Knowing absolutely nothing about either Max Dean or his art, I went into this one an entirely blank canvas. After just 80 minutes, I feel like I know this man intimately, and that’s a compliment to the filmmaking and honesty put forward here. Dean, a Canadian artist, paints and does art about his own life,…

Each and every year, I sit down for a movie I know next to nothing about, and pray I’m pleasantly surprised. This year, Portraits From A Fire absolutely blew me away, and the talent involved in this picture is absolutely explosive. Portraits wrapped shooting in September 2019 in the community of Tl-etinqox, British Columbia, and…

I don’t think any film at FIN was more relevant this year than Night Raiders. This may play out like a sci-fi thriller, but it’s impossible not to see some horrifying real-life parallels. Writer-director Danis Goulet manages to explore the residential school system with intricacy and boldness that’s frankly required viewing. Goulet, winner of the…

When examining gay culture, it’s crucial to realize there are people and parts of this chronicling that are lost forever. This documentary shows that photos, notes and many other things made being ‘out’ literally impossible in New York in the mid-1900s. Drag culture especially was difficult to navigate. For decades, laws, police and public attitudes…

I felt absolutely queasy going into a screening of Renée Blanchar’s documentary The Silence, and my worst fears were discovered. This is an unrelenting, unabashedly honest portrayal of the sexual abuse committed by priests on children in francophone towns in New Brunswick for 30 years, beginning in the 1950s. Perhaps what surprised me most about…

Oh Lord, it’s been a really long time since I’ve cried in front of a crowd. When you spend most of 18 months away from your local multiplex, you forget the intricacies of trying to hide your sniffles from other audience members. But when it came to Nowhere Special, there was no hiding it –…

This portrayal and exploration of the North Preston Surf Program is a stark, raw reminder that racism is far from dead and gone in our little province. Writer LaMeia Reddick takes us through her story, and the reasons she co-founded the club in the first place. Through insights from volunteers, surfers, youth and the community,…

It’s exceptionally hard to make a film about the specific art of film itself. This can sometimes lead to a sort of awkward, fumbled inception of ideas that never quite meld. And yet, One Second manages to send up film and the age of 35-millimetre prints without ever bowing to it. It has a restrained…

This really fun documentary — first chronicled on OutTV as a series — showcases the rise and expansion of roller derby squad Halifax Harbour Grudges. The derby is a place of belonging, love and acceptance. But it’s clear there have been trials and tribulations to get there, and some of the players are candid about…

It’s first worth noting that though I’m not entirely sure what I watched last night, The Righteous left enough of an impression on me that I know I’m going to need to see it again. If allegory and challenging filmmaking isn’t your bag, writer-director-star Mark O’Brien’s directorial debut may not strike your fancy. But for…