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Directed by Harry Sutherland • 1978 • Canada • 19’

A short manifesto of collective resistance to police oppression in the wake of the historic 1977 raid on the Montreal gay bar Truxx. In 1976 the City of Montréal launched a pre-Olympic cleanup of gays and prostitutes, a new wave of persecution t...

Directed by Jocelyne Clarke & Magnus Isacsson • 2014 • Canada • 78’

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 justi...

Directed by Aeyliya Husain & Gabriel Nuraki Koperlaqualuk • 2018 • Canada • 46’

The 5th Region is a short narrative film that discusses the lives of Nancy and Joshua who are Inuit but raised in southern Canada. All their lives they struggled with aspects of their identities and now begin to rede...

Directed by Jill Sharpe • 2002 • Canada • 57'

A new breed of revolutionary stands poised along our information highways waging war on logos and symbols. They’re “Culture Jammers” and their mission is to artfully reclaim our mental environment and cause a bit of brand damage to corporate mindshar...

Directed by Magnus Isacsson • 1995 • Canada • 78'

When Hydro-Québec announced its intention to proceed with the enormous James Bay II hydroelectric project, the 15,000 Cree who live in the region decided to stand up to the giant utility. With unprecedented access to key figures like Cree leader ...

Directed by Petra Seliškar • 2016 • Slovenia - Macedonia - Croatia • 74'

A music documentary based on the work of Slovenian artist Frane Milčinski Ježek. His satirical poems and songs from the 1950s and 60s today sound more urgent and topical than ever, and are covered by musicians ranging from ...

Realisè par Magnus Isacsson • 1999 • Canada • 63' • Français

Les employés d'un restaurant McDonald de la Rive-Sud de Montréal ont décidé de se syndiquer. En cas de réussite, cet établissement sera le seul McDonald syndiqué en Amérique du Nord. Les enjeux sont énormes, tant pour la multinationale...

Directed by Catherine Scott • 2011 • Australia • 70'

Impassioned about freedom of sexual expression, Australian sex worker Rachel Wotton specializes in a long overlooked clientele— people with disabilities. Working in New South Wales—where prostitution is legal— Rachel’s philosophy is that human...

Directed by Maria Luisa Gambale & Gloria Bremer 2011 · 1h · Germany, Senegal, United States

Rapper, singer and activist, Sister Fa is hero to young women in Senegal and an unstoppable force for social change. A childhood victim of female genital cutting (FGC), she decided to tackle the issue...

Directed by Joanna Sokolowski and Kate Trumbull-LaValle • 2016 • United States • 72'

Riding at night through streets deemed dangerous in Eastside Los Angeles, the Ovarian Psycos use their bicycles to confront the violence in their lives. At the helm of the crew is founder Xela de la X, a single ...

Directed by Magnus Isacsson • 2002 • Canada • 52'

This is the story of two young men, Maxime and Pascal, who sow the wind and reap a storm. Things quickly get out of control when these two employees attempt to form a union at a Montreal McDonald’s. Their initiative to form a union at a Montreal ...

Directed by Assia Boundaoui • 2018 • Untied States • 74'

In the Arab-American neighborhood outside of Chicago where journalist and filmmaker Assia Boundaoui grew up, most of her neighbors think they have been under surveillance for over a decade. While investigating their experiences, Assia unco...

Directed by Magnus Isacsson • 1999 • Canada • 75'

For more than 125 years, meals have been served for a large number of homeless people in the reception centre L‘accueil Bonneau in Montreal, Canada.

A few years ago, a choir of around twenty men was formed from the regular clientele of the centr...

Directed by Sarah Barton • 2017 • Australia • 85'

DEFIANT LIVES is a triumphant film that traces the origins of the worldwide disability rights movement. It tells the stories of the individuals who bravely put their lives on the line to create a better world where everyone is valued and can part...

Directed by Alexandra Guité ∙ 2007 ∙ Canada

Argentina’s troubled history, culminating in the major crisis of 2001, has seen the rise of a wave of original artistic and cultural expression. This documentary introduces us to several creators and artist collectives who use artistic expression as a ...

THE SYLVIA HAMILTON COLLECTION
Renowned and multi-award winning Nova Scotian filmmaker Sylvia D. Hamilton illuminates underrepresented stories from Black Nova Scotians in poignant vignettes, character portraits, and incisive testimonies, revealing a dark side to the often forgotten history of rac...

Directed by Lana Lin • 2018 • United States • 98'

THE CANCER JOURNALS REVISITED is prompted by the question of what it means to re-visit and re-vision Black lesbian feminist poet Audre Lorde’s classic 1980 memoir of her breast cancer experience today. At the invitation of filmmaker Lana Lin, who...

Directed by Megan Rossman • United States • 2018 • 61'

Founded in the 1970s in a New York City apartment, The Lesbian Herstory Archives is now the world’s largest collection of materials by and about lesbians. For more than 40 years, the all-volunteer organization has striven to combat lesbian i...

Directed by Myriam Fougère • 2012 • Canada • 63'

A parallel, lesbian-feminist revolution was born out of the women’s and civil rights movements of the 60’s and 70’s. Filmmaker Myriam Fougère’s takes us on a road trip through the United States and Canada as she revisits the activists of the time ...

