All films

MADE AU CANADAFeatureIN-CINEMA

Superstar director Andrew Haigh (Weekend, I+N24) adapts Colm Tóibín’s beloved, 1950s-set novella about a savage snowstorm that strikes a dead-end mountain town, a troubled mother who goes missing, and a son dedicated to her retrieval. This seemingly unchangeable saviour fathoming that not even tragedy can stop one’s evolving desires. When the investigation cools on the disappearance of his mother (Caitríona Balfe), Mike (The White Lotus’ Fred Hechinger) must supersede his aggrieved father (Marvel stalwart Ebon Moss-Bachrach in a heartrending performance). Can her departure be chalked up to alcoholic cravings? A death wish? An escape? And has she somehow withstood the ravages of winter or, come spring, will she emerge from beneath the snow? A blizzard of questions consumes Mike until the arrival of an industrious stranger (Reservation Dogs’ D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) cuts through the white noise. The talented leads are joined by a stacked cast that includes Heartstopper’s Kit Connor and The Hobbit himself Martin Freeman. Shot in the Canadian Rockies, the film has the sublime, towering splendour of Albert Bierstadt’s Romantic landscapes. The grandeur humanized by Haigh’s ability to wring subtleties from every gesture in this ever-shifting character study.

FRISSONS QUEER: FANTASIA x IMAGE+NATIONMADE AU CANADAFeatureIN-CINEMA

A stunning film set in the Canadian wilderness by award-winning director Gloria Mercer. Thrill-seeking in every sense, and especially bold in its critique of patriarchy out in the wild, A Safe Distance examines the idea of what survival can mean, putting a refreshingly feminist twist on a lovers-on-the-run tale. Yellowjackets fans, get ready, this one’s for you. There is no place for fragility in this film-viewing since gore and guile mark the characters’ journey as they stray far from their comfort zones, sometimes intentionally, and other times, by chance. When a marriage proposal goes awry, an abandoned woman named Alex finds herself in the company of two intriguing strangers whose rejection of societal norms draw her in and away from the mundane reality of her own life. One psychedelically-induced night of mayhem later, Alex has uprooted her entire system of values, and on levels that she never imagined possible. Fluid and kinetic, with the use of long-lens photography and zoom lenses, A Safe Distance is a rare cinematic sight to behold.

COMPETITIONFeatureIN-CINEMAVIRTUAL

A Second Life follows a day in the life of Elisabeth as she scrambles to meet Airbnb guests visiting Paris for the Summer Olympic Games. Battling both depression and hearing loss, she makes for a rather inhospitable host, but also meets a new and most unexpected friend at exactly the right moment in time. Agathe Rousselle and Alex Lawther glow as a platonic duo, riffing off of each other’s polar opposite personalities on screen. The urban rumblings of Paris are swathed in—and then stripped of—sound, plunging us deep into the protagonist’s plight of impaired hearing, as well as work visa precarity, with the constant feeling of uneven ground captured through handheld camera techniques and the crowded visual frames of a hurried city. A theme of escape permeates the film, whether by the removal of hearing aids, the contemplation of too many pills, or a spontaneous night out, blowing off steam with friends and beer. A sudden sapphic kiss under watchful eyes and a panic attack in the metro are just a few small moments of an eventful evening that culminate in poignant memories of connection alongside the Olympics opening ceremony.

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Atmospheric tension imbues À voix basse: a family mystery that follows Lillia (in the magnetic debut performance of Eya Bouteraa) as she leaves Paris, where she works as an engineer, to return to her hometown in Tunisia for her uncle’s funeral. Upon arrival, there is another recent death in the family to contend with, adding to the list of reminders to not be forward, in any way, with any orientation besides heterosexual. Comic relief lightens the mood when Lillia makes a half-hearted attempt to introduce her beautiful girlfriend—who has joined her all the way from Paris—to her family as merely a concerned and loyal roommate. In parallel to the discovery that Lillia’s uncle (who was also gay, but as an open secret), died under mysterious circumstances, Lillia and her girlfriend’s sapphic love is either dismissed as ‘not to be taken seriously’, or met with cold disapproval; particularly by her mother Wahida (played poignantly by Hiam Abbas). Fluid time transitions create a seamless journey between past and present as the family history unfolds, piecing together tales of heartbreak, betrayal, and the courage needed to overcome it.

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Winner of the Ottavio Mai Award for Best Feature Film, and the Young Lovers – Libere Gabbie Award, Another Man follows Marc and Eudald six years into their monogamous relationship. Will they dive into the deep end of commitment together, or jump back into the dating pool? David Moragas’ Catalan film, set in Barcelona, serves up an aesthetically pleasing slice-of-life portrait of a devoted couple: capturing the highs, lows, and ordinary moments that lay the foundation of a relationship. After the sudden loss of Marc’s mother, he and Eudald find themselves at a crossroads. When an irresistible neighbour catches Marc’s attention, he immerses himself in a fantasy while Eudald strives to keep him from drowning in it. With striking cinematography, light is shed on the effort needed to wrestle free from the emotional deadlock of a strained relationship as temptations and resentments are presented with a refreshing subtlety, depicting realism while offering tenderness and humour to liven up the minutiae of everyday life. Loyalty and choice permeate every interaction between family members, friends, and lover(s), making for a profound and honest exploration of queer love and the human condition.

