(of)fences
In the context of the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, in April 2000, a group of filmmakers and video artists came together to consider the repercussions of free trade and to collaborate on a project that resulted in “Blah, Blah, Blah. (Re)Viewing Quebec.” (of)fences was made for this compilation. This impressionistic documentation is […]
A Hot Sandfilled Wind
A HOT SANDFILLED WIND is a 13-minute lyrical piece, based on a poem by Nadia Habib. An appeal for recognition against despair, it emphasizes that beyond the politics of occupation, Israelis and Palestinians live in proximity, side by side. Palestine Trilogy A HOT SANDFILLED WIND is one of three videos in a series titled Palestine […]
Deir Yassin Remembered
DEIR YASSIN REMEMBERED considers the repercussions of a largely forgotten massacre of almost 100 Palestinians in 1948. The massacre at Deir Yassin was pivotal to Palestinian dispossession. Though Deir Yassin has been partially acknowledged by Israelis, many other massacres of the time have not. The video not only gives an account of what happened at […]
FINDING SALLY ’21 SCREEN AWARD NOMINATION
Cinema Politica is proud to announce that our Distribution title FINDING SALLY has been nominated for “Best Documentary Program” for the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards.
Recording: Fluid Frames from the Palestinian Diaspora
FLUID FRAMES FROM THE PALESTINIAN DIASPORA showcases work from Palestinian filmmakers based in the country known as Canada. This live-stream discussion featured filmmakers Muhammad Nour-Elkhairy, Razan AlSalah, Rana Nazzal Hamadeh and Serene Husni …
Fluid Frames from the Palestinian Diaspora
March 19, 2021 – March 24, 2021 Fluid Frames from the Palestinian Diaspora showcases work from Palestinian filmmakers based in the country known as Canada, featuring filmmakers Muhammad Nour-Elkhairy, Razan Alsalah, Serene Husni, Rana Nazzal Hamadeh, and Rehab Nazzal. This program of provocative films visualizes displacement while exploring the paradox of simultaneously being temporary and permanent as a refugee, the distress […]
Freedom Summer
At Black Lives Matter Toronto’s Freedom School, 13-year-old Moon learns to be a leader while Rihanna, who is seven, discovers that being Black is indeed beautiful. Modeled after the Black Panther Party for Self Defence’s Oakland Community School, Toront’s Freedom School is a three-week summer program that intervenes in anti-Black racism in the Canadian educational system […]
Marathon
The companion film to its breakout counterpart BLACK BODIES, this stunning short provokes (metaphoric) consideration of running a marathon you can’t afford to lose. After dealing with a high-profile incident of racial bias in California this past year Kelly Fyffe-Marshall was compelled to turn to art for healing as a way to work through the trauma. […]
Bonum
After they cycle through two steps back and one step forward again, the dangers of complacency are revealed and the reward that is nestled in perseverance is imagined. Conceivably this is the taste of BONUM. Calgary-born dancer Sabrina Naz Comanescu enthralls audiences with her choreography for video — artistically shot by Aran Wilkinson-Blanc — making dance accessible as a […]
The Shirley Card
Gesturing to the racial bias behind Kodak’s mid-century skin-tone “Shirley cards,” Sonya Mwambu brings deeply textured layers of Black artistry, history and the racial politics of popular culture. Initially optimized for white skin through the 1970s, Shirley cards eventually began to be produced with a wider range of skin tones in the late 20th century. […]
Tesfaye
TESFAYE (Hope)is a 30-minute experimental documentary film based on the extraordinary life of an Ethiopian refugee, rescued from the sea in Madagascar and now living in Canada. Shot in Ethiopia and Canada, the film recounts the life of Tesfaye – caught between a nostalgia for his home country and the possibility of a better life […]
Sira
Director Rolla Tahir’s debut short film SIRA is an experimental essay that traces the exodus of a Sudanese family from Kuwait as a result of the Iraqi invasion. Excavated footage disrupts constructed memories as a mother recounts the evacuation, marring the bliss of her new family. In this unique commission by Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto, […]
Heartbreak
Conceived and produced in response to the call for the inaugural #TIFFxInstagram Shorts Festival, HEARTBREAK is a poetic moment paused for Black motherhood, for Black bodies and Black resilience. The 60 second film is a tribute to black women and the difficulty of raising Black children (particularly boys) in our society. The idea for the film […]
Your Father Was Born 100 Years Old, and So Was the Nakba
A Palestinian grandmother returns to her hometown Haifa through Google Streetview, today, the only way she can see Palestine. In this experimental short film, filmmaker Razan AlSalah channels glitch aesthetics and digital erasure in a subversion of the physical borders and checkpoints imposed by the Israeli occupation.
Canada Park
Surreal imagery from Google Maps, Wikipedia and 20th century colonial photography are combined in this experimental film essay on the erasure of Palestinian history and presence. CANADA PARK uncovers the territory of Imwas, a village cited in the Old Testament that was razed by the Israeli Defence Forces and replaced by Canada Park. Transporting the […]
Something From There
SOMETHING FROM THERE is a reflection on the substance of our original lands. How does connection to land change after uprooting and in diaspora? How does matter come to embody our memories and defy official histories? This short film considers the complicated implications of fighting to belong to a land after displacement.