Produced by Olivia Di Poi and Hannah B. Moore • 2019 • Canada • 31'

DRAGGED explores the wonderfully weird world of Montreal drag. Meet the kings, queens, and royalty who make up this vibrant community and support your local drag!

All proceeds generated from the streaming of this video are spli...

Directed by Bren López Zepeda • 2018 • Canada • 7'

ABEO is a hard-hitting mixed media animated short that depicts the journey of Nadia and Lupe, two immigrants who risked their lives to cross the Arizona desert in search for a better life. The combination of stop-motion, traditional 2D digital a...

Directed by John Fiege ∙ 2017 ∙ United States

One man risks his family and future to stop the tar sands of the Keystone XL pipeline from crossing his land. Shot in the forests, pastures, and living rooms of rural East Texas, ABOVE ALL ELSE follows David Daniel, a retired high-wire artist and ci...

Directed by Nicolas Wadimoff & Béatrice Guelpa • 2009 • Switzerland - France - Qatar

Shot a few weeks after the end of Israel’s January 2009 offensive, this sensitively crafted doc captures the human suffering and devastation wrought on Gaza’s Palestinian residents as they struggle daily to surv...

Directed by Lucile Alemany and Lamia Chraibi ∙ 2015 ∙ Ecuador - France

In Sarayaku, Yasuni and Lago Agrio—Ecuadorian regions devastated by the Chevron Texaco corporation—several Indigenous Kichwa communities are still trying to make their voices heard in a long struggle against oil fields.

AMA...

Directed by David Ridgen & Nicolas Rossier ∙ 2010 ∙ United States ∙ 89'

A devoted son of Holocaust survivors, ardent critic of Israel and U.S. policy toward the Middle East, and author of five provocative books, including The Holocaust Industry, Norman Finkelstein has been steadfast at th...

Directed by Karine Rosso and Fernando Garcia Blanes ∙ 2011 ∙ Canada ∙ 85'

An entirely independent production, ANARCHRONICLES relates the experience of various militant anarchists from Québec, who represent different sides of this varied, ever-expanding and evolving political movement. Drawing fr...

Orban Wallace ∙ 2017 ∙ United Kingdom

ANOTHER NEWS STORY goes 'behind the scenes' of the news crews reporting on the refugee story at the height of the European crisis. It takes the viewer to the other side of the camera and inspires us to re-evaluate our relationships with the global media and ...

Directed by Brishkay Ahmed • 2018 • Canada • 10'

The name ARYANA means “holy one”. Many decades ago, the nation of ARYANA was forcefully transitioned into becoming AFGHANISTAN, the land of seven tribes. This period of rule, brought tremendous suffering, especially for the women and girls of the ...

Directed by Bretten Hannam ∙ 2018 ∙ Canada ∙ 8'

150 years into the future the province of Nova Scotia has mostly been abandoned by settler descendants, leaving behind a legacy of abandoned buildings and homes. As the Mi’kmaw People reclaim their territory and work to remove the toxic technology ...

b.h. Yael is an acclaimed Toronto based filmmaker, video and installation artist whose singular work combines non-linear and hybrid forms, merging the autobiographical with documentary perspectives. Yael's work has dealt with issues of identity, authority and family structures, while at the same ...

Directed by Marielle Nitoslawska ∙ 2001 ∙ Canada ∙ 58'

How does the media influence the development of sexual identities, and how might representations of sexuality change the way we understand it? The male-dominated, multi-billion dollar mainstream pornography industry recreates a restrictive ...

Directed by Sam Vinal ∙ 2017 ∙ Honduras - United States ∙ 29'

In Honduras, the most dangerous country in the world to be a land defender, the assassination of world renowned environmental activist Berta Cáceres has not silenced the many campesinas and campesinos fighting for justice and Indigen...

Betrayed: the Story of the Canadian Merchant Seamen's Union

Although Canada is surrounded by three oceans, there is not a single deep-sea ship flying the Canadian flag. But sixty years ago, Canada had the fourth-largest merchant fleet in the world.

"BETRAYED: THE STORY OF THE CANADIAN MERCHANT ...

Directed by Nadja Drost ∙ 2005 ∙ Canada

In the aggressive search for the 'black gold' that drives Western economies, multinational corporations are working to extract billions of dollars of value from oil reserves from beneath Ecuador's rainforest. BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND THE ROOSTER'S CROW invest...

Directed by Rob Turgeon ∙ 2011 ∙ Canada ∙ 43'

Twenty eight concerned citizen groups are demanding that a moratorium be placed on billion-dollar shale gas operations until the “infant industry” methods are proven to be safe.

BE... WITHOUT WATER depicts the controversial nature of fracking, and ...

Directed by Elaine Brière • 1997 • Canada • 56'

As Canadians we pride ourselves on our international reputation as peacekeeper and power broker. But there is a dark side to our foreign policy – a policy that encourages and subsidizes business and cultural ties with Indonesia, a country responsib...

