For those who may not know, Carbon Arc has been offering an alternative to the multiplex in Halifax since 2010, screening the best international, independent, and Canadian cinema to a discerning audience looking for films to both challenge and entertain. I’ve been there for nine years as a volunteer, but this marks my first full year as Artistic Director and Senior Programmer. I’m part of a crack programming team bringing (usually) two screenings a week of films that otherwise might never get seen on a big screen in this town.
As we go dark from now until October to recharge our batteries and enjoy festival season, including TIFF, AIFF, and the Lunenburg Doc Fest. (More about all of those coming soon.)
I thought now would be an excellent time to look back at the films I’m most proud we brought to Halifax since September 2023. Some of them I previewed here on FITI, and when I did you can click on the title to read more about them. And, yeah, a lot are documentaries, which surprised me a little, too. I’ll also include where/if they can be found on VOD, digital, or streaming in Canada.
Copa 71 A slice of both sports and feminist history, this documentary tells the story of how women soccer players made a big splash in a World Cup in Mexico City in 1971 and were promptly forgotten by history and stamped out by men in FIFA. Brilliant and shocking. (Not available online)
Fallen Leaves Veteran Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismäki delivers a new and strange Scandi deadpan romcom that audiences adored. (MUBI, and for rent)
Flipside Chris Wilcha’s heartfelt collection of failed, mistimed, or incomplete work is featured here in a surprisingly affecting ode to the attempt to live a creative life — a must see for Generation Xers and vinyl fanatics. (Rentable)
Four Daughters The story of a family of women in Tunisia where the two eldest sisters have been radicalized, this is a unique and stunning mix of fictionalized storytelling an hard-hitting verité. The film was also the biggest box office success at Carbon Arc this year. (Amazon Prime and rentable)
The Mission Another story of radicalization, but one told largely by the extremist. An American missionary attempts to bring the word of Jesus to a remote island people and is killed. The doc manages to contextualize his religious fundamentalism and his personal story in a moving, sympathetic way while also showing the perversity of his cause. Fascinating stuff. (Not available online)
Occupied City Steve McQueen’s epic documentary, inspired by a book written by his Dutch wife, Bianca Stigter, is about the deportations that took place in Amsterdam during the Second World War while the film only shares footage shot in 2022, nothing archival. It’s driven by geography, demanding we contemplate history in its absence. Especially potent at more than four hours long. (FlixFling, rentable)
Robot Dreams A wonderfully peculiar animated tale of a robot and a dog, set in the early 1980s New York City that features no dialogue. It’s a narrative high wire act that’s both moving and fun, with great use of Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “September.” (Not available online)
Someone Lives Here A clear-eyed look at how the city of Toronto actively works against helping its homeless population, and how a carpenter makes a difference. (You can buy online)
Sugarcane The best documentary I’ve yet seen on the generational damage done by residential schools in Canada. (Not available online)
The Teachers Lounge A drama steeped in thriller juice, this white-knuckler set in a German grade school stars the entirely empathetic Leonie Benesch as a well-meaning novice teacher who thinks she has proof that a fellow staffer is a thief, which really compromises her work life. (Hoopla, and rentable)
If you live in Halifax I hope you’ll consider coming to Carbon Arc Cinema when we reopen in October. Visit carbonarc.ca to check out our full program of forthcoming films (soon to be announced). Please sign up for the newsletter and you’ll be the first to know when we book new movies and put tickets on sale.
