating war.

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich always considered teaching his true calling. As he faces his final class, he wrestles with the dual realities of his own aging and his students inheriting a world out of balance. The Last Class is a nuanced and deeply personal portrait of master educator Robert Reich teaching his final course and reflecting on a period of immense transformation, personally and globally. It is a love letter to education. The former Secretary of Labor might be famous for his public service, best-selling books, and viral social media posts, but he always considered teaching his true calling. Now, after over 40 years and an extraordinary 40,000 students, Reich is preparing for his last class.

Carlobianchi and Doriano are penniless petty crooks in their fifties, with larger-than-life personalities. They drift through the bars and backstreets of their Veneto hometown, live on memories, small schemes, and the hope of unearthing cash an old friend once hid. When they meet Giulio, a shy, drifting architecture student, they take him along on a rambling trip through the Venetian plains. What begins as a search for buried money turns into days of shared stories, countless drinks, and a bond none of them knew they might have been missing.

With a warm smile and positive attitude, Floria arrives at the surgical ward of the Swiss hospital where she works as a nurse on the overnight shift. Floria juggles endless tasks administering medication, updating charts, soothing patients, answering phones, and managing complaints. Surrounded by fluorescent lights, the steady beeping of monitors, and echoing footsteps, Floria struggles to fight off exhaustion and maintain her professional demeanor. Every second counts, and every interruption could mean the difference between life and death. Director Petra Volpe skillfully uses real-time tension to examine the emotional cost of frontline care work and the quiet, unglamorous triumph of keeping people alive in a pitiless system. Late Shift is a portrait of everyday courage, both an homage to nurses and a rousing call to address the global staffing shortage in the industry.

Dara returns home to reconnect with her husband and her young daughter, whom she left two years earlier. When she arrives, she discovers that a woman who is seven months pregnant has taken her place and that her daughter no longer recognizes her. Like a House On Fire tells the story of a woman’s struggle to regain the life she left behind.

In Canada’s world-famous Algonquin Provincial Park, Labour Day Weekend is one of the busiest times of the entire year. And in 2021—amid the frustrations and isolation of COVID lockdowns and restrictions—it may just have been the busiest weekend in the park’s history. But it’s not just seasoned camping veterans making the journey to Algonquin Park—first time campers are flocking in ever greater numbers presenting challenges and opportunities for the custodians of the park. The Long Weekend follows Zimbabwean-Canadian Gladys and her two children Rutendo and Tenaka as they try backcountry camping for the first time.The film also follows Luis and Shaun, two queer male immigrants who now make their homes in Toronto. Along the way, we’ll uncover some of the ways in which LGBTQ+ people are newly claiming space in the natural world. A celebration of diversity, the power of wilderness experiences, and the deep bonds of family and friendship, The Long Weekend is a delightful documentary about the changing face of the camping world.

After his mother disappears during the first blizzard of the season, a young man refuses to give up hope as one long Colorado winter reshapes his relationship with his father and his understanding of the man he is becoming.

In his debut feature documentary, Aziz Zoromba follows acclaimed chef Fadi Kattan and Canadian co-venturer Nicole Mankinen as they race to open a Palestinian restaurant in Toronto. While their dream takes shape, escalating attacks devastate Gaza and the West Bank. Part immersive food film and part urgent record, Louf is a powerful meditation on diaspora, resistance, and the politics of preservation.

At the end of summer, Clémence tells her ex-husband that she's having affairs with women. Her life is turned upside down when he takes custody of her son. Clémence will have to fight to remain a mother, a woman, and free.

France, 1940. Jean Chevalin and his family are living in poverty after he made the ill-advised decision to desert the army. Their situation has become unbearable. Convinced that “some people” are managing better than others, Chevalin comes up with a brilliant idea: to pretend they’re Jewish in order to benefit from the smugglers’ help in reaching the Free Zone. From one misunderstanding to another, and through a series of revelations, he drags his family into a journey that will dismantle his prejudices one by one…

Lumi is set in the post-apocalyptic arctic in a future where technology has crumbled and humanity’s survival hangs by a thread. It’s 2125 and a resourceful young teen lives in isolation with her only companion; a humanoid A.I. she calls Mother. Their bond is unbreakable, but when Raiders track her back to their cabin, Mother is badly injured, leaking precious plasma she needs to function. The girl sets out into the vast tundra in search of plasma and teams with an unlikely duo and their dogsled. They travel together, encountering more potentially lethal attacks before finding the distant community of Ehkelo and its autocratic leader. It’s there that things take another dangerous turn and the girl must rely on the resilience of human spirit while facing the most difficult decision of all. Lumi is a thrilling adventure that will prove some bonds can defy even the darkest of times.