Directed by Ella Cooper ∙ 2014 ∙ Canada ∙ 27'

BLACK MEN LOVING upends the stereotypical images of Black men as violent, aggressive and hyper-sexualized, to the extent that it seems, as one father in Ella Cooper's film says: “Black men loving is political” and “almost radical”. We are taken into ...

Directed by Nettie Wild ∙ 1994 ∙ Canada ∙ 90'

A 22,000 square mile tract of land in northern British Columbia is the site of an explosive set of competing ownership claims. In 1984, the Gitxsan people launched a land claim for the entire area, claiming it as unceded Indigenous territory. But si...

Directed by Igor Bezinovíc ∙ 2012 ∙ Croatia ∙ 93'

THE BLOCKADE portrays the largest, longest and most politically significant student protest in Croatia since 1971, which started in April 2009 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb. Offering a unique view fr...

Directed by Sabrina Naz Comanescu • 2017 • Canada • 12'

The politics of perseverance, revealed through the imagination of dance and performance.

This film is included in Cinema Politica's Bring it Black Collection.

This film is included in Cinema Politica's Bring it Black Collection.

All p...

Directed by Andrew Chiu ∙ 2018 ∙ Canada ∙ 11'

150 years in the future, an American refugee is forced to leave her life behind – seeking a different way of life from the technologically advanced society she has grown up in. As she journeys along this new underground railroad, she reflects on her ...

Directed by Iara Lee ∙ 2017 ∙ Burkina Faso - United States ∙ 72'

BURKINABÈ RISING: THE ART OF RESISTANCE IN BURKINA FASO 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 citize...

Cinema Politica is thrilled to launch selected films from our hand-picked program Bring it Black: Films by Black Artists in Canada, co-curated with Ella Cooper and Henri Pardo for Cinema Politica On Demand. From fiction to experimental to documentary, and everything between, this collection of sh...

Directed by Myléne Augustin & Feven Ghebremariam ∙ 2018 ∙ Canada ∙ 12'

Summer 2117 will be revealing for Sam, an 18-year-old Cameroonian girl. Freshly elected to the tribal council that governs her country, she joins the national delegation that is invited to Tiohtià:ke (Montreal). This trip is ...

Directed by Taina Da Silva & Becca Redden ∙ 2018 ∙ Canada ∙ 16'

Two young warrior siblings, Vim and Hax, are living in a post-apocalyptic world caused by climate change. For 150 years, the air has not been breathable for humans. As such, their whole community lives in high tech homes to keep th...

Directed by Askold Kurov & Pavel Loparev • 2014 • Russia • 70'

CHILDREN 404 spotlights the lives of Russian LGBTQ+ youth struggling with decisions to remain in their home country or build a new life abroad, while offering a glimpse at the country's deeply rooted conservatism. In 2013, Russian Pr...

Réalisé en partenariat avec le Mouvement des personnes handicapées pour l'accès aux services (PHAS) ∙ 2018 ∙ Canada ∙ 59'

Le mouvement de défense des droits des personnes en situation de handicap et leurs proches est né au Québec dans les années 70, dans la foulée des mobilisations des autres gr...

Directed by Ali Kazimi ∙ 2004 ∙ Canada ∙ 87'

In 1914, Gurdit Singh, a Sikh entrepreneur based in Singapore, chartered a Japanese ship known as the Komagata Maru to carry Indian immigrants to Canada. On May 23, 1914, the ship arrived in Vancouver Harbour with 376 passengers aboard: 340 Sikhs; 24...

Directed by Jeremy Sandor • 2018 • Canada • 15'

Couleur du Moment follows five employees during their last day on the job at a colour forecasting agency. The workers still go about business despite having been replaced by algorithms that design new digital colours to be experienced in the widely...

Directed by Set Hernandez Rongkilyo ∙ 2019 ∙ USA ∙ 24'

COVER/AGE examines the lack of healthcare access for undocumented immigrants in California, and how two undocumented individuals are advocating to fight this exclusion. One protagonist is Emma, an elderly Philipina caregiver, who has spent o...

Directed by Monica Gutierrez ∙ 2015 ∙ Colombia - Canada ∙ 10'

The story of how gold producer Gran Colombia Gold came to be formed is the story of abuses of power against a worker's union as the rightful owner of the mine. The story takes place in Segovia, a town in Colombia's mountainous state ...

Directed by Monica Gutierrez ∙ 2015 ∙ Colombia ∙ 9'

Colombia's Santurban Páramo has become an example of a successful community struggle to protect water sources. Lawyers, community leaders and activists united to mobilize and demand the protection of natural resources threatened by Vancouver-b...

Directed by Iara Lee ∙ 2011 ∙ Brazil - United States ∙ 73'

In 2003, on the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, acclaimed filmmaker Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction. After several years, t...

Directed by Jean-Marc Abela & Stefan Verna ∙ 2012 ∙ Canada ∙ 90'

From the waterfronts of Vancouver to the mountaintops of Mexico, DIVERSIDAD: A ROAD TRIP TO DECONSTRUCT DINNER lifts the veil of idealism around organic farming, depicting the challenges and hardships that face organic farmers. Can...