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What do you get when you place a teenage scholarship student of modest origins in a religious prep school? Now factor in race, sexuality, and an impossibly cool transfer student who keeps making eye contact from across the room? The answer is a refreshing comedy that never fails to deliver on realism, following Luthando and her entourage as they strike out on their journey of female friendship, teen drama, dating, and social pressure. This light-hearted and engaging romp follows an expansive cast, contrasting the wonder of youth and naivety with the trials of loyalty and betrayal, as well as friendship and romance, but above all else, the tricky nuances of obedience and rebellion. Black Burns Fast explores the transitional pains from adolescence to young adulthood and burgeoning sexuality, with thoughts and ideas processing visually through on-screen animation while text message conversation threads weave subplots throughout the prep school ecosystem as a microcosm for the world that lies ahead–a world of social inequality and double standards: whether for race, sex, or class, and the acts of courage in speaking up for not only yourself, but also for those whom you love.

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Daniel and Clemens fall in love, move in together, and attempt to imitate the conventions of a bourgeois marriage. When their relationship ends after four months, Daniel becomes increasingly immersed into Berlin’s gay subculture. He takes a job at a gay café and frequents parks and public meeting places popular with gay men. Eventually, he meets Paul, who introduces him to a gay communal household where alternative models of gay life and identity are openly discussed. Praunheim’s scathing critique of the self-imposed invisibility of gay people in public life is one of the rare examples of a film that had a direct socio-political impact. Following its first screenings, more than fifty activist groups were founded, laying the groundwork for the modern German gay rights movement. Originally filmed without sound and later supplemented with an ironic voice-over commentary, the film blends fiction and documentary footage, manifesto and essay, culminating in a direct appeal for collective self-organization. Its experimental and open-ended form is as provocative and challenging as its wide-ranging critique.

FRISSONS QUEER: FANTASIA x IMAGE+NATIONFeatureIN-CINEMA

The leather bars of New York’s underground scene become the setting for a dangerous game of desire, identity, and surveillance. William Friedkin’s Cruising plunges into the city’s pre-AIDS queer nightlife, where a young undercover cop is drawn into a world he was sent to investigate. Al Pacino stars as Steve Burns, a rookie police officer assigned to go undercover in Manhattan’s leather district to track down a killer targeting gay men. Disguised as a member of the scene, Burns moves through bars, clubs, and late-night encounters as the investigation draws him deeper into a world that is both unfamiliar and increasingly difficult to observe from a distance. Released in 1980, Cruising remains one of the most controversial films about queer life in American cinema. Friedkin’s shadowy, atmospheric direction captures the charged anonymity of New York’s leather and S&M subculture, while deliberately blurring the boundaries between performance, policing, desire, and identity. Cruising will screen alongside Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders, a documentary exploring the real-life murders and notorious leather bar at the heart of the film’s story. Together, they offer two perspectives on a pivotal moment in queer New York, just before the AIDS crisis transformed the community.

FRISSONS QUEER: FANTASIA x IMAGE+NATIONFeatureIN-CINEMA

Poignant and powerful, Don’t Come Out is a horror film that brings visibility to queer femme identity, and with a visceral intensity that is impossible to ignore. It spares no detail in the consequences of authenticity in a homophobic and misogynistic environment; particularly, how it permeates and haunts the mind. Medical student Liz lives a seemingly charmed life. As long as she is careful, consequence is only a word. After the sudden and brutal death of her secret girlfriend, Liz keeps up appearances, playing the role of dutiful daughter and passing as straight in her relationship with her doting boyfriend. When she makes a weekend getaway with her best friends, the reality dawns on her that escape is not really an option. As she finds herself enmeshed in sapphic desire again, the horror of breaking social norms ensues, and there is no going back from it. Informed by giallo cinema—blending suspense, eroticism, and stylish cinematography—as well as modernist and grotesque art elements, Don’t Come Out is sure to linger with you long after the credits roll.

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Three estranged friends fatefully gather for a dinner party during the COVID-19 pandemic. Confined, they are forced to confront the errors of their fabulous yet turbulent downtown days and nights in 1980s Amsterdam, and the aftermath of an even more insidious plague. An art school degree, a restaurant of one’s own, a life of endless excess—divergent ambitions drive Bas (Thor Braun / Roeland Fernhout), Ronnie (Daniel Cornelissen / Yorick van Wageningen), and Lennart (Sebastián Mrkvicka / Hans Kesting) as their love triangle tests their loyalties. On the cusp of the AIDS crisis, it seems the party might never end. The three celebrate firsts on strobe-lit dancefloors and sun-drenched beaches, but their combined optimism, activism, and sexual confidence cannot halt the hollowing out to come. A time when even their strongest convictions might collapse. Director Michiel van Erp’s three-hander uses deft match-cuts and balanced story beats to vitalize Frank Houtappels’ superbly structured script, pulling us between equally riveting time periods and protagonists. A collaboration that makes Downtown a sure-to-be-enduring masterwork about the strained necessity of going it alone and the even tougher triumph of connection.