Cliff is an eccentric young man living in a remote desert town, pining after an ex and looking for love in all the wrong places. When his estranged birth mother, Marg, shows up unexpectedly, they quickly start to bond and he thinks he’s finally found someone he can relate to. But she comes with her share of secrets and ulterior motives and has been followed into town by vengeful figures from her past. Soon, Cliff is swept up in a wild misadventure across the desert. Set against the scenic backdrop of a dusty desert town, the film is about eccentric misfits struggling to find connection.

Commissioner Maigret rushes to the Quai d’Orsay with Lieutenant Janvier. There, they find Mademoiselle Larrieu in a state of shock. That very morning, she discovered the bullet-riddled body of Mr. Berthier-Lagès, a renowned former ambassador whom she had served as a housekeeper for 46 years. While searching the victim’s apartment, Maigret and Janvier uncover hundreds of letters. The diplomat had maintained a fifty-year-long love correspondence with a certain Princess of Vuynes, whose husband—by a strange coincidence—had died just a few days earlier. As he confronts the various members of the two families and the suspicious silence of Mademoiselle Larrieu, Maigret finds himself faced with surprise after surprise, watching his certainties crumble—until the solution to the mystery finally hits him in the face at the very last moment…

Mallory, plagued by fears of being unremarkable, joins her playwright boyfriend Sam on a retreat to coastal Maine. When she learns he once brought his glamorous ex, Louise, there, she spirals into obsessive comparison. As Mallory becomes convinced she’s being haunted by Louise’s ghost, she’s pulled into a journey through time that blurs the line between rivalry and affection. Mallory’s Ghost is a playful psychological exploration of envy, and the strange path it can lead back to the self.

After falling in love with Vietnamese cuisine during a life-changing trip aborad, Jerald—a self-taught chef from small-town texas—arrives in New York City with one goal: to open his own restaurant. Juggling odd jobs and secretly perfecting recipes in a basement kitchen, he’s running out of time and money. When he meets Nhung, a sharp-witted waitress, their unlikely alliance sparks a bold culinary journey. From improvised street hustles to a hidden speakeasy, they fight to turn Jerald’s dream into reality. A story of passion, resilience, and unexpected friendship in the heart of the city.

Manhood follows Bill Moore, an anti-aging entrepreneur leading what he calls a “cosmetic revolution” in penile enhancement. Operating out of a strip mall in Dallas, Bill isn’t just building a business. He’s at the center of a burgeoning, unregulated medical frontier—one that draws patients like Ruben Ramirez and David Smith to his door. Ramirez, a body modification enthusiast. He becomes addicted to the subscription model of Bill’s enhancement, describing each treatment as “like heroin,” even as his family’s financial situation spiral out of control. David, the victim of a botched enlargement procedure comes to Bill to repair his botched penis, and their relationship becomes unexpectedly romantic. We follow them on a cross-country journey to Indiana, where David undergoes reconstructive surgery. Told with humor and empathy, Manhood probes the deeper psychological roots of modern masculinity—an America where men feel dangerously insecure, and desperate to finally be a little bit bigger.

In 1910, Maria Chapdelaine, a girl of seventeen, lives with her family on the banks of the Péribonka River north of Lac Saint-Jean. The Chapdelaines work tirelessly to push back the limits of the forest. In a home where even physical exhaustion cannot diminish the warmth of family life, Maria, strong and full of hope, finds herself faced with major dilemmas. François Paradis, a former neighbour she has loved since childhood, who has become a free-spirited fur trapper and a guide for strangers, promises to return in the spring to marry her. But when the spring is overdue, two suitors come forward. Lorenzo Surprenant, who works in the factories of Massachusetts, offers Maria a comfortable existence in an American city, and Eutrope Gagnon, their valiant neighbour, asks her to clear with him the land he has taken near the Chapdelaines'. Thrust into the adult world; Maria will suddenly be forced to decide of her future as a woman.

In Jacmel, Haiti, the sea, the churches, and the spirits shape daily life. Marie Madeleine is a free woman. She makes a living as a prostitute and navigates the nights without submitting to the rules of those who save souls. Her path crosses Joseph's, a young evangelist. A relationship blossoms between these two opposite beings. As Joseph’s faith wavers, Marie Madeleine draws him into a world where desire and the quest for freedom open up a space where everything can be reinvented.

Mathieu, 19, leads a solitary life divided between his work at the slaughterhouse and superficial relationships. His daily routine is upended when his older sister Heidi, who left for the United States three years earlier, asks him to come pick her up. This journey reopens the wounds of a family past marked by absence and resentment, putting their reunion to the test. The Mechanics of Borders is a road movie that examines the remnants of a fractured childhood and the quest to rebuild broken sibling bonds.

France’s rural wasteland. Mika and Dan have big dreams but little luck. Cornered after another blunder by Dan, they end up working for Tony, their best friend, who’s now the king of construction. Mika and Dan need to find a way out of here, a way out of trouble—simply a way out.