Directed by Katerina Duda • 2019 • Croatia • 19'

The plants are the only ones remaining in the vacant business building. In this large and once lavish space, the gardener still maintains the plants, which have become part of its architecture. She sifts through the ones in pots and prepares them ...

Directed by Paramita Nath ∙ 2012 ∙ Canada ∙ 11'

The colourful and joyous festival of Durga Puja (Durgotsava) is one of the largest religious festivals in India, in honour of the goddess Durga. While the goddess of protection, motherhood and war is celebrated, millions of Indian women live anothe...

Directed by Antoine Bourges ∙ 2012 ∙ Canada ∙ 47'

EAST HASTINGS PHARMACY is a chronicle of a typical pharmacy in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, where most clients are on a treatment for opioid dependence that requires taking daily doses of methadone witnessed by the pharmacist. The pharmacy is a...

Directed by Franklin López ∙ 2011 ∙ Canada ∙ 115'

END:CIV examines our culture’s addiction to systematic violence and environmental exploitation, and probes the resulting epidemic of poisoned landscapes and shell-shocked nations. Based in part on Endgame, the best-selling book by Derrick...

Directed by Liz Miller ∙ 2013 ∙ Canada ∙ 35'

EN LA CASA, LA CAMA Y LA CALLE follows an inspiring Nicaraguan women's rights group, Puntos de Encuentro, as it works to end sexual violence at home, in bed, and in the streets through a powerful blend...

Directed by Nettie Wild ∙ 2002 ∙ Canada ∙ 93'

In this documentary, a group of Vancouver, British Columbia, activists, led by former computer salesman Dean Wilson, lead the charge to curb the city's drug problem and high HIV rate by opening North America's first safe-injection site. Surprisingly,...

Directed by Morvary Samare ∙ 2009 ∙ Canada ∙ 53'

Three Arab-Canadian men, holding Canadian citizenship, are detained and tortured for months in Syria and Egypt. Upon their release, they return to Canada struggling to find answers as to why they were detained and tortured. An internal inquiry in...

Directed by Robin McKenna ∙ 2018 ∙ Canada ∙ 89'

Inspired by Lewis Hyde’s beloved classic The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World, GIFT is a richly cinematic film, interweaving character-driven stories. On North America’s Pacific Northwest Coast, a young Indigenous man undertakes ...

Directed by Beata Bubenec ∙ 2014 ∙ Russia ∙ 55'

Dmitry "Enteo" Tsorionov—a former neo-Buddhist who has become an ardent, self-styled defender of Orthodox values—riveted public attention after performing several eccentric actions on himself, vandalizing public art exhibitions and disrupting a Pri...

A film by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbot, and Joel Bakan ∙ 2003 ∙ Canada ∙ 121'

Provocative, witty, stylish and sweepingly informative, this film explores the nature and spectacular rise of the dominant institutions of our time. THE CORPORATION has transformed audiences and dazzled critics with its...

Directed by David Goldberg ∙ 2017 ∙ Canada ∙ 39'

Exploring the fragile dynamic between settler activists and Indigenous land and water defenders, THE CARETAKERS articulates the effects of colonization on the environment and Indigenous peoples. Looking in particular at the anti-Kinder Morgan blo...

Directed by Ron Mann ∙ 2000 ∙ Canada ∙ 80'

GRASS examines the federal marijuana regulations in the United States, and how these laws have influenced public perceptions of the drug. Narrated by noted pot advocate and actor Woody Harrelson, the film opens with a series of comically outdated anti-...

Directed by Nishtha Jain ∙ 2012 ∙ Norway - India - Denmark ∙ 96'

Nishtha Jain's fierce documentary follows the true story of activist Sampat Pal and the legendary women's vigilante group known as the Gulabi Gang. Never without a healthy dose of humour, this is a deeply humane film that is truly...

Directed by Astrid Schau-Larsen ∙ 2014 ∙ Canada - Norway ∙ 59'

THE GOOD NEIGHBOUR takes a closer look at the environmental and social effects of living near the Canadian oil sands in Alberta.

Statoil, a major oil company primarily owned by the Norwegian government (and thus the Norwegian peopl...

Directed by Angélique Kourounis ∙ 2016 ∙ Greece - France ∙ 90'

Journalist Angélique Kourounis has been delving for years into the organization of the Greek neo-Nazi party known as Golden Dawn. Members of this fascist organization have organized rallies, intimidated and beaten journalists, and co...

Directed by Elaine Brière ∙ 2020 ∙ Haïti ∙ 90'

"We never had that democracy. It’s like putting a seed on the ground. We never see it grow because someone keeps on coming and steps on it."
 - Garry Auguste, former member, Haitian National Police



As Canadians, we are told by polit...

Directed by Liz Miller, Nupur Basu, Mary Kiio, Iphigénie Marcoux-Fortier, and Karen Winther ∙ 2014 ∙ Canada ∙ 48'

This collaborative documentary offers unique perspectives on climate change and environmental activism across cultures and generations, from a young woman challenging the expansio...

Directed by Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick ∙ 2014 ∙ United States ∙ 84'

In THE HAND THAT FEEDS, shy sandwich-maker Mahoma Lopez unites a group of undocumented immigrant co-workers to fight the abusive conditions at a popular New York restaurant chain. The epic power struggle that ensues turns a...

