ôtênaw
ôtênaw is a film documenting the oral storytelling of Dwayne Donald, an educator from Treaty 6, Edmonton, Canada. Drawing from nêhiyawak philosophies, he speaks about the multilayered histories of Indigenous peoples’ presence both within and around amiskwacîwâskahikan, or what has come to be known as the city of Edmonton.
post_cunt
Imagine how bodies will relate to each other in the future, how intimacy will be radically different. Imagine trans and queer bodies having access to ways of mutating organically; reshaping their mortal flesh with their own hands or those of others to suit their desires in the moment, to gender-hack matter; a dance of monsters, […]
Our Bodies Are Your Battlefields
In an Argentina divided between a deep conservatism and an unprecedented momentum in feminism, the film delves into the political journey and intimate lives of Claudia and Violeta. The fight they lead with their comrades against patriarchal violence is visceral and embodied. Convinced of their role at the center of an ongoing revolution that intersects […]
Debt Trap
DEBT TRAP examines why the average Canadian is sinking deeper in hock, by looking at the stories of several individuals and families who are struggling with debt. Sobering, ironic, and enlightening, the film probes the reasons why more and more of us are struggling to keep afloat, and what needs to be done to turn […]
CP Publishing
From time to time Cinema Politica publishes pamphlets, booklets, and more recently, a real, physical, bonafide BOOK.
Job Opening: Programming Coordinator

Cinema Politica is seeking to hire a Programming Coordinator who will assist with the coordination of programming activities and acquisition of exhibition and distribution titles.
Sol

Solomon Tapatsiaq Uyarasuk was a charismatic young Inuk – an amateur acrobat, musician and poet. A beautiful soul, tormented by his people’s lot, who died far too young. This film is a stirring tribute to the young man. Starting with a celebration of Sol’s life, which ended suddenly in an RCMP holding cell under suspicious circumstances, […]
Dear Future Children
With global protests on the rise, DEAR FUTURE CHILDREN is a film about the new generation at the heart of this seismic political shift. We will watch as Rayen protests for social justice in Chile, Pepper fights for democracy in Hong Kong and Hilda battles the devastating consequences of climate change in Uganda. Facing almost […]
In Spring One Plants Alone
An aged woman lives with her fully grown and wholly dependent son. This Vincent Ward film is a rare view of an enclosed world where an 82-year-old woman, alone, is ‘The Burdened One’. Filmed over a period of one and a half years, this emerges as a haunting and powerful portrayal of their life together, […]
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 […]
Defensora
Defensora is a documentary about a Mayan Q’eqchi’ resistance against mining in Guatemala. The story is set along the shores of Lake Izabal in the community of El Estor where a nickel mining company has operated for over 50 years. Tensions run high against a backdrop of pro and anti-mining camps, violence and forced evictions. […]
KONELĪNE: Our Land Beautiful
More than 1,000 miles by road from Vancouver, British Columbia, or 130 miles east of Juneau, Alaska by air, the traditional lands of the Tahltan First Nation encompass the majestic Stikine River, ancient glaciers, tiny communities and magnificent vistas. Not a Western, but a Northern, Nettie Wild’s astonishing non-fiction film KONELĪNE: OUR LAND BEAUTIFUL transports […]
Three Promises
THREE PROMISES is the story of a mother and her camera, of a son and his suppressed memories, and of an entire country. At the start of the 2000s, while the Israeli army is retaliating against the second intifada in the West Bank, Suha films her daily family life, punctuated by frequent trips underground and […]
The Commons
February 08, 2016 – May 31, 2016 For the last decade (2003-2013) Cinema Politica has built a strong reputation for connecting audiences to important, under-represented, independent film and video. While the films we program tend to focus on issues, topics and subjects that revolve around social justice, identity and the environment, we have decided to seek […]
The Kuchus of Uganda
Particularly inspiring in light of changes in the law that happened after this film was made, this is a documentary about SMUG (Sexual Minorities Uganda), a group of radical LGBT activists who risk their lives in order to push for queer rights. Piehl follows this brave group as they try to reason with medical academics […]
CP Pandemic Playlist Vol 2: Health and Community Care
From front-line workers caring for those infected, to those working with grieving loved ones, to those providing crucial services – care has never been so urgent, nor so integral …