A neglected six-year-old girl struggles to cope with her mother’s depression, uncovering a secret from her mother’s past.
Nominee
ISTINA (Truth)
Jelena is a Serbian photojournalist on an investigative editorial team in Belgrade that campaigns for democratic rights. The atmosphere around her has been threatening for some time and she is increasingly becoming a target of right-wing extremist groups. When one day the editorial office is violently attacked and even her daughter Lara is threatened, Jelena decides to leave the country, leaving her lover behind. In Germany soon she experiences increasingly strong hostility and threats, too.
Demon Box
After festival rejections, a director revises his intensely personal short film about trauma, suicide, and the Holocaust, and transforms it into a painful, blunt and funny dissection of the film and his life.
Ten years in the making.
Grey Matter
Teenager Chloe has never been close with her Nan Peg but when she gets diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and moves into the family home, Chloe’s forced to become her stay-at-home carer overnight. Chloe’s Mum forces her to join a local support group where she meets Sam who helps her realise how much things are soon about to change for her Nan. Chloe confronts Peg – what does she really want to do before she forgets? Chloe comes up with a ‘fuck-it list’ and decides to make Peg’s summer unforgettable.
Custodians – A Story of Ancient Echoes
The documentary CUSTODIANS – A Story of Ancient Echoes follows the journey of a local community in Herschel, Saskatchewan during the summer of 2021 as they work to uncover, preserve and protect native grasslands, dinosaur and marine fossils, and important Indigenous artifacts recently discovered on farmland near the village. "We have found a living library!" says Metis Artist Jo Cooper. These grassroots volunteers take action to raise awareness and build bridges for healing and restoration.
Broken Waters
Ottawa, 1983. When an ambitious anti-pharma psychiatrist sets out to cure a serial baby-snatching patient, her unconventional methods and unexpected pregnancy combine to unravel every part of her life.
Set forty years in the past but still unfolding, BROKEN WATERS is Canada's first ever bilingual drama featuring female characters from Ontario's francophone community.