Directed by Tourmaline and Sasha Wortzel ∙ 2018 ∙ United States ∙ 14'

Combining archival footage with dramatic re-enactment, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARSHA! is a film about iconic Black transgender artist and activist, Marsha "Pay it No Mind" Johnson and her life in the hours before she ignited the 1969...

Directed by Håvard Bustnes ∙ Norway ∙ 2010

Governments apply models taken from business corporations in order to improve our health care systems. The goal is to get more health for the money spent, based on the presumption that private corporations are more efficient and less wasteful than publi...

Directed by Mariam Zaidi • 2018 • Canada • 7'

JK is a 26 year-old astronaut from India selected to go on a mission to Mars in the year 2035. As she gets ready for her momentous day, she reflects on her past and the people who helped her get to where is she is now.

All proceeds generated from...

A film by Rebels and Misfits Media • 2016 • Canada • 1’

A poetic moment paused for Black motherhood, for Black bodies and Black resilience.

This film is included in Cinema Politica's Bring it Black Collection.

All proceeds generated from the streaming of this video are split between the art...

Directed by Martha Stiegman ∙ 2013 ∙ Canada ∙ 59'

HONOUR YOUR WORD draws us into the lives of two young Indigenous leaders: Marylynn Poucachice, a mother of five, and Norman Matchewan, the soft-spoken son and grandson of traditional chiefs from the Algonquins of Barriere Lake First Nation.

Bot...

Directed by Hernán Vilchez ∙ 2014 ∙ Mexico - Argentina ∙ 125'

The film presents the emblematic case of the defense of Wirikuta, sacred territory to the Huichol people, against the threat of mining exploitation. This native people to this land, launches a spiritual crusade to protect life, eviden...

Directed by Yusuf Zine & Kevin Young ∙ 2018 ∙ Canada ∙ 84'

I AM ROHINGYA: A GENOCIDE IN FOUR ACTS chronicles the journey of fourteen refugee youth who take to the stage to re-enact their families' harrowing experiences in Burma and beyond. This story chronicles their journey before, during, and ...

Directed by Vincent Ward ∙ 1980 ∙ New Zealand ∙ 45'

Outside the boundaries of state protection in Aotearoa (also known as New Zealand), an elderly mother carries the daily work of survival and looks after her mentally-ill son. Their world unfolds between the surrounding mountains and the pastora...

Directed by Zahra Moloo ∙ 2014 ∙ Kenya ∙ 15'

Tanzania is one of the largest gold producers in Africa, with multinational mining companies from London, Dubai and Toronto operating all across the country. But as these companies turn greater profits and Tanzania becomes a major investment destinat...

Directed by Ivan Ramljak • 2016 • Croatia • 35'

A poetic documentary about the lost film culture in small villages on Croatian islands, during the second half of the last century. Six witnesses of the time are remembering their favorite films and events related to their viewing and screening exp...

Directed by Emily James ∙ 2011 ∙ United Kingdom ∙ 90'

JUST DO IT lifts the lid on climate activism and the daring troublemakers who have crossed the line to become modern-day outlaws. Documented over the course of a year, Emily James’ film follows these activists as they blockade factories, atta...

Directed by • Richard Shpuntoff • 2016 • United States - Argentina • 90'

On the night of July 2, 1990, three young men in the neighbourhood of Jackson Heights went out armed with a claw hammer, a plumber’s wrench and a kitchen knife, hunting for “a gay guy to stretch out.” After deciding not to ...

Directed by Iara Lee ∙ 2013 ∙ Pakistan - United States ∙ 13'

Rumoured to be the descendants of Alexander the Great, the Kalash people have in fact inhabited northern Pakistan's Chitral Valley long before the legendary conqueror came to the region. They uphold a rich cultural heritage with polyth...

Directed by Sylvie Lapointe ∙ 2013 ∙ Canada ∙ 53'

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 rem...

Directed by Nettie Wild ∙ 2016 ∙ Canada ∙ 96'

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 vis...

Directed by tobias c. van Veen • 2018 • Canada • 25'

Blending documentary techniques with surrealist and silent filmmaking, LOST ALIEN captures the Afrofuturist cosplay of ZiggZaggerZ the Bastard as a photosensitive black alien stranded on a sunlit planet. Having lost her way from the continuum ...

Directed by Gaelene Preston ∙ New Zealand ∙ 1982

MAKING UTU is a documentary filmed on the set of New Zealand's first epic feature, the 1983 film UTU about the colonial British massacre of a Māori village in the 1870s. Produced on a small budget, this making-of feature examines how to deal respe...

Directed by Kalina Bertin ∙ 2017 ∙ Canada ∙ 84'

MANIC chronicles filmmaker Kalina Bertin’s struggle to make sense of the legacy of mental illness that is shaping her siblings’ lives. Convinced that her father holds a key piece of the puzzle, she sets out to find the truth about him, and discover...

