DEAR JACKIE receives Magnus Isacsson Award at RIDM 2021

DEAR JACKIE Magnus Isacsson Award at RIDM 2021

Cinema Politica is thrilled to announce that Henri Pardo’s feature-length documentary DEAR JACKIE was awarded the Magnus Isacsson Award at Recontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (RIDM) 2021! The Magnus Isacsson Award is presented in collaboration with ARRQ, DOC Québec, Funambules Médias, Cinema Politica and Main Film.

First Peoples, First Screens 1

First People First Screens

First Peoples, First Screens (FPFS) showcases contemporary Indigenous political filmmaking* from across Canada, including documentary, animation, experimental and genre fiction of varying lengths. We are thrilled to circulate four separate clusters of thematically grouped works throughout the Canadian part of the Cinema Politica network, and to provide a platform to discuss Indigenous art, culture, politics, […]

THE ROOTS REMAIN

Still from The Roots Remain

The once rich and thriving Cambodian culture was decimated and eliminated from the history books by the barbaric Khmer Rouge during the genocide of the 1970’s. 30 years after the genocide, the Cambodian diaspora’s young, coming from all over the world, are returning to the motherland and introducing hip-hop culture to help revitalize the fractured Khmer culture. […]

The Hand That Feeds

Still from The Hand That Feeds

At a popular bakery café, residents of New York’s Upper East Side get bagels and coffee served with a smile 24 hours a day. But behind the scenes, undocumented immigrant workers face sub-legal wages, dangerous machinery, and abusive managers who will fire them for calling in sick. Mild-mannered sandwich maker Mahoma López has never been […]

Surviving Progress

Still from Surviving Progress

“Every time history repeats itself the price goes up.” Surviving Progress presents the story of human advancement as awe-inspiring and double-edged. It reveals the grave risk of running the 21st century’s software — our know-how — on the ancient hardware of our primate brain which hasn’t been upgraded in 50,000 years. With rich imagery and […]

The Road Forward

Still from The Road Forward

In this inspired musical documentary, writer/director Marie Clements connects the beginnings of Indian Nationalism in the 1930s with the powerful momentum of First Nations activism today. Interviews with key members of Canada’s oldest First Nations organizations, the Native Brotherhood and Native Sisterhood, reveal the starkly racist politics that inspired the movement as well as how […]

Mars at Sunrise

Mars At Sunrise tells the story of a war waged on imagination. The film abstractly portrays the conflict between artists on either side of Israel’s militarized borders, and explores how a powerful creative mind survives, and even thrives, under pressure. When Azzadeh, a young Jewish American poet, travels to Israel to see the land and people […]

Conviction

Alarmed by the rising numbers of women in prison and inspired by the conviction of Senator Kim Pate, CONVICTION flips the narrative away from pop culture’s voyeuristic lens and hands it to the women who are being victimized, marginalized and criminalized in our society. Not another ‘broken prison’ film, Conviction is a ‘broken society’ film […]

Another Word For Learning

Still from Another Word For Learning

What does it mean to decolonize schooling, and to create environments of learning that challenge capitalist modes of education? Co-produced by Cinema Politica Productions and Wide Open Exposure, ANOTHER WORD FOR LEARNING examines the disconnect between the contemporary colonial educational system and Indigenous communities, in light of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the painful […]

Ada for Mayor (Alcaldessa)

Still from Ada For Mayor

Ada Colau, a well known activist against evictions in Spain, decides to run for Mayor of Barcelona. Surrounded by a team with little experience in institutional politics, Ada speaks about her doubts and discoveries during this vertiginous journey. The film combines the enthusiastic construction of a new political movement with the inner struggle of someone […]

Ride for Promise

Still from Ride for Promise: Curtis on the bike

Former CFL prospect Curtis Carmichael embarks on a nation-wide adventure – cycling from Vancouver to Halifax – to challenge Canadians on their perceptions of racialized youth growing up in marginalized communities. RIDE FOR PROMISE follows an inspiring young man determined to flip the narrative on race, privilege and poverty.

Burkinabè Rising

Still from Burkinabe Rising

Burkinabè Rising showcases creative nonviolent resistance in Burkina Faso. A small, landlocked country in West Africa, Burkina Faso is home to a vibrant community of artists and engaged citizens, who provide an example of the type of political change that can be achieved when people come together. It is an inspiration, not only to the […]

The Art of Resistance

art of resistance

Argentina’s troubled history, culminating in the major crisis of 2001, has seen the rise of a wave of original artistic and cultural expression. The documentary The Art of Resistance introduces us to several creators and artist collectives who use artistic expression as a means to deliver powerful social statements, explore unbridled creativity, and participate actively […]