Russia, 2022. When Gleb, a successful company director, finds himself under siege from mounting corporate pressures and an increasingly unstable world, the collapse of his carefully ordered life accelerates toward violence.

At just 14 years old, Molly Russell came home from school, finished her homework and said goodnight to her family. A few hours later, she took her own life. Surrounded by a loving circle of family and friends, it was a life-shattering mystery to all who knew her. In search of an answer Ian, her devastated father, pieces the final months of her life back together only to discover that social media machines dragged her into darkness. From a teenager’s suburban bedroom to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley, Molly vs The Machines is the story of a heartbroken father’s quest to uncover the truth behind his daughter's death, and his fightback against how the most powerful corporations of the modern age operate.

When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Mariia Zaborovska knew she had to do something about it. Although she had left Ukraine a couple of years earlier to resettle in Montreal, she realized that her love for her country remained intact and just as strong as ever. She reached out to her friend Tetiana Karpova, who had also recently arrived in Montreal. The latter agreed to join Mariia, bringing along her own friend, Tetiana Voysovych, so that they could do something about the unjust war in their homeland. Together they started an unprecedented series of events in different public places across Montreal, which they called “silent protests”, thereby raising awareness amongst the Canadian public about Ukraine. This documentary not only follows them during their protests, but also offers us a deeper understanding of Ukraine and paints an evocative and accurate portrait of the Ukrainian people, particularly the younger generation they proudly represent.

Murderous follows the exploits of an emerging female filmmaker—who has had a breakout hit with her first feature—as she negotiates successive visits from two very different people who may know a lot more about her past and her work than she would ever want them (or the rest of the world) to know.

A filmmaker’s quest to make a documentary detailing a cold-case homicide that shook the world of gay porn in 1990 leads to stunning revelations and an unexpected answer. In 1990, the severed head of Bill Newton, also known as Billy London, a gay adult film performer, was discovered in a dumpster in West Hollywood. After three decades, this documentary ignited an investigation which ultimately led to a resolution to the murder. The answers to this gruesome crime shed new light on one of the most violent chapters in gay history.

This is a story that was never supposed to be told. Bound by non-disclosure agreements, three individuals risk everything to break their silence and expose how a routine legal contract has been weaponized to conceal rape, racial discrimination, corporate crimes, and other unlawful activity. Forbidden from speaking about what happened to them - and even from acknowledging they signed an NDA at all - they confront the suffocating reality of enforced secrecy, knowing their silence protects powerful institutions while leaving others at risk. Through intimate, emotional, observational footage, directors Juliane Dressner and Miriam Shor follow their participants as they weigh the devastating personal, legal, and financial consequences of coming forward. At its core, My NDA gives voice to those who were told they could not speak, illuminating the psychological toll of silence and the transformative power of reclaiming one’s story.

Italy, 1989. After years of hard training, 13-year-old Felice, carrying his father's expectations on his shoulders, finally sets out to compete in the national tennis tournaments. While dreaming of a simple summer vacation, he's instead placed under the wing of ex-tennis champion Raul, an unconventional coach hired by his father. Match after match, the two embark on a journey that will lead Felice to discover the taste of freedom, and Raul to glimpse the possibility of a fresh start. As they travel along the Italian coast, an unexpected, deep, and sincere bond between them develops.

təm kʷaθ nan (Namesake) follows an ongoing conversation between Tla’amin Nation and the city commonly known as Powell River about a name that honours Israel Wood Powell, whose policies harmed Tla’amin people and culture. As the Nation asks the city to consider a new name, the community responds with reflection, resistance, allyship, and difficult conversations about history, identity, and belonging. Elders share naming traditions rooted in responsibility to place, while the film situates this moment within over 12,000 years of continuous presence. The outcome remains uncertain, but through the rhythm of the seasons, the film shows how change happens over time—through listening, disagreement, and the willingness to move forward together.

WIFF Prize in Canadian Film Nominee A story of trauma, resilience, and the power of community. Nekai Walks is an intimate, urgent feature documentary that follows the extraordinary survival and recovery of Nekai Foster, a Toronto teenager who was shot through the head in a sudden hail of gunfire during the summer of 2023. Anchored by the profound, unbreakable bond between Nekai and his mother who navigates fear, faith, and exhaustion while refusing to accept her son's near-zero survival odds, the film expands into a portrait of Toronto's Jane and Finch corridor and the challenges faced by many North American urban communities. Through the raw testimonies of educators, survivors, and grassroots mentors, the documentary powerfully reframes urban gun violence. It moves away from standard true-crime tropes to expose a systemic public health crisis deeply rooted in poverty, racism, trauma, and institutional neglect.

