Nations and Migrations
November 28, 2016 – May 31, 2017 Working with the curatorial guideposts of mobility, origins, community and belonging, Cinema Politica has selected a program of independent film and videos that highlight issues of nationhood and migration from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Canada is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse places on […]
Gritos del Silencio (Silent Screams)
GRITOS DEL SILENCIO, investigates the issue of gender violence, also known as “Feminicidio”, in El Salvador. Centered around the story of Lazaro Moran, a man seeking refugee status in Canada after his wife is brutally murdered by their godson and his friend, both gang members. Lazaro, and his daughter America, share their story as the […]
The Lesson of the Snail
Following the uprising of January 1, 1994, the Indigenous peoples of Chiapas in Mexico assessed their disaffection with the Mexican education system, describing it as a vector of poverty and injustice. Since then, the Zapatista resistance has remained one of the most intriguing organizations among contemporary international revolutionary struggles, pushing back against the margins of […]
Orgasm Inc.
In the shocking and hilarious documentary ORGASM INC., filmmaker Liz Canner takes a job editing erotic videos for a drug trial for a pharmaceutical company. Her employer is developing what they hope will be the first Viagra drug for women that wins FDA approval to treat a new disease: Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD). Liz gains […]
Kokomo City
In the wildly entertaining and refreshingly unfiltered documentary KOKOMO CITY, filmmaker D. Smith passes the mic to four Black transgender sex workers in Atlanta and New York City – Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, and Dominique Silver – who unapologetically break down the walls of their profession. Holding nothing back, the film vibrates […]
Maximum Tolerated Dose
Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD): An animal / human experiment to find the highest dose of a chemical that, when administered to a group of test subjects in a clinical trial, does not result in a fatality due to short-term toxicity. This dose is then used for longer-term safety studies of the same species, lasting anywhere from […]
SG̲AAWAAY Ḵ’UUNA – Film Screening and Q&A with Director Helen Haig-Brown (duplicate)
I Would Like to Visit
I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT is a close up of a computer screen onto which someone is typing and editing text on a word-processing software. The process of text editing turns a simple desire to travel, into a complex paragraph that is soundtracked by the anxiety of having to deal with racist travel visas, immigration […]
Everyday Rebellion
EVERYDAY REBELLION is a cross-media documentary about creative forms of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience worldwide. What does the Occupy movement in New York have in common with the Spanish Indignados protests or the Arab Spring? Is there a connection between the struggle of the Iranian democracy movement and the nonviolent uprising in Syria and […]
Ken, tov, beseder
KEN, TOV, BESEDERis a constructed short narrative piece, both allegorical and literal. A Palestinian man working in his garden in West Jerusalem is interrupted. The phone rings, and through the whole piece, as he walks out of his home, through Jerusalem streets, past the Damascus gate, out past settlements and the wall, he is speaking […]
Granny Power
GRANNY POWER is a documentary about a very original activist movement – the Raging Grannies. Spanning 10 years, the film follows several passionate, activist grandmothers and their “gaggles” as they fight for peace, social justice and the environment. From Occupy Wall Street sites in Canada and the U.S., to demontrations against nuclear arms, the Montebello […]
More than a Word
MORE THAN A WORD analyzes the Washington football team and their use of the derogatory term R*dskins. Using interviews from both those in favour of changing the name and those against, the film presents a deeper analysis of the many issues surrounding the Washington team name. The documentary also examines the history of Native American […]
Documentary Futurism: The Next 150
How do we document that which has yet to occur? Cinema Politica’s Documentary Futurism: The Next 150 project seeks to usher in a new kind of filmmaking that brings actuality into conversation with speculation, and realism with the imaginary. Taking inspiration from Afrofuturism, Indigenous futurism, speculative fiction and non-fiction, these 15 films inaugurate a new […]
Black Ice
This incisive, urgent documentary examines the role of Black players in Canadian hockey, from pre-NHL contributions to the game to the struggles against racism that continue to this day. Directed by Oscar nominee Hubert Davis (Hardwood) and executive produced by LeBron James, Drake, and Maverick Carter, Black Ice is a sobering survey of systemic marginalization within […]
Emwas: Restoring Memories
Emwas is a personal film that follows the journey of the director, Dima Abu Ghoush, as she rebuilds her demolished hometown from the memories of its people. The film follows the journey of the director, Dima Abu Ghoush, as she rebuilds her demolished hometown, Emwas, in the form of a maquette (model). Dima was born […]
Moug (Waves)
Using an artistic combination of documentary footage, archive images, animation scenes, animated characters representing the family members of the filmmaker, and his own voice-over, the director tells the story of himself and of his generation, born with the birth of Mubarak’s rule in the early 80s of last century, and of his forgotten home city, […]
