Discoveries from Canada World Cinema

It's the morning after - and four is a crowd. Couple Samantha and Peter negotiate a thoroughly modern and thoroughly awkward situation.

This documentary short by Alanis Obomsawin tells the story of Kahentiiosta, a young Kahnawake Mohawk woman arrested after the Oka Crisis' 78-day armed standoff in 1990. She was detained 4 days longer than the other women. Her crime? The prosecutor representing the Quebec government did not accept her indigenous name.

A haphazard party-ride to Mexico evolves into an enigma with a fugitive alien at the helm.

In the ruthless attention economy of the Internet, young influencers gamble everything for fame and fortune. A startling and timely study of contemporary celebrity, Anything For Fame ventures into the virtual Wild West to profile an ambitious — and reckless — new breed of content creator.

Paula and Nathan just want a quick lunch at a local diner, but they end up getting much more than they could possibly afford: A specialty item for a particular class of customer.

When her mother died, Geneviève went back to the village where she was born to sell off the house and return to Montreal. Her sister Manou, a pregnant teenager, refuses Genevieve's authority and leaves for the Île de Sable with her boyfriend.

Benjamin tells his ex-girlfriend, Angie, that he joined a cell of left-wing terrorists to get revenge on her former boss, who owns a right-wing radio station. His story blends conceptual artists, amateur theatre troupes, hallucinogenic vinyl record and other magical powers. All that nonsense leave Angie wondering if he made that up only to win her back.

Shane has been cheating on his girlfriend with random women he meets online, when his most recent mistress kills herself in a motel bathroom during their rendezvous.

An imaginative boy suffers the stifling ordinariness of his family's weekly Sunday ritual.

Filmmaker Jennifer Abbott explores the emotional and psychological dimensions of the climate crisis and the relationship between grief and hope in times of personal and planetary change.

Michael is frustrated that he has his license, but isn’t allowed to drive the family cars. Michael and Gordon go in together to buy a used fixer-upper, thinking it's a guaranteed babe magnet. It has the opposite effect, continually breaking down - and straining their frienship. Elly has booked April’s birthday party over at the Burger Bin, but she comes down with the flu and has to ask Michael to take April and look after the party, leading to some lessons about life, and friendship.

A young girl, Joanna, is ostracized from kids at school. Lonely, she retreats into the books of HP Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. Her imagination then comes to life, when Joanna builds herself a robot friend from the odds and ends in her father's garage. Instantly popular, she learns that even those you love the most can turn their backs. This gothic and stylized film explores the desire for love and acceptance we all share.

Demi is an actress who's grown up in the dim glare of the Hollywood (North) spotlight. When she decides to brave the world of Internet dating, she quickly finds her ego and her sanity unraveling.

Six strangers awake to find themselves the new tenants of a mysterious old house. Terrorized by insane Tiki-men in masks and taunted by their deranged captors,it soon becomes clear that only one singular action will save them: Kill.

Louis-José takes a stand: yes, he admits, he describes himself as slow, going against the grain of his time where immediacy is valued, thus justifying his affection for this underestimated and unloved month. Captured in September 2018 at the legendary Capitol Theater in Moncton.

See the full spectrum of the Showscan process. Magic sequences, special effects, miniature photography, high speed thrills and suspense.

Long ago in a faraway land, a young wizard's apprentice named Alerik discovers a pathway under the wall that surround his land to a shining city alive with the magic of Christmas.

A disabled man yearns for intimacy in a world that would rather ignore him.

When confronted by a doctor’s questions, a cervix thinks back on its life and what might have caused the growths that need to be removed by said doctor.

After spending 4 years in prison for drug trafficking, Dino tastes fame by interpreting the godfather of the mafia in the TV series Omerta. Now 72 years old, he's preparing for a role that could be his last. Somewhere between reality and fiction, My Friend Dino offers a special access to the universe of this likable anarchist.