WIFF Prize in Canadian Film Nominee When Alzheimer's lands her in a hostile nursing home, a long-retired transgender activist must fight her last battle for dignity before dementia makes it impossible to win.

WIFF Prize in Canadian Film Nominee Mihail fled Bulgaria in the ‘90s after the death of his wife, raising his young daughter Roza in Montreal. Far from his native culture and painful memories, he built a new life, one steeped in French and contemporary art. A specialist in the field, he is commissioned to authenticate the work of an eight-year-old Bulgarian girl, Nina, whose paintings have gone viral online. Mihail, feels unready to return to Bulgaria, yet his daughter’s wish to pass on her heritage to her son pushes him to overcome his reluctance. As his stay stretches on, he gradually comes to terms with his ghosts while trying to unravel the mystery of this child who seems to commune with the cosmos through her paintings. Is she truly the author of her works? Has someone helped her? And if she really is gifted, what gives him the right to impose the sale of her paintings, and with it, the forced migration her mother has been dreaming of? Mihail’s journey highlights the intricate relationships between life, art, and the people who inhabit both. Sometimes, the journey matters more than the destination.

As fossil fuels continue to cook the planet, the world is finally becoming forced to confront the influence of large oil companies and tactics that have enriched a small group of corporations and individuals for generations. Beneath our feet, Uranium atoms in the Earth’s crust hold incredibly concentrated energy—science unlocked this energy in the mid-20th century, first for bombs and then to power submarines and the United States led the effort to generate electricity from this new source. Yet, as societies began the transition to nuclear power and away from fossil fuels, a long-term PR campaign to scare the public began, funded in part by coal and oil interests. This campaign would sow fear about harmless low-level radiation and create confusion between nuclear weapons and nuclear power. With unprecedented access to the nuclear industry in France, Russia, and the United States, director Oliver Stone explores the possibility for the global community to overcome challenges like climate change and reach a brighter future through the power of nuclear energy.

For thousands of years, polar bears have migrated along the shores of Hudson Bay in northern Canada. Today, that ancient rhythm collides with a human world of tourism, surveillance, and control. Nuisance Bear immerses viewers in the experience of a polar bear forced to navigate tourists, wildlife officers, and hunters as climate change delays the freeze and pushes bears closer to human settlements. When a sacred predator is branded a “nuisance,” it becomes unclear who truly belongs in this shared landscape. Shot with striking intimacy and scale, the film observes bears that are constantly monitored, photographed, and redirected. In tracing this uneasy coexistence, Nuisance Bear becomes a meditation on how humans manage, commodify, and redefine wildlife—overturning the conventions of the nature documentary and reframing animals not as spectacle, but as active agents in a rapidly changing world.

This thoughtful, moving, and humorous feature-length documentary explores the hold that fear and anxiety have on us, both individually and as a society. At a time when everyone is talking about anxiety, Christine Chevarie-Lessard tries to understand the ever-present fear inside her by meeting with an Anxiety Anonymous group, a singing scientist, a sociologist who wants to be a bullfrog, a philosopher who fears for democracy, and some imaginary figures for good measure. In a story that blends introspection, emotion and humour, fear is shown to be at times dangerous, at times transformative, but always powerful and universal.

Gaza, 2007. Yahya, a young student, forges a friendship with Osama, a charismatic restaurant owner with a big heart. Together, they start peddling drugs while delivering falafel sandwiches, but they are soon forced to grapple with a corrupt cop and his oversized ego…

A decade after his death, genre-defying filmmaker William Greaves has one last trick up his sleeve with what he considered the most important event he captured on film: a 1972 party he engineered with the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. For four hours, this extraordinary group—many of whom had not seen each other in fifty years—reminisced, critiqued, argued, laughed, and drank while wrestling with their place in a rapidly shifting cultural landscape. Shot on 16mm film, newly restored, and now directed by Greaves’ son David, this landmark film is at once a self-exploration and an inquiry into the heart of the critical mass of energy called the Harlem Renaissance.

She loved him more than anything else, he loved her more than the others. Simone Signoret and Yves Montand were the most famous couple of their time. Haunted by her husband’s affair with Marilyn Monroe and bruised by all those that followed, Signoret always refused the role of victim. What they knew was that they would never leave each other.

After her overbearing father dies, Emma, a young woman with Down syndrome, seeks the romance and career she’s always dreamed of—much to the chagrin of her worrying older sister Blake. Although Emma tests the waters of social media and dating apps, what she really hopes for is to meet the young man she saw at her father’s funeral—she just needs to figure out who he is! And if she does find him, their meet-cute would technically be at her dead dad’s interment. Not the most Shakespearean of romances. Can Emma live her dreams, find love and a career, and do it before her sister shuts it all down? She’ll need the skills, smarts, and maybe one perfect date, to do it.

