Lawrence (Lehtinen), an awkward and anxious 17-year-old cinephile living in Burlington, ON, in the early 2000s, believes that he is on the path to a legendary filmmaking career – but at this point, it’s only gotten him as far as a job at the local video store. His blind ambition, combined with his unique worldview, confounds even those closest to him, and he soon starts to alienate his new manager Alana (D’Ugo) and even his best friend (Hynes White), forcing him to decide what he’s willing to sacrifice on the road to success.

A true movie for movie lovers, Chandler Levack’s debut feature is a charming coming-of-age story that perfectly captures small-town Canadian adolescence. 

When a young Québecois girl watches the 1970 October Crisis take over the news, it gives her an idea for how to keep herself and her brother out of foster care. With their father in the hospital and their mother unable to care for them, the children hatch a plan to find and kidnap an elderly woman (Coulter) who can pose as their grandmother.

They take their victim to a remote cabin, but the authorities are soon on their trail, as their poorly planned scheme quickly gets out of hand, and the story evolves into a brilliant parallel of one of the most important moments in Quebec history. Winner of the prestigious Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, Les Rois Mongols is a bittersweet and adventurous coming-of-age story with a lot of heart.

Grace (Bang) and Carter (Scarpellino) are both having a rough night. Carter, a centre for the Tampa Bay Lightning, has just been told by his coach that he’s being demoted to the minor leagues, and he’s desperately hoping to get traded. Meanwhile, after being passed over for a promotion then ditched by her roommate and exiled from her apartment, Grace is forced into a night out against her will. When the two cross paths, they seem to be exactly what the other needs, and they set out on an all-night journey through downtown Toronto.

Driven by amazing chemistry between the two leads, Stay the Night is a quiet and touching adventure that showcases both the beauty and the loneliness of Canada’s biggest city.

“A modern-day Before Sunrise” – Chris Knight, The National Post

Tareq (Abou Ammar), a Syrian refugee in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, is torn between his dream to become a doctor and his family’s chocolate-making legacy. When his family joins him in Canada, his father’s new chocolate business becomes an unexpected success, leading to new, unforeseen challenges. Tareq must make a choice between being there to support the family that needs him or pursuing the life in Canada that he always envisioned for himself.

Inspired by the true story of the formation of the artisanal chocolate company of the same name, Peace By Chocolate is an inspiring and quintessentially Canadian story.

“Peace By Chocolate is a bona fide crowd pleaser, and a true story to boot.” - Chris Knight, The National Post
 

This stunning second feature from Anthony Shim follows a Korean single mother who moves to Canada with her young son in the early 1990s, following the death of her husband. As she struggles to make ends meet and provide the best life possible for her son, she has to contend with his changing attitudes towards her, and towards their Korean culture. 

A profoundly affecting drama about the immigrant experience, Riceboy Sleeps premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival where it won the Platform Prize, and was named to their 2022 Canada’s Top Ten list. It also won the award for Best Original Screenplay at the Canadian Screen Awards.

Fréderique (Bray), a struggling artist living in 1980s Montreal, is shocked when she’s put in charge of Rosie (Hill), the young daughter of her foster sister who recently passed away. With an impending eviction from her apartment, and no desire to be a mother, she must rely on her chosen family – two aspiring drag stars Flo and Mo – to take care of the spirited youngster and keep Rosie out of the foster care system that Fréderique herself hated.

The first feature from director Gail Maurice, ROSIE is a touching and warm comedy that is sure to charm audiences the world over.

In this powerful documentary, filmmaker Jennifer Holness takes an incisive look at why our society enforces such impossible and conflicting beauty standards on Black women. The treatment of Black Women in our culture is rarely given the attention it deserves, but Holness uses the 50th anniversary of the Miss Black America pageant as a jumping off point to explore everything from the media’s continued reinforcement of damaging and reductive archetypes to the recent explosion of cultural appropriation trends.

Featuring a variety of interviews with beauty experts, prominent Black women in the media, pageant contestants and more, Holness doesn’t hold back from exposing the harsh truths about the world we live in.

“Both critical and celebratory, Jennifer Holness’ packed and penetrating documentary Subjects of Desire provides a superb overview of how Black culture has influenced, and been influenced by, contemporary beauty ideals from Civil War times to #BlackGirlMagic and beyond.” – Jessica Kiang, Variety

After going in and out of prison for over 30 years after a career of stagecoach robbing, Bill Miner is released in 1901 to a completely new reality. Lost about what to do next, Miner finds his inspiration for his next great adventure from the film The Great Train Robbery. His plan to commit the first ever train robbery leads to a thrilling heist and an intriguing tale full of twists and turns. 

Based on the true story of William Miner (nicknamed the Gentleman Bandit), The Grey Fox won 4 Genie Awards including Best Picture and has been included on TIFF’s top 10 list of the Best Canadian Films of All Time.

In the face of tremendous social pressure to back down, Ranjit, a farmer in rural India, pursues a conviction against the men who raped his 13-year-old daughter. Through the intimate, powerful story of this family’s efforts to get justice, the film shines a light on gender-based violence in a country where rape is frequently reported and rarely convicted. 

To Kill a Tiger was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, and earned TIFF’s award for the Best Canadian Film of the 2022 festival. 

Pahuja’s film pulls no punches in its determination to help bring down the long-standing thinking that has compounded the cruelties faced by countless women in Kiran’s unfortunate position. – Peter Sobczynski, RogerEbert.com 

On August 28, 1990, in the midst of the Oka crisis, dozens of cars were driven from the Mohawk community of Kahnawake over Montreal’s Mercier Bridge, where an angry mob met them with violence — and rocks. Obomsawin’s documentary gives the Mohawk rebels a voice.