CARPE MACHINA
Our Winter 2026 program title combines two latin expressions (carpe diem and deus ex machina) to convey the meaning “seize the machine.” Inspired by an explosive roster of films that artfully chronicle intervention and activism from around the world, the theme points to the myriad tactics and strategies that are deployed to combat and dismantle oppressive machinery, whether under the auspices of governments, corporations, billionaires, technology or ideology.
From radical direct action against laws censoring pro-Palestine actions to anti-colonial/ liberation/environmental occupations in Canada, to independent truth-seekers in Putin’s Russia and to those exposing online profiteering and rightwing extremism, the films in this program remind us that resistance is fertile and capitulation is not an option. CARPE MACHINA bursts with both stories of activist agency and knowledge-building; from jamming the gears to understanding how the machine gears work.
