DON'T SAY IT'S NAME * CANADA * 2021 * Dir: Rueben Martell * 84 Min

An in-person Q&A with Saskatchewan filmmaker Rueben Martell will take place after the movie.

It’s a dark winter night when activist Kharis Redwater (Sheena Kaine) is killed while walking home in her northern Alberta community. There are no suspects in the hit and run, but it does seem to benefit WEC. The company wants to strip mine in the Indigenous community, which Kharis was actively protesting against. Her death doesn’t stop the activism; in fact, it seems to have awakened something else. A black bird circling overhead and the smell of death foretell attacks on people that intend to harm the land. Local peace officer Mary Stonechild (Madison Walsh) and Park Ranger Stacey Cole (Sera-Lys McArthur) believe the answer to the violence lies in the traditions of their people and the vengeance-filled spirits that have protected the land for eternity. While what precisely that is, how to stop it, or if they even should stop it, remains unanswered, one fact holds true—don’t say its name.

Directed by Indigenous filmmaker Rueben Martell and rooted in traditional stories, DON’T SAY ITS NAME draws on real-life conflicts over land rights and examines the balance between land stewardship and economic diversity. But the movie is more than an activist film, it’s a compelling supernatural horror movie featuring strong female characters finding their way in a cold world.

BABY ASSASSINS * JAPAN * 2021 * Dir: Yugo Sakamoto * 95 Min

How would you balance the mundanity of a regular life when your main hustle is that you’re an extremely effective super assassin? Chisato and Mahiro make for a very effective and deadly tandem of killers. When their employer asks them to get regular jobs to keep up the ruse of everyday ordinary girls, they struggle to keep it together. A yakuza gang intent on finding out who has been killing off their members creates a significant inconvenience for the two teenage girls who just want to hang out at home in between hits. Director Hugo Sakamoto has created a fun little indie action-comedy bookended by very efficient and to-the-point action set pieces. Baby Assassins is both a charming and offbeat odd-couple comedy and a very cool indie action flick.

THE SADNESS * TAIWAN * 2021 * Dir: Rob Jabbaz * 99 Min

WARNING: CONTAINS EXTREMELY VIOLENT IMAGERY AND SUBJECT MATTER INCLUDING SEXUAL ASSAULT

This year’s festival ends with a film that Rue Morgue magazine has dubbed “the most violent and depraved zombie movie ever made.”

With a plot a bit too close to home, the government has chosen to ignore the effects of the ongoing “Alvin Virus” pandemic despite warnings from leading virologists. The nation lets its guard down, and the virus suddenly mutates into a mind-altering variant that turns ordinary people into sadistic, bloodthirsty “zombies.” The infected are driven to perform the cruelest and most horrifying acts they can think of; torture, rape, mutilation, there are no boundaries. Even worse, one scientist suggests that the infected are aware of what they’re doing but can’t control their cravings—”it’s like fighting the urge to blink.” Amid this intense chaos, a young couple is pushed to their limits as they fight for their lives to reunite.

“The age of civility and order is no more. There is only ‘The Sadness’.”

With a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (at the writing of this entry), THE SADNESS lives up to its hype. But please be warned, the film is vile, the gore is extreme, the outlook is bleak, and THE SADNESS will repeatedly punch you in the gut while daring you to look away.

THE HUMANS * 2021 * USA * Dir: Stephen Karam * 108 Mins * Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

Erik Blake has gathered three generations of his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group’s deepest fears are laid bare. The piercingly funny and haunting debut film from writer-director Stephen Karam, adapted from his Tony Award-winning play, The Humans explores the hidden dread of a family and the love that binds them together.

"The razor-sharp balance this maintains is a rare achievement and it's in service of astute notions - the humor, heartbreak, and sheer terror that comes with unconditionally loving and being loved." - Austin Chronicle

BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN* 2021 * ROMANIA * Dir: Radu Jude * 106 Min * Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

Emi, a schoolteacher, finds her reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is uploaded onto the internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender. BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN is a film in three loosely connected parts: a walk in the city of Bucharest, then a playful essay on obscenities, all culminating, in the third part, in an incendiary comic confrontation.

"An almost profound act of high-wire lampoonery that deserves to be seen and debated far and wide." - Globe and Mail

"Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is a masterpiece that stimulates emotionally and philosophically." - Paste Magazine

BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN* 2021 * ROMANIA * Dir: Radu Jude * 106 Min * Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

Emi, a schoolteacher, finds her reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is uploaded onto the internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender. BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN is a film in three loosely connected parts: a walk in the city of Bucharest, then a playful essay on obscenities, all culminating, in the third part, in an incendiary comic confrontation.

"An almost profound act of high-wire lampoonery that deserves to be seen and debated far and wide." - Globe and Mail

"Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is a masterpiece that stimulates emotionally and philosophically." - Paste Magazine

THE HUMANS * 2021 * USA * Dir: Stephen Karam * 108 Mins * Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

Erik Blake has gathered three generations of his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group’s deepest fears are laid bare. The piercingly funny and haunting debut film from writer-director Stephen Karam, adapted from his Tony Award-winning play, The Humans explores the hidden dread of a family and the love that binds them together.