Directed by Jessica Habie ∙ 2013 ∙ Palestinian Territory - Canada - United States ∙ 75'

With evocative cinematography, MARS AT SUNRISE tells the story of a war waged on the imagination. Jessica Habie's debut film surrealistically portrays the conflict between artists on either side of the milit...

Directed by Karol Orzechowski ∙ 2012 ∙ Canada ∙ 90'

MAXIMUM TOLERATED DOSE examines an animal-human experiment intended 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...

Directed by Min Sook Lee ∙ 2016 ∙ Canada ∙ 88'

MIGRANT DREAMS tells the undertold story of migrant agricultural workers struggling against Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) that treats foreign workers as modern-day indentured labourers and ties low-wage migrants to one employer. M...

Directed by Kelly Anderson and Allison Lirish Dean ∙ 2012 ∙ United States ∙ 76'

This is a documentary about director Kelly Anderson’s personal journey, as a Brooklyn “gentrifier,” to understand the forces reshaping her neighbourhood along lines of race and class. The story begins when Anderson m...

Directed by Petra Sališkar • 2013 • Slovenia - Macedonia - Croatia • 90'

MOTHER EUROPE takes a look at Europe through the eyes of a six year old child, Terra. Born in the Balkans, but raised as a citizen of the world by her Cuban-Macedonian father and Slovenian mother, little Terra quickly learn...

Directed by Amy Miller ∙ 2009 ∙ Canada ∙ 58'

MYTHS FOR PROFIT is a dramatic exposé exploring Canada’s role in industries of 'War and Peace’. Through diverse interviews and case studies, this documentary unveils the interests and profits of the most powerful corporations, individuals and agencie...

Directed by Bojana Burnać • 2017 • Croatia • 75'

How much can you fit between two breaths? MY LIFE WITHOUT AIR is a thrilling view of the wondrous world of a man whose most important moments in life take place underwater during one highly controlled breath. Unrelentingly shifting the boundaries ...

THE NETTIE WILD COLLECTION features five award-winning, critically acclaimed works by Nettie Wild, one of Canada’s most internationally recognized and nationally celebrated documentary filmmakers.

Nettie Wild's groundbreaking films have exposed realities within moments of social change, ...

Directed by Andréanne Germain • 2018 • Canada • 6'

A teenager’s first taste of independence is thwarted when an in-app purchase is refused. The reason? Her first basic income payment has been withheld. Alone in the woods, she is forced to launch Nova, her personalized AI tutor. Nova seizes the ...

Directed by Velcrow Ripper ∙ 2012 ∙ Canada ∙ 95'

From the Arab Spring to the European Summer, from the Occupy Movement to the global climate justice movement, a profound shift is taking place: humanity is waking up to the fact that the dominant system of power is failing to provide us with heal...

Directed by Lia Tarachansky ∙ 2013 ∙ Israel - Palestinian Territory ∙ 82'

Acclaimed former Soviet, Israeli-Canadian journalist Lia Tarachansky looks at Israelis’ collective amnesia of the fateful events of 1948 when the state of Israel was born and most Palestinians made refugees in their own ho...

Directed by Sima Urale ∙ 1996 ∙ New Zealand ∙ 15'

O TAMAITI (THE CHILDREN) tells the story of 11 year old Tino, the eldest of five children in a Samoan family. With adult maturity, Tino must carry the weight of domestic responsibilities, tending to the needs of his younger siblings and a newborn...

Directed by S. Leo Chyang and Johnny Simons ∙ 2015 ∙ United States ∙ 75'

As leader of the world’s only LGBTQ+ political party, Bemz Benedito dreams of being the first transgender woman in the Philippine Congress. But in a predominantly Catholic nation, rallying for LGBTQ+ representation in the ...

Directed by Sergei Kachkin ∙ Russia ∙ 2016

Three former political prisoners tell the story of their imprisonment in the “Perm-36” labour camp, located near the village of Kuchino. A worker, literary scholar and human rights activist, they had all been convicted for activities construed as "anti-...

Directed by Dean Spade ∙ 2015 ∙ United States ∙ 56'

"Pinkwashing" is a term activists have coined for when countries engaged in terrible human rights violations promote themselves as "gay friendly" to improve their public image. Israel is the country most famous for this strategy, having initia...

Directed by Dáša Raimanova and Zofia Brom ∙ 2018 ∙ Poland ∙ 71'

How does it feel to be Black, LGBTQ+ or Muslim in Poland? POLYLAND gives a voice to three strong female characters from different minorities in Poland and explores the nuances of how it feels to be Black, Muslim or LGBTQ+ in the mos...

Directed by Greg Elmer & Andy Opel ∙ Canada - France - United States ∙ 2014

PREEMPTING DISSENT, a documentary released under a creative commons license, builds upon the book of the same name written by Greg Elmer and Andy Opel. The film is a culmination of a collaborative process of soliciting, ...

Directed by Jesse Freeston ∙ 2015 ∙ Canada - Honduras ∙ 92'

RESISTENCIA: THE FIGHT FOR THE AGUAN VALLEY follows farmers of the fertile Aguan Valley who responded to 2009 Honduran military coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya. These farmers took over 10,000 acres of palm oil plantations that...

