Space Cadet

Director Kid Koala
Year 2025
Run Time 86min
Genre Animation, Family, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
In this charming animated adventure set in the distant future, a young girl raised by a robot becomes a space cadet, and gets selected for her first interstellar adventure. As she encounters challenges on her quest, she is guided by the lessons and memories of her childhood.

Director

Kid Koala

Writer

Mylène Chollet

Producer

Ginette Petit

Genres

Animation, Family, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

Family Relationships, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

No Dialogue

Sedna, Empress of the Sea

Director Jerry Thevenet
Year 2022
Run Time 83min
Genre Animation, Family
In this brilliant animated reimagining of an Inuit legend, a young girl named Sedna is kidnapped by an evil raven and held captive on a remote island. Her escape takes her on an unforgettable journey full of action, songs and laughs.

 

Director

Jerry Thevenet

Writer

Jerry Thevenet

Cast

Shawn Youngchief, Paula Davis

Producer

Jerry Thevenet

Genres

Animation, Family

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads

Original Languages

English, French, Other Language

Deux femmes en or (Two Women)

Director Chloé Robichaud
Year 2025
Run Time 100min
Genre Comedy, Drama
Two mothers living next door to each other each feel overwhelmed by societal pressures, and undervalued in their respective marriages. When one enters into a spontaneous affair, it sends both of them on a journey of self-realization.
 

Director

Chloé Robichaud

Writer

Catherine Léger

Cast

Laurence Leboeuf, Mani Soleymanlou, Karine Gonthier-Hyndman

Producers

Martin Paul-Hus, Catherine Léger

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interests

Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French

Mille secrets, mille dangers (Lovely Day)

Director Philippe Falardeau
Year 2025
Run Time 119min
Genre Comedy, Drama
In this new comedy from Philippe Falardeau, a neurotic groom finds his anxieties and insecurities bubbling to the surface as plans start to go awry on the day of his wedding, threatening to spoil the big day.

Director

Philippe Falardeau

Quebecois director and screenwriter Falardeau has won more than 32 international awards for his films, which include Monsieur Lazhar, La moitié gauche du frigo, C’est pas moi, je le jure!, The Good Lie, Guibord s’en va-t-en guerre, and My Salinger Year. He also directed the TV shows Le temps des framboises, and Lac-Mégantic - ceci n’est pas un accident

Writers

Philippe Falardeau, Alain Farah

Cast

Rose-Marie Perreault, Clodine Desrochers, Georges Khabbaz

Producers

Luc Déry, Kim McCraw

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interests

Family Relationships, Literary Adaptation

Original Language

French

Out Standing

Director Mélanie Charbonneau
Year 2025
Run Time 106min
Genre Drama
An eye-opening look at Sandra Perron’s journey through the Canadian military, chronicling her start in basic training, to her rise as the first female officer in the organization’s history and the circumstances leading to her controversial resignation.

Director

Mélanie Charbonneau

Quebec-based director Charbonneau started her career directing commercials. Her first short film, Seule (Single), played at several international festivals, including Cannes, and her short film Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous collected over 30 prizes at festivals internationally. Fabuleuses (Fabulous) was her first feature. She has also directed episodes of Je ne suis pas un robot (I am Not a Robot).

 

Writers

Mélanie Charbonneau, Martine Pagé, Sandra Perron

Cast

Antoine Olivier Pilon, Nina Kiri, Vincent Leclerc

Producers

Marcel Giroux, Julia Rosenberg

Genre

Drama

Interests

Biography, Discrimination, Female Filmmaker, History, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Meadowlarks

Director Tasha Hubbard (Cree)
Year 2025
Run Time 91min
Genre Drama
Four siblings, torn apart by the Sixties Scoop, reunite for one week in Banff, Alberta. Inspired by her 2017 documentary Birth of a Family on the same subject, Meadowlarks is a moving drama that thoughtfully explores the generational effects of the Sixties Scoop on Indigenous families.

Director

Tasha Hubbard (Cree)

Hubbard is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and an associate professor in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Native Studies. Her NFB documentary Two Worlds Colliding won a Gemini and a Golden Sheaf Award. She has also directed the short film 7 Minutes, and the feature docs Birth of a Familynîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, which won 14 awards, including the CSA for best documentary and Best Canadian Documentary at Hot Docs 2019. She is a founding director of the International Buffalo Relations Institute. Her documentary Singing Back the Buffalo won three awards and was nominated for four others.