In this French Canadian film, the lives of teenagers are examined in fantasy sequences and through the use of documentary interviews. Prompted by the filmmaker, nine teenagers individually act out their secret dreams and, between times, talk about their world as they see it. The fantasy sequences make creative use of animation, unusual film-development techniques, and stills. Babette conceives of herself as an abbess defending her fortress, a convent; Michelle is transported in a dream of love where all time ceases; Philippe is the revolutionary, defeating all the institutions that plague him, and so on, through all their fantasies. All the actual preoccupations of youth are raised: authority, drugs, social conflict, sex. Jutra's style in "Wow" exhibits his innovative approach to storytelling and filmmaking, showcasing his talents as a director during that period. With English subtitles.

A tough rich female ranch owner in Africa wants to cut off the water supply to the locals, since she holds them responsible for the murder of her husband. She hires two charming gunrunners as help, but they suspect her shady competitor.

A documentary from 1987 featuring the life of early Chinese immigrants to the island of Newfoundland.

In this tribute to the eternal allure of an ancient myth, colourful fins and swimming pools fill the lives of five modern-day women who strive to embody the mysterious siren as part of a growing “mermaiding” subculture.

With an enthralling central performance by Gilbert Sicotte, this masterful debut feature examines the life of the top car salesman in a fading Quebec town as events challenge the 67-year-old’s sense of identity and the meaning of life at the most profound level.

Phil Heath is considered one of the most muscular men on the planet. He travels the world making a living from his 'muscles' as one of today's elite-level professional bodybuilders. From the hard work at the gym to the pressures of competing to maintaining a positive relationship with his family, it's all part of Phil's quest to become Mr. Olympia; the ultimate bodybuilding title. In Gifted, we peek behind the curtain of one of the world's most fascinating and bizarre sports. Can Phil achieve his dream to become the greatest bodybuilder in the world? The film includes behind the scenes footage at the Olympia, gut-wrenching training, interviews with Phil's family, friends, and body building community. Gifted is a documentary for both people that know little to nothing about bodybuilding as well as bodybuilding aficionados, taking them on a journey of one man's attempt to fulfill his destiny.

With a meticulous selection of interviews, performances and photos drawn from a vast and rich archival collection, Pauline Julien, Intimate and Political follows the iconic Quebec singer and eternally free spirit on a journey through key moments in the province’s history.

A non-narrative hand-painted visual poem about diaspora, homeland, and the tragic mass-deportations of the Kalmyk people during WWII.

A manly man finds himself pregnant. Hilarity ensues.

Montreal, June 2025: Clémence, a young emerging musical artist, discovers the existence of her twin brother Simon, separated from her at birth. Eager to help her brother financially, Clémence naively falls for an online scam. The film explores the themes of family resilience and fraternal solidarity, while following the journey of Clémence, who is desperately trying to break in the music industry.

Cadillac Clown follows two hit men who travel the back roads of the country; a murderous clown who violently stabs his victims to death; a pair of police officers whose investigation is stalled; and two youngsters who stand in front of a convenience store and provoke passers-by with derogatory remarks.

Can we spend our life hiding from others the loneliness of our soul and the nothingness of our existence? A man, believing he can deceive his condition, summons a prostitute to his home. Fate will want her and him to know each other.

A genocide survivor transcends overwhelming odds to become a master chimpanzee linguist

A man who is about to become a father for the first time is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice: giving up a prized and completely useless possession.

A genre anthology about the dark side of dating and relationships.

In a groundbreaking project developed by MISCELLANEOUS Productions, a group of multi-barriered youth collaborated with a team of professional artists on POWER, an evening of solo performance pieces, ensemble drumming and dance numbers, all of which take a raw, honest look at the things that matter to youth in the community: power, racism, immigration, poverty, violence, sexism, addiction and love, presented at Vancouver’s Rhizome Café. This documentary focuses on four young artists -- Roberto, Natasha, Dakota, and Michael -- showing their struggles and their transformation through performance.

Not long after Vincent meets the vivacious Pandore at the Montreal port for a business meeting, the two are soon rolling around in a hotel room. Vincent's ardor cools for the lass when he learns of her ominous secret, and his button-down wife Ariane walks out on him.

