Breakthroughs Film Festival 2022
Film Guide
June 16th-19th, 2022
Community
-
Community -
The search for a community can last a lifetime. Some are born into it with ease, while others struggle to seek the right one for their ever-evolving identities. This program explores the multitudes of what community means to marginalized bodies, and how it expands and contracts to help us navigate our sense of belonging in this world.
This program is presented in partnership with Regent Park Film Festival.
Tie your camel and trust in God -
Niya Abdullahi
Tie your Camel and trust in God is a meditative experience, taking viewers into the unique worlds of individuals that are attempting to reconcile with their inner selves and with God.
Still Life -
Diana Ali Chire
Merging the historical paintings of the past, with the whisperings of exclusion of what could be modern day scenarios (yet realistically a repetition of history eating itself). A ode to the black woman and her voice.
Aniskenamakewin -
Marie-Kristine Petiquay
Shot over the course of three years of cultural transmission camps given by the Matakan Project in the Atikamewk community of Manawan, this documentary hopes to show the need for urgent action to ensure the survival of Atikamekw heritage and culture.
a’hwa
- Rolla Tahir
Conversations about life, love and loss, naturally ensue between friends, old and new, over shisha and coffee. Generations reminisce about their shisha adventures, from underground shisha dens in Sudan, to the bustling shisha scene in Russia.
Reflections
-
Reflections -
As we move through time we reflect on the moments, actions, and memories that have brought us to now. This program examines ideas around shared experiences and the ways in which we not only reflect back on our past but also how we reflect our most vulnerable selves to the world.
This program is presented in partnership with Jayu.
Ahu’s Journal
- Weeda Azim
Eager for an escape from family, Safiya moves into the sublet room of an acquaintance, Ahu. Her new place is peaceful, but she soon comes across something that takes her on a reflective journey: Ahu’s journal.
only light will touch us
- Alicia K. Harris
In the safety of his bedroom sanctuary, a divine light liberates a man's inner joy, in this celebration of a Black man’s freedom.
Alfie
- Emily Ryder
As Alfie starts to come to terms with their budding queer identity, they are forced to also navigate the tides of toxic masculinity rooted in their relationship with their Irish Catholic father.
Open Water
- Kalli Anderson
Open Water is a short documentary film about what it feels like to swim across the largest freshwater lake in the world. It follows 61-year-old open-water swimmer Marilyn Korzekwa as she attempts to be the first person to ever complete a crossing of the eastern end of Lake Superior, from Michigan, USA to Ontario, Canada.
Generations
-
Generations -
We can trace a line from us to the generations before, threading a needle to the ones that will come next. This program dives into the fabric of time, into stories weaved together by milestones, ancestry and a human connection to where we all began and to where we will go.
This program is presented in partnership with Reel Asian.
* Please note, this programme is geo-blocked to Canada.
OrHoDa -
tigris alt sakda
Taiga, mountain gods, spirit beings and humans. An animated reinterpretation of an old Jurchen legend from the 13th century.
Fanmi -
Carmine Pierre Dufour, Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers
Absorbed by her recent break-up, Martine doesn't notice her mother is hiding the true reason behind her visit to Montreal.
Meet The Sky -
K.J. Edwards
Two sisters who grew up in foster care together travel to a reservation to learn about Kanien'kehá:ka culture.
Fictions -
Alice Charlie Liu
A young aspiring photographer is forced to reflect on her shifting sense of identity and family when she takes on a self-portraiture assignment after discovering the work of Cindy Sherman.
Due to technical difficulties, BFF was unable to include closed captioning for our filmmaker Q&A sessions. Transcripts for each session can be found below:
Community Q&A with filmmaker Rolla Tahir (a’hwa)
Reflections Q&A with filmmakers Weeda Azim (Ahu’s Journal) and Kalli Anderson (Open Water)
Generations Q&A with filmmakers K.J Edwards (Meet the Sky) and tigris alt sakda (OrHoDa)