"The razor-sharp balance this maintains is a rare achievement and it's in service of astute notions - the humor, heartbreak, and sheer terror that comes with unconditionally loving and being loved." - Austin Chronicle

THE HUMANS * 2021 * USA * Dir: Stephen Karam * 108 Mins * Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

Erik Blake has gathered three generations of his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group’s deepest fears are laid bare. The piercingly funny and haunting debut film from writer-director Stephen Karam, adapted from his Tony Award-winning play, The Humans explores the hidden dread of a family and the love that binds them together.

"The razor-sharp balance this maintains is a rare achievement and it's in service of astute notions - the humor, heartbreak, and sheer terror that comes with unconditionally loving and being loved." - Austin Chronicle

BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN* 2021 * ROMANIA * Dir: Radu Jude * 106 Min * Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

Emi, a schoolteacher, finds her reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is uploaded onto the internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender. BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN is a film in three loosely connected parts: a walk in the city of Bucharest, then a playful essay on obscenities, all culminating, in the third part, in an incendiary comic confrontation.

"An almost profound act of high-wire lampoonery that deserves to be seen and debated far and wide." - Globe and Mail

"Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is a masterpiece that stimulates emotionally and philosophically." - Paste Magazine

“A rousing and decidedly Canadian version of Handel’s Messiah.” —The New York Times

“A joyful screen adaptation of Handel’s holiday staple….Messiah/Complex unveils a moving mosaic” —Globe and Mail

The multi-award-winning innovative team at Against the Grain Theatre (AtG) is proud to present Messiah/Complex, a bold interpretation of Handel’s Messiah, created in partnership with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO). Fusing diverse choral traditions and voices from every province and territory in Canada with one of the most enduring classical works of all time, Messiah/Complex showcases multilingual translations, and features a diverse cast of soloists and choirs, accompanied by the exceptional sounds of the TSO, conducted by Johannes Debus (Canadian Opera Company), and co-directed by Joel Ivany (Against the Grain Theatre), and Reneltta Arluk (Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity).

BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN* 2021 * ROMANIA * Dir: Radu Jude * 106 Min * Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

Emi, a schoolteacher, finds her reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is uploaded onto the internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender. BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN is a film in three loosely connected parts: a walk in the city of Bucharest, then a playful essay on obscenities, all culminating, in the third part, in an incendiary comic confrontation.

"An almost profound act of high-wire lampoonery that deserves to be seen and debated far and wide." - Globe and Mail

"Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is a masterpiece that stimulates emotionally and philosophically." - Paste Magazine

THE HUMANS * 2021 * USA * Dir: Stephen Karam * 108 Mins * Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

Erik Blake has gathered three generations of his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group’s deepest fears are laid bare. The piercingly funny and haunting debut film from writer-director Stephen Karam, adapted from his Tony Award-winning play, The Humans explores the hidden dread of a family and the love that binds them together.

"The razor-sharp balance this maintains is a rare achievement and it's in service of astute notions - the humor, heartbreak, and sheer terror that comes with unconditionally loving and being loved." - Austin Chronicle

THE HUMANS * 2021 * USA * Dir: Stephen Karam * 108 Mins * Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

Erik Blake has gathered three generations of his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group’s deepest fears are laid bare. The piercingly funny and haunting debut film from writer-director Stephen Karam, adapted from his Tony Award-winning play, The Humans explores the hidden dread of a family and the love that binds them together.

"The razor-sharp balance this maintains is a rare achievement and it's in service of astute notions - the humor, heartbreak, and sheer terror that comes with unconditionally loving and being loved." - Austin Chronicle

BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN* 2021 * ROMANIA * Dir: Radu Jude * 106 Min * Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

Emi, a schoolteacher, finds her reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is uploaded onto the internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender. BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN is a film in three loosely connected parts: a walk in the city of Bucharest, then a playful essay on obscenities, all culminating, in the third part, in an incendiary comic confrontation.

"An almost profound act of high-wire lampoonery that deserves to be seen and debated far and wide." - Globe and Mail

"Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is a masterpiece that stimulates emotionally and philosophically." - Paste Magazine

BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN* 2021 * ROMANIA * Dir: Radu Jude * 106 Min * Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

Emi, a schoolteacher, finds her reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is uploaded onto the internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender. BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN is a film in three loosely connected parts: a walk in the city of Bucharest, then a playful essay on obscenities, all culminating, in the third part, in an incendiary comic confrontation.

"An almost profound act of high-wire lampoonery that deserves to be seen and debated far and wide." - Globe and Mail

"Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is a masterpiece that stimulates emotionally and philosophically." - Paste Magazine

THE HUMANS * 2021 * USA * Dir: Stephen Karam * 108 Mins * Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

Erik Blake has gathered three generations of his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group’s deepest fears are laid bare. The piercingly funny and haunting debut film from writer-director Stephen Karam, adapted from his Tony Award-winning play, The Humans explores the hidden dread of a family and the love that binds them together.

"The razor-sharp balance this maintains is a rare achievement and it's in service of astute notions - the humor, heartbreak, and sheer terror that comes with unconditionally loving and being loved." - Austin Chronicle