Directed by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers ∙ 2012 ∙ Canada ∙ 10'

After the Canadian legal system fails to serve justice for the survivor of a brutal, racially-driven sexual assault, an Indigenous woman becomes a motorcycle-riding, ass-kicking vigilante who takes on the attackers of other women who've ...

Directed by Nebojša Slijepčević • 2012 • Croatia • 12m

In Balkans every generation has its war. Sons are continuing fights started by their fathers. There are rifles and pistols in every hand. Concentration of arms has reached a critical point. Even the smallest incident would be disastrous to t...

Directed by Hale Güzin Kızılaslan ∙ 2015 ∙ Turkey ∙ 20'

Memories and identities had long been eradicated or buried in Eastern Anatolia after the disappearance of its Armenian inhabitants; some managed to survive, but only secretly. “The Return” tells one such story of confrontation, remembrance ...

Directed by Beth Geglia and Jesse Freeston ∙ USA / Canada / Honduras ∙ 2013

Could a remote hospital that runs on solar panels, in a community without paved roads or electricity, provide a global model for health care? Since arriving in Honduras in 1797, the Garifuna people have struggled against...

Directed by Jason O'Hara ∙ 2015 ∙ Canada - Brazil ∙ 28'

In 2008, Rio de Janeiro introduces a controversial program known as Pacifying Police Units (UPP) in the favelas. The police murder two young boys in cold blood. Another officer protests, disappears, and is found murdered hours later. Meanwh...

Directed by Michael W. Wilson ∙ 2009 ∙ United States ∙ 88'

As Trump’s election in 2016 had shown, right-wing fascist groups cannot be considered as fringe and peripheral in the U.S., easily discounted for their extremism and small numbers. SILHOUETTE CITY couldn’t be more relevant as it compelli...

Directed by Fahim Alam ∙ 2013 ∙ United Kingdom ∙ 60'

RIOTS REFRAMED takes the viewer through a journey that begins in Tottenham, London—where 29-year old Mark Duggan was shot dead by police in 2011—and spirals out to a broader and deeper look into the role of police, power, racism, government, p...

Directed by Janelle Wookey and Jérémie Wookey ∙ 2015 ∙ USA ∙ 49'

With a jug of milk ringing in at over $14 in some of Northern Manitoba's lowest income communities, it’s not difficult to imagine how grocery bills can account for up to 80% of the household budget or why diabetes rates have hit 50...

Directed by Alan Kohl ∙ 2008 ∙ Canada ∙ 72'

Over a period of three years, stencil artist Peter Gibson (aka Roadsworth) made his mark on Montreal in the early hours of the morning by launching a self-described "attack on the streets." Armed with spray paint and handmade stencils, he began to play...

Directed by Nebojša Slijepčević • 2018 • Croatia • 72'

In the early 90’s, the new-born state of Croatia was involved in a military conflict with neighbouring Serbia. Criminals used the chaos of war to harass and rob Serbian civilians living in Croatia.

One of the innocent victims was a girl liv...

Directed by Nettie Wild ∙ 1988 ∙ Canada

A RUSTLING OF LEAVES: INSIDE THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION offers a remarkable behind-the-frontlines look at the aftermath of the anti-Marcos “Yellow Revolution” that brought Corazon Aquino to power in the Philippines in 1986. Shot over eight months, often in...

Directed by Rolla Tahir • 2019 • Canada • 6’

Displacement, exodus, family and belonging are explored in this experimental archival “biography” (“sira” in Arabic).

This film is included in Cinema Politica's Bring it Black Collection.

All proceeds generated from the streaming of this video ar...

Directed by Marwen Tlili & Quentin Ducados Tayeb Hadji • 2018 • Canada • 18'

Lamine, a Senegalese student in Quebec, decides to film a carsharing ride between Rimouski and Montreal. In the course of his discussions with Rémi, a young filmmaker focusing on ‘minorities’ and Nataly, an Indigeno...

Directed by Sonya Mwambu • 2017 • Canada • 3’

Gesturing to the racial bias behind Kodak’s mid-century “Shirley Cards,” Mwambu brings deeply textured layers of Black artistry, history and the racial politics of popular culture.

All proceeds generated from the streaming of this video are split be...

Directed by Fernand Melgar ∙ 2016 ∙ Switzerland ∙ 101'

In 1994, the Swiss government approved a law authorizing the detention of all foreigners in an irregular situation until they are expelled. Every year, a purely administrative decision has thousands of men and women imprisoned up to 24 month...

Directed by Franklin Lopez ∙ 2013 ∙ Canada ∙ 34'

In the spring of 2012, a massive student strike in opposition to a tuition hike rocked the streets of the Montréal for over six months. Protests and militant street actions became part of the daily and nightly reality of this Canadian metropolis. ...

Directed by Sandy Cioffi ∙ 2009 ∙ USA

Beginning with the filmmaker’s initial trip to document the building of a library in a remote village, SWEET CRUDE is a journey of multilayered revelation and ever-deepening questions. It’s about one place in one moment, with themes that echo many places thr...

Directed by Daniel D Negatu • 2019 • Canada • 32'

There is no singular immigrant experience, a fact beautifully rendered in this story of trauma, migration and the strain to navigate “home.”