Harry Lehman (John Turturro) is an aging pickpocket who plies his trade with ever-diminishing returns in a drastically changed New York. Wallets stuffed with cash have been replaced by easily cancelled credit cards, and Harry struggles to make ends meet as he cares for his disabled wife, Rosie. When he unwittingly purloins and fences a valuable USB stick, Harry finds himself in a race against time to return the loot or face the rage of a vengeful crime family.

40-year-old Jeanne has lived alone since the break-up of a long-term relationship. One summer evening she receives an unexpected visit from her sister Suzanne and her two young children. Surprised by their sudden arrival, Jeanne finds her sister distracted and distant and senses that something is amiss. The next morning, Jeanne wakes up to find Suzanne has vanished, leaving behind her a farewell note, and her children... Jeanne struggles to care for her niece and nephew while trying to understand her sister’s disappearance. As the long summer months turn into autumn, she and the children learn to navigate their new reality together.

Where are female architects? Women have passionately and skillfully created architectural works for centuries. History seems to have forgotten them... or have they been conscientiously erased from a male-dominated profession? Out of the Picture goes in search of these women, exploring their history and their outlook; it investigates why and how women have been excluded from the honor roll of architecture, and how they now are reclaiming visibility.

Claude Lafortune dedicated his life to transforming mere paper into whimsical works of art. In doing so, the beloved television host inspired generations of French-Canadian children through his celebration of creativity and inclusion. The Paper Man reveals the depths of Claude Lafortune's work, as well as his continuing legacy.

WIFF 2026 OPENING NIGHT FILM - In James Gray’s deeply felt and intense drama, two brothers (Adam Driver, Miles Teller) become entangled in a scheme that turns out to be too good to be true. As they try to navigate their way through the dangerous world of the Russian mafia, family bonds begin to fray with life-altering consequences.

In Ghana, Kojo is a teenager torn between the freedom of the streets of Accra and the traditional values of his father, a fisherman. Then, during a storm, his father disappears at sea. Devastated and short on money, Kojo enters the world of street gangs. He rises quickly through the ranks, but his success fails to fill the void inside him. Meanwhile, in Quebec, Tony, a rebellious yet sensitive teenager, lives with his mother, Chantal. When he discovers her long-distance relationship with a mysterious cargo ship captain, Tony begins to suspect that this man might be the father he has never known. Paradise is a story of distance, trust and the quiet gravity that binds us.

Madeleine, Jean-Jacques, and Félicien orchestrate a car theft to break free from their financial and social constraints. During the act, they kill a witness, drawing the public's attention. Hunted by all, this decision leads them down a bewildering path between love and violence, one they can no longer control.

In search of inspiration for her new novel, Sylvie spies on her neighbors across the street. When she hires young Adam to help her with her daily routine, she has no idea that he will turn her life and her work upside down, until the fiction she had imagined surpasses the reality of them all.

Brigitte and Jonathan are invited to dinner. Upon arrival, they become embroiled in a dispute over a parking space with another driver. What should have been a trivial disagreement soon escalates into a standoff fueled by the stranger's unnerving persistence and Jonathan's growing refusal to back down. As the evening unfolds and the couple breaks away from the confrontation to join their hosts around a warm table, the conflict appears to resolve. Yet a tension lingers, an unease running beneath the humour and slowly seeping into the conversations. The encounter with the stranger has taken on a troubling weight, casting a shadow over the evening and quietly exposing fault lines within the relationship.

A woman battles for her voice as her country fights for its own. Based on a true story. Pauline Julien, an iconic Quebec singer and a true poetic and political icon, left an indelible mark on the province. Her story unfolds during a time of profound social and political upheaval in Quebec, marked by a growing movement for independence and the 1970 October Crisis. The film traces her life filled with light, work, love, and heartbreak. Pauline dances, Pauline loves, Pauline rages, Pauline smokes, Pauline makes love, Pauline burns. Pauline lives. Pauline dies. What remains of her? Today, Quebec continues to grapple with the questions of language, identity, and sovereignty that shaped Pauline’s life, with the possibility of another referendum still present in the political landscape.

Tommy hops the fence at the correctional center and lands on Mrs. Whynot’s doorstep. Her memory frayed, she calls him son, and he rolls with it. To sleep on her couch, he works off her rent debt to LL, her short-fused landlord. Then Tommy meets Joe, LL’s niece. Together, they plot to take LL’s most cherished prize—his golden goose.

