Category Archives: Canadian

Bystanders review #AIFF22

September 23, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Koumbie | Written by Koumbie, Taylor Olson, and Lisa Rose Snow | 90 min The script for Bystanders has won The Michael Weir Award for Best Atlantic Screenwriting, and it's well-deserved. Bystanders has a script I'd call courageous, how it wades into issues other writers might hesitate to consider. It's the story of…Read More

#AIFF22 Preview

September 14, 2022 flawintheiris

Regular readers will know I'm in Toronto right now seeing films at the 2022 edition of Toronto International Film Festival, but I can't help but feel a little wistful to be missing the launch of the Atlantic International Film Festival — recently known as FIN, though that branding seems to be a little less prominent…Read More

Queens of the Qing Dynasty, Catherine Called Birdy reviews #TIFF22

September 13, 2022 flawintheiris

Queens of the Qing Dynasty | Written and Directed by Ashley McKenzie | 122 min McKenzie, while still fond of the small visual details of characters' bodies, broadens her storytelling palate on Queens with a dose of dryly absurd humour. It's the story of teenaged Starlet, or "Star" (Sarah Walker), in a hospital ward following…Read More

Slash/Back review — Arctic aliens get stomped by badass girls

June 24, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Nyla Innuksuk | Written by Innuksuk and Ryan Cavan | 87 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Crave Welcome to Pangnirtung, Nunavut — a small town just beneath the Arctic Circle. It's the summer solstice, a day that sees no night and all the adults are partying. That leaves teenagers Maika (Tasiana Shirley) and her…Read More

Crimes of the Future review — Long Live the New Sex

June 14, 2022 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by David Cronenberg | 107 min | ▲▲▲▲▲ | Crave Can we say now, while he's still with us and making movies at this standard, that David Cronenberg is the greatest filmmaker our national cinema has ever produced? I mean, the mountain of evidence is towering. If you go back more than…Read More

The Righteous review — Gothic horror counts the wages of sin

June 10, 2022 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Mark O'Brien | 97 min | ▲▲▲△△ | VOD First off, let me say how much I enjoyed the gorgeous black and white cinematography in The Righteous from DP Scott McClellan. His lighting design frequently evokes classic Hollywood noir, a compelling choice of texture for a drama that makes a troubled…Read More

HIFF is back!

June 9, 2022 flawintheiris

In a town where we're blessed by a number of quality film festivals, the Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival has earned a reputation for being one of the scrappiest, offering a consistently avant garde and experimental cinematic program. The 2022 edition looks to meet that expectation with a slate of films screening over four days in-person…Read More

Peace by Chocolate review — A bittersweet treat

May 8, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Jonathan Keijser | Written by Keijser and Abdul Malik | 92 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Crave A version of this review first appeared in coverage of the 2021 FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival. I confess it crossed my mind that this might be a documentary. It is, in fact, a feature film by…Read More

All My Puny Sorrows review — All-Canadian misery porn

April 30, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Michael McGowan | Written by McGowan from the novel by Miriam Toews | 103 min | ▲▲△△△ | Crave "Your mother and I buried 14 brothers and sisters," says Mimi Kuzyk's Aunt Tina. Cue a wretched groan from this viewer. I can acknowledge the courage and effort it takes to bring to the…Read More

National Canadian Film Day/Emerging Lens Film Festival 2022

April 20, 2022 flawintheiris

This week two cinema events are coinciding, both starting on Wednesday, April 20th — one nationwide and one local. National Canadian Film Day (NCFD) is the annual national event celebrating Canadian film. It features more than 1,000 events across the country where audiences can catch a Canadian film locally or through broadcast/streaming. Go here for…Read More