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Renowned Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei transforms Giacomo Puccini’s controversial Turandot into a mirror reflecting our turbulent times in this compelling documentary. Making his opera-directing debut at Rome’s majestic Teatro dell’Opera, Ai confronts the century-old work’s problematic orientalism and ethnic stereotyping with his customary unflinching vision. His radical reinterpretation infuses the classical production with urgent contemporary parallels—from the global impact of COVID to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, from refugee crises to public spectacles of cruelty. Once banned in China yet treasured in the Western repertoire, Turandot becomes Ai’s canvas for exploring the rise of totalitarianism and humanity’s complex relationship with power. Through intimate access to his creative process, Ai Weiwei’s Turandot witnesses how Ai’s distinctive artistic sensibilities and political activism converge, transforming the outdated politics of a canonical opera into a provocative meditation on whether art can truly challenge or change our fractured world—a question that remains as relevant as ever. The result is both a celebration of artistic defiance and a call to witness the power of reimagined cultural traditions. Gugi Gumilang.

Over the last 40 years, Brazil has seen unprecedented growth in the evangelical faith, from a meagre 5% to a significant 30% of its population. This increase has seen the church mobilized opportunistically as a tool and a political platform for spouting far-right propaganda. At the helm is Silas Malafaia, who has been infiltrating Brazilians’ television sets for over 30 years and spreading vitriol in opposition to homosexuality, reproductive justice and Indigenous rights—all the while acting as a central advisor to former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Oscillating between the encapsulating and deeply personal essayistic style Costa has become synonymous with and newly shot footage, Apocalypse in the Tropics boasts remarkable access to Malafaia, Bolsonaro and President Lula as Costa delivers a meditation on the historically intertwined relationship between church and state in Brazil that culminates in the large-scale occupation of the national congress and attempted coup on January 8, 2023. With the global rise of right-wing fascism, this is a much-needed intervention and a call to safeguard the fragility of democracy. Lauren Clarke.

Leading up to the 2020 elections in the Dominican Republic, director Nayibe Tavares-Abel explores the fragility of democracy through the history of her own politically polarized family. Her paternal grandfather, Froilán Tavares, one-time head of the electoral board, was accused in 1990 of enabling electoral fraud in favour of the authoritarian regime of Joaquín Balaguer. Prior to that, on her maternal side, her uncle Amín Abel was murdered for his left-wing activism against Balaguer. The building of a family tree, conversations with family members, and a wealth of archival materials guide the director in her search for answers while providing a sensitive lyrical texture for the film. Personal history and collective memory?intertwine beautifully to unfold the complex political history of Tavares-Abel’s country and at the same time shed light on themes that resonate beyond borders, such as election integrity and authoritarianism, and across family ecosystems through the vulnerability of truth and memory. Lucila Moctezuma.

Trying to contextualize and come to terms with a terminal cancer diagnosis comes with heartbreak and heavy realizations. Colorado Poet Laureate Andrea Gibson approaches their situation with honesty and art. Alongside their fellow poet partner, Megan Falley, Gibson works towards a big final performance, bringing their spoken word skills to life on an otherwise grim topic. The true beauty comes from within their relationship. We are brought into some of the most candid and intimate times in their lives. Hot Docs alum Ryan White (The Case Against 8, Ask Dr. Ruth) captures moments of heartache and humour in Gibson’s journey, showcasing how art can provide healing and meaning and that true love offers grace and acceptance. Gabor Pertic.

“Deaf people are not ready to function in a hearing world,” an interpreter signs to a mob of angry students. Jane Bassett Spilman, the former Chair of Gallaudet University’s Board of Trustees, denies saying this on the night in 1988 that a hearing person was appointed as the new president of Gallaudet, whose student body is almost entirely Deaf and hard-of-hearing. Nonetheless, it acted as the tipping point for a revolution. Deaf President Now! is a first-person account of the historical protests of the same name from the students-turned-organizers who came into their own and helped change the way the world saw the Deaf community, in turn advancing the disability rights movement. Co-directors Nyle DiMarco (executive producer, Audible, Hot Docs 2021) and Davis Guggenheim (director, STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Hot Docs 2023) deliver multisensory filmmaking that brings a unique and immersive experience to a history that bears repeating. Before “Nothing about us without us!” came “Deaf President Now!" Elspeth Arbow.