All proceeds generated from the streaming of this video are split between the artists/rights holder a...

Directed by Rémy Huberdeau ∙ 2014 ∙ Canada ∙ 45'

TRANSGENDER PARENTS is a film about love, life and kids after a gender transition. It shares the struggles and strengths of several trans women and trans men navigating different stages of parenting: from pregnancy, to raising infants, toddlers a...

Directed by Feargal Ward ∙ 2017 ∙ Ireland

Thomas Reid, a 55-year-old Irish farmer, leads a solitary life living and working on the land passed to him through generations of his family. He lives on the fringes, with threadbare clothes and weathered hands, barely getting by. Looming as his neighb...

Directed by Avi Lewis ∙ 2004 ∙ Canada ∙ 87'

THE TAKE is a powerful manifesto to the power of ordinary people to come together and achieve extraordinary things. This documentary opens in suburban Buenos Aires, where thirty unemployed auto-parts workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleep...

Directed by Kathy Wazana ∙ 2013 ∙ Canada - United States - Morocco - Israel ∙ 74'

A lyrical, musical, polemical road movie, THEY WERE PROMISED THE SEA is an intimate journey shot in Morocco, Israel and Palestine, and New York. Writer and filmmaker Kathy Wazana's research into her family origins ...

Directed by Daniel D Negatu • 2019 • Canada • 32'

There is no singular immigrant experience, a fact beautifully rendered in this story of trauma, migration and the strain to navigate “home.”

All proceeds generated from the streaming of this video are split between the artists/rights holder a...

Directed by Roberto Santaguida • 2018 • Canada • 10'

Dan Buckley parts the veil on the origins and future of the universe. He investigates the disorder and delight that proliferates in between; the worlds and ideas that rub up against each other and, at times, collide.

A reflection on assigning...

Directed by Jim Hubbard ∙ 2012 ∙ United States ∙ 90'

UNITED IN ANGER: A HISTORY OF ACT UP is a unique feature-length documentary that combines startling archival footage and interviews that put the audience on the ground with the activists of the ACT UP Oral History Project. Filmmaker John Hubba...

Directed by Paola Rosà & Antonio Senter ∙ 2017 ∙ Canada ∙ 44'

Along the proposed pipeline route that is planned to connect the fracked gas wells in North Eastern British Columbia with the Pacific coast, First Nations are affirming their rightful land ownership and saying no to exploitative extra...

Directed by Nicolas Lari Jalbert • 2018 • Canada • 20'

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...

Directed by Nuno Escudiero ∙ 2019 ∙ Italy - France ∙ 76'

High in the French Alps, on the border between Italy and France, African migrants fleeing war, poverty and political persecution risk their lives crossing dangerous mountain routes. Witnessing the increasing influx of refugees, local commu...

Directed by Kourtney Jackson • 2018 • Canada • 5'

A young woman explores and confronts her reflections on being a woman, migration and faith.

This film is included in Cinema Politica's Bring it Black Collection.

All proceeds generated from the streaming of this video are split between the a...

Directed by Rob Van Alkemade ∙ 2017 ∙ United States ∙ 91'

From director Rob VanAlkemade and producer Morgan Spurlock (SUPER SIZE ME) comes a serious docu-comedy about the commercialization of Christmas. Bill Talen (aka Reverend Billy) was a lost idealist who hitchhiked to New York City only to ...

Directed by Amie Williams ∙ 2012 ∙ United States ∙ 105'

WE ARE WISCONSIN is a feature documentary that follows the day-to-day unfolding of public outcry against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s controversial budget-repair bill, focusing on the human story behind a remarkable popular uprising fo...

Directed by Andrés Salas-Parra ∙ 2018 ∙ Canada ∙ 20'

In the year 2020 all untapped minerals in the bowels of the earth were diluted and transformed into poisonous gasses by the Aqua Regia Storm. Expelled through every open pit mine on the planet, the gas leak killed around 80 percent of the tota...

Directed by Robert Alstead ∙ 2007 ∙ Canada ∙ 80'

Cyclists are changing the face of Vancouver, a city that has become renowned for the party spirit of its Critical Mass bike rides that attract all types of cyclists.

YOU NEVER BIKE ALONE charts the development of Critical Mass rides in Vancouver—...

Directed by Sergeo Kirby ∙ 2006 ∙ Canada ∙ 66'

Six student activists. Thirty-six Canadian towns. One giant corporation. A daunting experiment in activism. A group of six university students, calling themselves Wal-Town, take to the Canadian highway over two summers. Armed with thousands of pamph...

Cinema Politica presents six Māori-Made classics, exclusively released in Canada through a partnership with the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC).

“How can we take that maverick yet fond friend of ours—the camera—into the Māori community and be confident it will act with dignity?” ...

Directed by Sylvia Hamilton ∙ 2007 ∙ Canada ∙ 60'

For Community or Educational screenings, please contact "[email protected]".

Shot on location in villages and cities in Ontario and Nova Scotia, THE LITTLE BLACK SCHOOL HOUSE unearths the untold story of the children, women, men who wer...