Everywhere Man is inspired by musician, producer, and manager Peter Asher’s celebrated cabaret show A Musical Memoir of the ’60s and Beyond. Like his stage performance, the film traces an extraordinary life lived at the center of modern music history. From his early years as a child actor in 1950s London to the Swinging Sixties, Asher emerges as a Zelig-like figure in the culture of the era: one half of the pop duo “Peter and Gordon,” recipients of four chart-topping hits penned by Paul McCartney; the first head of A&R at Apple Records; and co-owner of the Indica Gallery, the epicenter of London’s countercultural art scene. Featuring intimate interviews with James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Kate Taylor, Paul McCartney [in voiceover], as well as cultural icons Steve Martin, Eric Idle, Twiggy, and Pattie Boyd—and more. Everywhere Man paints a vibrant portrait of a man whose life intersects with some of the greatest artists and moments of the last six decades.

After a robbery goes bad, Clare escapes with a duffel bag carrying a life-saving organ and meets with her dying brother Danny. With police closing in and time running out, she hijacks a cosmetic surgery clinic, forcing an unwilling surgeon to attempt an impossible transplant. As the night spirals into violence, betrayal, and desperation, Clare must outrun both law enforcement and ruthless criminals while gambling everything on one final chance to save her brother.

Alton C. Parker became the first Black police officer in his hometown in 1941, later rising to become Canada’s first Black detective. In an era marked by deep racial bias, he broke barriers within the Windsor Police Force, confronting skepticism and systemic obstacles. Through skill, resilience, and determination, he earned the respect of colleagues and the community. His journey reshaped perceptions within law enforcement and helped spark broader social change, leaving a lasting legacy of possibility.

Amanda (Juliette Binoche) and her stepfather Martin (Tom Courtenay) struggle with a moral issue that divides them. Has Amanda’s mother Leslie (Anna Calder-Marshall) who is suffering from advanced dementia, lost the ability to make critical decisions in her own best interests? And, if so, who is responsible—a spouse, a child, an institution—for making such

Through five portraits of relatives and mentors, five expressions of resistance, Ahangarani sketches her life story. Drawing from personal archives, home videos, street protests footage, newspapers, and recorded voices, she retraces more than 40 years of Iran’s history. From the early days of 1979, until the war that began in 2026, she pieces together intimate and collective memories, forming the portrait of a country shaped by political repression and in constant hope for a revolution.

Relax, Open Your Eyes dives deep into the world of cryonics with privileged access, as a young family in Western Canada throws themselves fully into building a facility to help them live forever —The Futurist Club. We follow Carrie Radomski as she travels across the US, then to Spain and Switzerland, to research and train with cryonicists who are trying to hack mortality. Carrie’s grassroots mission to build a hometown cryonics centre is driven by her husband’s escalating health problems, a dedication to her ‘forever family’, and growing cryonics community. Carrie and cryonicists at large believe death is an engineering problem to be solved, but the path to solving it tests her closest relationship and threatens to rupture the cryonics community.

Claire and Yves, trained as physicists, have worked in the nuclear industry their entire lives. During a visit to the National Gallery, Claire is deeply moved by three Rembrandt paintings. This encounter with these three masterful works will change them forever.

Haunted by the sudden death of his father, Romin’s life is turned upside down when he discovers a mysterious artifact hidden in the forest. Struck by an ancient curse that poisons his heart and leaves him with only days to live, he is thrust into a race against time to return the relic to its rightful resting place in The Bahamas. Joined by his brilliant sister Maya, his fearless friend Jeff, and Booker, a resourceful orphan, Romin must stay one step ahead of Lincoln, a ruthless fanatic determined to harness the artifact’s power at any cost. Through ancient riddles, lost treasures, and breathtaking chases, Romin and his friends embark on an unforgettable adventure that leads them to the heart of a forgotten legend.

The bona fide classic of midnight madness is back at WIFF! When Greg Sestero, an aspiring film actor, meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true. The film centers on Johnny (Wiseau), a man who has it all: great friends, a good job and a gorgeous fiancee named Lisa (Juliette Danielle). But Lisa’s innocent act masks the fact that she’s looking to bring Johnny down, and her manipulations are tearing Johnny apart. As Lisa informs her cancer-ridden mother, Claudette, that Johnny hit her (which he certainly did not), Jonny’s best friend Mark (Sestero) finds his resistance to Lisa’s seductive charms weakening. Meanwhile, local orphan Denny loops up to Johnny and needs the older man’s help after the teen rips off a drug dealer. What kind of drugs? It doesn’t matter. Then guys play football in tuxedos, because you can play football anywhere.

In the early 17th century, somewhere in Germany, a mysterious soldier arrives in an isolated Protestant village. Slight and modest by nature, his face disfigured by a scar, this stranger declares himself to be the heir of a long-abandoned farmstead and produces a document to support his claim to the suspicious villagers. With the passage of time, he overcomes their doubts and, proving himself to be a hard-working, God-fearing man, becomes a part of their community. However, his quest for acceptance is built on a bold-faced lie. The true and twisted tale of a swindler who, defying her birth as a woman, comported herself as a man and deceived a village.

