First Day of School

Backstage Bardo

October 2023 •Slovak

Backstage Bardo is a short documentary film that takes viewers on a unique journey into the daily life of morgue workers. The challenges of dealing with death are conveyed through an intimate, up-close perspective that offers insight into a world that is often shrouded in obscurity and misconception.

Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn

April 2021 •Romanian

Emi, a school teacher, finds her career and reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is leaked on the Internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender to their pressure.

Documenta 1955

October 2016 •German

Avions de chasse : Une technologie XXL

February 2023 •French

Underground

March 2023 •English

On New York’s packed subways, violations of personal space are unavoidable—an inevitability that emboldens more predatory behavior. Underground brings these stories into the light.

Kolya

May 1996 •Czech

After a fictitious marriage with a Russian emigrant, Cellisten Louka, a Czech man, must suddenly take responsibility for her son. However, it’s not long before the communication barrier is broken between the two new family members.

Annaluise & Anton

August 1953 •German

Despite their social differences Luise, called Pünktchen, a girl from rich parentage befriends Anton, a boy who has to earn his own money in order to afford life for his sick mother and himself. Together they undergo different adventures, even preventing a theft in Pünktchens home

Sleepers

October 1996 •English

Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.

The Music Room

October 1958 •Bengali

An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices his wealth in order to compete with the opulent music room of his younger, richer neighbour.

Barren Lives

August 1963 •Portuguese

In vivid images, the documentary-like story of a drover and his family in the northern badlands of Brazil during the drought. A family in the search of new hope and destiny.

American Graffiti

August 1973 •English

A couple of high school graduates spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.

Anna and the King

December 1999 •English

The story of the romance between the King of Siam (now Thailand) and the widowed British school teacher Anna Leonowens during the 1860s. Anna teaches the children and becomes romanced by the King. She convinces him that a man can be loved by just one woman.

A Sobering Story

April 2024 •English

Unveiling the harsh reality of substance use in Thunder Bay, Ontario, this universally themed documentary, told through personal narratives and expert insights, exposes a lack of resources while aiming to shatter stigmas and ignite compassion for those grappling with addiction.

Games of Love and Chance

November 2003 •French

A group of teenagers living in a housing project in the outskirts of Paris rehearse a scene from Marivaux's play of the same name. Krimo is determined not to take part, but after developing feelings for Lydia, he quickly assumes the main role and love interest in the play.

Battling Darkness

Invalid date •English

Prior to 1973, Satan seemed all but dead and gone, the causality of a modernist mindset. But with Linda Blair's disturbing performance in The Exorcist, Satan returned with a vengeance and since then films about demonic possession have fascinated viewers worldwide. However, was the visage of Satan that returned Biblical or distorted? And how have these images influenced society's view of the demonic and spiritual warfare? In this thought provoking documentary, these questions are examined with objectivity and insight from psychologists, modern-day exorcists and leading voices in Christianity.

I Love You, East Garrison (A Video Essay by Haley Hoult)

May 2023 •English

Haley Hoult, a student of Est Harrison High, creates a sarcastic video essay about his school.

The Lotus Eaters

September 1993 •English

Set off the West Coast of Canada in 1965, a hip new teacher with a miniskirt and lots of ideas turns a small town upside down. The soft autumn light of Galiano Island is beautifully rendered in writer/producer Peggy Thompson's The Lotus Eaters, and that's not the only elusive element that this film has captured. In revisiting its particular time and place - the Gulf Islands of the early '60s -Thompson obviously draws on her own family experiences there. For those who share Thompson's love of Gulf Islands magic, the elements she has assembled will feel as familiar as their own childhood blanket. But there are problems at the core of this story about a family's loss of innocence.

The Country Teacher of Ban Nong He Yai

January 2010 •Thai

In the 1970's a young idealistic teacher arrives in a remote impoverished North East Issan village to teach in a school. He must first reform the womanizing, gambling addicted, wife beating headmaster. He helps poor families get school uniforms and books for their children.

LiSA Another Great Day

October 2022 •Japanese

Glimpse into the world of the songstress known as the "Rock Heroine" as she reflects on the first decade of her career and looks to the future.

In My Father's Den

June 2004 •English

Paul (Macfadyen), a prize-winning war journalist, returns to his remote New Zealand hometown due to the death of his father, battle-scarred and world-weary. For the discontented sixteen-year-old Celia (Barclay) he opens up a world she has only dreamed of. She actively pursues a friendship with him, fascinated by his cynicism and experience of the world beyond her small-town existence. But many, including the members of both their families (Otto, Moy), frown upon the friendship and when Celia goes missing, Paul becomes the increasingly loathed and persecuted prime suspect in her disappearance. As the violent and urgent truth gradually emerges, Paul is forced to confront the family tragedy and betrayal that he ran from as a youth, and to face the grievous consequences of silence and secrecy that has surrounded his entire adult life.