Writer

Tasha Hubbard (Cree)

Cast

Carmen Moore (Wet'suwet'en), Michael Greyeyes (Plains Cree), Michelle Thrush (Cree)

Producers

Tyler Hagan, Julia Rosenberg

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Aki

Director Darlene Naponse (Anishinaabe)
Year 2025
Run Time 83min
Genre Documentary
A visually stunning documentary following a Northern Ontario Anishinaabe community over the course of a year. With almost no spoken dialogue, and a strong focus on the natural beauty of the land, this poetic portrait is truly unique.
 

Director

Darlene Naponse (Anishinaabe)

Writer

Darlene Naponse (Anishinaabe)

Producers

Darlene Naponse (Anishinaabe), Jamie Manning

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Environment, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

Other Language

Nika & Madison

Director Eva Thomas (Ojibwe)
Year 2025
Run Time 87min
Genre Drama
2026 spotlight contributor Staff Pick
Madison (Star Slade) returns from university to the reserve where she grew up and receives a frosty welcome from her estranged cousin, Nika (Ellyn Jade). After a night out leads to a violent encounter with a police officer, the two find themselves in a dire situation. Fearing they won't be believed, and with the authorities closing in, they go on the run together, and begin to rediscover the close friendship they thought they’d lost.

Eva Thomas’ urgent and thoughtful debut film premiered at TIFF to critical acclaim, was nominated for the Director’s Guild of Canada Team Award, and won several awards at festivals internationally.

“A gripping film that tackles systemic racism through the bond of two Indigenous women. Powered by authentic performances, it’s a timely, unflinching, and deeply human story.” — Louisa Moore, Screen Zealots
 

Director

Eva Thomas (Ojibwe)

Writers

Michael McGowan, Eva Thomas (Ojibwe)

Cast

Ellyn Jade (Ojibwe), Star Slade, Shawn Doyle

Producer

Eva Thomas (Ojibwe)

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Gagne ton ciel (The Cost of Heaven)

Director Mathieu Denis
Year 2025
Run Time 96min
Genre Drama
2026 spotlight contributor Staff Pick
Nacer has a good life, with a stable job, a loving family and a nice house. But what he really wants is a great life, with all the luxuries that come with it. When he’s passed over for a promotion he thought he deserved, he becomes obsessed with still achieving the wealth he thinks will make him happy, sending him on a dangerous downward spiral.

A perfectly crafted modern parable, this slow-burn thriller from acclaimed director Mathieu Denis will have you on the edge of your seat.

“Like a banquet that gets better dish by dish, so does this picture reward anyone willing to sit before the plate to be served a stylish rendition of a sweet life turned sour.” — Kent Hill, Film Threat
 

Director

Mathieu Denis

Denis is a filmmaker who has directed the short films Le silence nous fera écho, and Code 13 (which was named to TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten, and won him a Best Director Award at the Fantasia International Film Festival), and the features Laurentia, Corbo, The Cost of Heaven, and Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau (Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves), which won Best Canadian Feature at TIFF.

 

Writers

Mathieu Denis, Alexandre Auger

Cast

Meriem Medjkane, Samir Guesmi, Crixus Lapointe

Producer

Hany Ouichou

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Family Relationships

Original Language

French

The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood

Directors Andy Jones, Michael Jones
Year 1986
Run Time 110min
Genre Comedy
2026 spotlight contributor Mary Walsh
Faustus Bidgood is a man torn between very different realities. In one, he’s a mundane clerk at the Newfoundland Department of Education, diligently fulfilling his duties. In the other, he’s a prophet and revolutionary that is unexpectedly leading Newfoundland’s quest to secede from Canada. 

This brilliantly wacky and satirical cult comedy took almost a decade to make and was the first film to be produced entirely in Newfoundland. It was nominated for three Genie Awards including Best Screenplay.

Directors

Andy Jones, Michael Jones

Writers

Andy Jones, Michael Jones

Cast

Andy Jones, Greg Malone

Producers

Andy Jones, Michael Jones

Genre

Comedy

Interest

Cult & Offbeat Cinema

Original Language

English