WIFF Prize in Canadian Film Nominee After losing a leg to cancer, 21-year-old Terry Fox embarks on a cross-country run that inspired a nation. This feature-length documentary by filmmaker Sean Menard (299 Queen Street West) offers an unprecedented look at Canadian hero Terry Fox’s 1980 Marathon of Hope. Through 96 reels of never-before-seen visuals and unheard audio interviews, viewers are brought directly into the van and onto the streets with Terry, his best friend Doug, and his younger brother Darrell as they experience an emotional and historic journey across the Country.

Fernando Valencia, a 29-year-old voice artist from Cusco, Peru, is an Indigenous activist, painter, and devoted single father. Known for his uncanny ability to voice multiple characters, he launched Quechua Clips—a viral project that reimagines iconic animated scenes in Quechua, the ancestral language of the Incas, also known as Runa Simi. The response was overwhelming: millions of Quechua speakers hungry for stories in their own language. Fueled by this groundswell of support, Fernando sets his sights on an ambitious and quixotic dream—to dub Disney’s 1994 classic The Lion King into Quechua, with the help of his spirited eight-year-old son, Dylan. Armed with a homemade studio and relentless resolve, Fernando navigates countless ups and downs, facing rejection, setbacks, and self-doubt. Yet through it all, his determination never wavers, turning his personal mission into a powerful call for language justice and cultural reclamation.

Through meditative, cinematic landscapes, The Sandbox explores global borders where surveillance and AI decide who lives and who dies. Director Kenya-Jade Pinto exposes the global machinery of surveillance and its devastating human cost. Spanning the deserts of Arizona, to high-tech refugee camps in Greece, Mediterranean rescue operations, and digital labour centers in East Africa, this visually daring, conceptually bold film invites us to see and feel the unsettling reach of borders that have been transformed into dystopian laboratories. This is a world where human lives are raw material for observation, experimentation, and control– and there’s no opting out.

Where gender equality becomes a collective choice. What if equality came with an instruction manual? From Iceland to Sweden, via Norway, Quebec filmmaker Anik Salas sets out to uncover the mystery behind the world champions of gender equality. Why these countries? What have they understood that Canada has yet to grasp? Through inspiring encounters with female politicians, executives, and grassroots organizers who have dared to challenge the rules, the film reveals how these societies have transformed power. This is not feminism for show. It is rooted in political will, concrete strategies, and a shared conviction that change requires patience and persistence. Moving between investigation, travelogue, and manifesto, The Scandinavian Method does more than condemn. It issues a clear invitation to all who refuse to accept the status quo. An urgent, fiercely committed film that insists equality cannot wait another century.

Scarborough explores the struggles, endurance, and resilience of this culturally diverse Toronto community through the lives of three kids growing up within a system that has set them up for failure. Filmed on location in the Kingston-Galloway/West Hill neighbourhood, Scarborough takes place over the course of a school year.

Khaled, a 12-year-old boy from a Palestinian village, gets the chance to see the sea for the first time in his life on a school trip. But when they reach a military checkpoint, the soldiers claim his permit is invalid and send him back home, while his classmates continue their trip. Deeply disappointed, Khaled sets out to the sea on his own, even though he doesn’t know the way and doesn’t speak Hebrew. When his father, Ribhi, an undocumented laborer working in Israel, learns that his son is missing, he leaves his job in search for him—risking arrest and the loss of his livelihood.

Since their divorce, Chris and Antoine can't seem to agree on anything, except their love for their fifteen-year-old son, Milo, whose world revolves around surfing and his summer crush, Nina. As he is about to go on vacation at his grandfather's beach house, Milo is diagnosed with an eye condition that could soon take his sight. In the face of uncertainty, Chris and Antoine set aside old resentments to reconnect, admire the ocean, and make memories for Milo to picture for life.

Since their divorce, Chris and Antoine can't seem to agree on anything, except their love for their fifteen-year-old son, Milo, whose world revolves around surfing and his summer crush, Nina. As he is about to go on vacation at his grandfather's beach house, Milo is diagnosed with an eye condition that could soon take his sight. In the face of uncertainty, Chris and Antoine set aside old resentments to reconnect, admire the ocean, and make memories for Milo to picture for life.

Sentiet takes viewers behind locked doors into the world of those who experiment on animals, where monkeys are most highly prized because of their genetic and anatomic similarities to humans. The nature of the work creates a genuine bond between the researchers and the animals they experiment on, and many scientists struggle with the ethical weight of this “care-kill complex.” The numbers are staggering. In the US alone, 40 thousand monkeys are used in labs each year. The film goes undercover to reveal what happens in the world’s drug testing laboratories and features unprecedented access into one of the largest animal laboratories in the US. It explores the consequences of this testing on the animals and the moral injury suffered by the people who do it. The film acknowledges the medical breakthroughs achieved because of the research using monkeys, but asks the crucial question: with modern knowledge and alternative cutting-edge scientific methods on the way, can we continue to justify perpetrating harm on animals and humans in the name of science?