Brakhage-like animation with close-ups of rocks and fibers, and credits that describe them “in order of appearance.”

At a masquerade theatre, Beatrice and Benedict, plagued by a past romance and a predatory co-star, navigate blurred lines as their director schemes to trick them into rediscovering love on stage.

A young orphan named Sam yearns to find a forever home, so he and his pet ferret Booger conjure up a little magic.

When a disturbance leads the Energy Troopers, a sentai group of superheroes to a deserted city block, they expect to deal with a typical monster of the week scenario. Instead, the enigmatic sorceress Scarlett Delacroix hijacks their minds mid-battle. Their newest member is forced to battle all of them and free them before their minds are lost forever.

Its another quiet summer day in Park Dufresne. The neighborhood youth loiter around the park until a new park monitor appears for his first day of work. Two universes clash and a territorial struggle begins.

In 2014 Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine turns hot. An engineer, actor, soccer coach and florist volunteer to fight on the front line. Unaware of the pivotal role they will play in the war, they discover the meaning of true leadership.

Two men bond as one recovers from an attack and the other deals with the impending death of his grandmother.

A gay man and a lesbian who are kicked out of the queer community for their toxicity and decide to try living as a straight couple, on the theory that straight people are dumb and therefore less miserable than smarter gay people.

Since the death of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in February 2008, long-time practitioner of Transcendental Meditation and well-known film director David Lynch has been embraced as the movement’s chief international ambassador. Filmmaker Sebastian Lange, who himself was raised in the movement, presents an intimate look at this new phase in the movement’s evolution.

A bumbling man finds adventure in the media world.

Inside a cryptic warehouse, a content creator documents a time travel experiment, unveiling a dangerous journey where desperate seekers risk everything to harness the life-altering power of a mysterious time portal.

A punk rock opera featuring all new songs by Vancouver-based band, Rare Americans. Set in 1993, in the City of Champions, it follows a group of disaffected teens trying to navigate their last year of high school while questioning their roots and questioning the truth.

While imagining the possibility of becoming a mother, Adele is moving between resistance and abandon, wrestling with a vortex of feelings she’s trying to understand.

In a ruined palace that seems to have survived the passage of time, a King is served his complicated daily ritual by his Valet. All under the watchful eye of the Queen, played by a wooden mannequin. Each is in his role, accustomed to this routine that is as ceremonial as it is absurd... But each of them is actually envious of the other's fate, as reflected in their dreams.

Film accompanying the book of the same name by Nelvana Enterprises founders Michael Hirsh and Patrick Loubert, with partner Clive Smith as designer and illustrator. It looks at the "Canadian Whites" series of comic books made during World War II, with some focus on Nelvana of the Northern Lights, the genre's first superheroine, and Johnny Canuck. It was accompanied by a two-year travelling tour of the art, the National Gallery of Canada's "Comic Art Traditions in Canada, 1941–45". This is Nelvana Enterprises' first film.

Ms. Thing is a spoof on the late night TV infomercial. It follows the story of Jill, an emotionally volatile urban lesbian who is looking for love in all the wrong places. She’s a failure at dating. Her new, live-in relationship crumbles over a domestic difference. Just as she reaches an all-time low, stalking her ex on her social networking site, Jill’s knight in shining armor appears at the door. Not a man. Not even a woman. Jill’s prayers are answered by Ms. Thing, the perfect solution for women who are fed up with conventional relationships. Ms. Thing caters to her every need, provides unconditional love and long lasting sexual satisfaction.

The whole town becomes alarmed when our three teenage heroes, Bobby, Jack and Kate sight a mysterious black galleon sailing into the harbour with a lone bearded figure at the helm. Stories of enemy warships disguised as sailing ships fuel the mounting paranoia. Together the three young people befriend the 'Raider' and become involved in a plot to expose a local smuggling ring - a plan which leads them to be imprisoned in the galleon and at the mercy of the smugglers. A story full of suspense, intrigue and romance to delight the whole family. Based on novel by Franklin W. Dixon

True story of Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone, inspired by his mother.