In Cinque Terre, fewer than 3,000 locals share their cliffside villages with almost 4 million tourists a year. The Siege of Paradise unfolds across a single summer on one of the most photographed coastlines in the world, tracing six lives through the peak of the season: Fabrizia, the young mayor torn between her community and the economy that sustains it; Bartolo, an ageing winegrower tending both his vines and his seriously ill wife; Guido, a fisherman betting on integrity over easy money; Carmelo, a weary restaurateur running on fumes; Giorgia, his young daughter weighing the pull of the family business against a life of her own beyond these villages; and Grace and Isabel, two influencers from Chicago on a quest for content, and quietly asking what they're looking for themselves.

At the heart of an old German university grows a majestic ginkgo tree, its lifespan measured in centuries. As the years pass, the distinguished plant bears witness to the private lives of those who seek shade under its boundless branches. In 2020, a visiting neuroscientist conducts a series of experiments into the possibilities of botanical consciousness. In 1972, a young student is profoundly changed by studying the behavior of a simple geranium. And in 1908, the university’s first female student’s photographic inquiries reveal sacred patterns of the universe hidden within the humblest of plants. Three lonely souls, three outsiders. Over time, each is transformed by the quiet, enduring, and mysterious power of nature. Silent Friend is an epic, awe-inspiring exploration of the natural world. Director Ildikó Enyedi crafts a funny, tender meditation on the essential question of what it means to be human.

Sara and Adam arrived illegally in Belgium with their two-year-old daughter, hoping to reach England. Redouane and his police squad hunt down human smugglers every night. That night, Sara, Adam, and their daughter are in the van Redouane tries to stop. That night, everything changes.

Young, curious, and full of drive, Siri Hustvedt leaves the wide, quiet landscapes of Minnesota and plunges into the pulsating life of New York City. In search of the protagonist for her first novel, she embarks on a journey that not only shapes her as a writer but leads her to become one of the most compelling voices in contemporary American literature. The film opens with a perspective that reaches far beyond Siri Hustvedt herself, discovering women who courageously and independently realize their artistic visions. As Siri and her husband Paul Auster reflect on language, identity, and the power of words, life intervenes: Paul Auster becomes seriously ill. In Siri Hustvedt - Dance Around the Self, director Sabine Lidl portrays Siri Hustvedt’s distinctive way of living and thinking, weaving her writing together with the major themes of life: love and farewell.

When Jamie collides with her venomous mother, her life blows up spectacularly, leaving her unhoused and newly single. This set her off on a pig-in-a-hurricane journey for “home”: breaking into her Nana’s house, a rejected bid to move in with her van-dwelling ex, and crashing at her best friend’s pied-a-terre, which ends disastrously after Jamie sleeps with her friend’s husband. This lands her in the worst home of all—jail. There, Jamie finds the unconditional love she craves through Bozo, a dog she meets in the jail’s canine rehabilitation program. She eventually returns to her Nana’s house - this time, truly free.

Edith, a journalist in her 40s, chooses to become a single mother through an anonymous sperm donor, believing she can build a life on her own terms. She is now the happy mother of a five-year-old son. But the emotional weight of parenting alone begins to wear on her, and doubts creep in. When she unexpectedly discovers the donor’s identity, a nearby successful game developer named Niels, curiosity leads her to meet him on the pretext of an interview. What begins as a calculated encounter gradually deepens into a genuine connection, driving Edith to sink deeper into lies and endanger the fragile balance of the life she has built.

A criminal defence lawyer, Sam, (Pascale Bussières), finds herself kidnapped and abandoned on a remote island along with a former client, Paul (François Arnaud), who she previously cleared of sexual assault charges. As they make their way through the unrelenting Canadian wilderness, Paul’s behaviour forces Sam to question the man she once defended. As doubt gives way to fear, she finds herself facing a choice no lawyer should ever have to make.

In the Ennedi desert of Chad, millennia old mountains rise from the sand. They carry the memory of a forgotten past and whisper ancient legends. Kellou, a young woman from a nearby village, is troubled by haunting visions that set her apart from those around her. Her world shifts the day she meets Aya, an outcast rejected by the community. As the villagers turn against their growing sisterhood, Kellou must stand up for Aya and face the hostility of her own people, while fighting for their freedom.

Mehdi’s life lies on a fragile balance. He plays the role of the perfect Algerian son for his mother Fatima, while hiding his relationship with Léa and his passion for French cuisine and wine, which he pursues as a chef at the bistro where he works. But Léa can no longer tolerate his family secrets and demands to meet Fatima, so Mehdi is forced to choose between his secrets and the woman he loves.