After nine years as NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg is ready to hang up his hat and return home to his wife in Norway. His plans for a quieter life are put on hold, however, as President Joe Biden asks him to extend his time in the position for an additional year. Stoltenberg made a promise to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: that NATO would stand by Ukraine's side until the end. Not an easy promise to keep with no end to the war in sight and tensions between member countries continuing to escalate.

With unprecedented access to NATO’s inner sanctum, this dynamic and utterly absorbing documentary throws us into the rough waters of political nuance and big egos. Stoltenberg navigates them skillfully, with a mastery of diplomacy and devotion to compromise and dialogue, even when the challenging personalities of figures like Viktor Orbán and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are involved.

One might not expect a film about NATO to be so emotive: chilling yet hopeful. To paraphrase Stoltenberg, many countries that have fought for centuries are now friends. One day, we will all have to speak to Russia again. Kinga Binkowska.

On Réunion island, there is an entire industry devoted to protective talismans that are bought and sold to ward off bad luck. These “magical insurance policies” or garantis, as they’re known, can be as simple as a sash of cloth, or involve more intricately designed bracelets or belts. In striking black-and-white cinematography, Laurent Pantaléon heads to his home island to embrace the various rituals of witchcraft and magic influenced by the mixing of Hinduism, Voodoo, Catholicism and Buddhism that occurred after French colonization. In this rich survey of spiritualism, the director breathes life into ways of understanding ancestral knowledge and healing that are often overlooked by Westerners. By meeting with witch doctors, firewalkers, spell-book dealers and healers, Pantaléon seeks what many of us are searching for: certainty in uncertain times and, for him personally, a garanti that will bring his film success. Vivian Belik.

A powerful and urgent examination of the systemic assault on transgender rights across the United States, Sam Feder’s latest film follows ACLU attorney Chase Strangio as he prepares to be the first openly trans person to argue in front of the Supreme Court. Navigating the rapid-fire legal and political attacks coming from the right in recent years, Strangio and other trans activists present compelling evidence regarding how media coverage of trans issues, especially from mainstream, “prestige” outlets like The New York Times and The Atlantic, helped lay the groundwork that allowed Republican states to enact anti-trans laws. While Feder does not shy away from the real-life consequences of how a continuous stream of “just-asking-questions” stories leads to the increasingly dehumanizing treatment of the trans community, his film also highlights the trans community’s resilience, joy and support for each other in this challenging time. Throughout, Strangio exemplifies the strength of that community in his relentless quest for justice. Vicci Ho.

The divergent paths of poppy farmer Vardibai and her activist son Mangilal intertwine in this powerful documentary about a Dalit family’s resistance against systemic oppression. As Vardibai nurtures her poppy cultivation with her grandsons, Mangilal fearlessly confronts corrupt officials, his actions contributing to the successful jailing of high-ranking members of the Narcotics Bureau. His campaign brings temporary triumph, then devastating consequences when authorities revoke his mother’s farming licence, plunging the family into deeper hardship. The film’s exquisite cinematography creates a striking visual contrast—Vardibai’s intimate relationship with her crops is juxtaposed with Mangilal’s technology-driven activism. Their moral dilemma crystallizes around a painful choice: continue bribing officials so they can survive, or fight for systemic change at tremendous personal cost. As tensions escalate within the lower-caste household, we witness this profound truth: neither traditional farming nor modern protest alone can address their complex challenges. This multilayered narrative transcends its Indian context to explore universal themes of justice, family and the human cost of standing up against institutional power. Gugi Gumilang.

It is Manizha Bakhtari’s conviction that one day soon, she, her family and all refugees from Afghanistan will be able to return to their beloved homeland. Since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, she remains her country’s only female ambassador, even though she is no longer recognized by its current government. From her (now unofficial) office in Vienna, and despite constant threats to her safety, Bakhtari defiantly fights gender discrimination, secretly educating Afghan schoolgirls through her Daughters programme and relentlessly mobilizing the international political community to join her cause. A devoted mother and wife, she is also the daughter of the renowned Afghan poet Wasef Bakhtari. Through extraordinary access, The Last Ambassador leads us to an understanding of why Bakhtari is risking her life. The film intimately captures a woman deeply committed to her people, her culture and her land, which is so close, and yet unreachable. Bakhtari reminds us that we cannot continue to look away from the women of Afghanistan. Simone Estrin.

The relationship between Matthias, a left-wing Italian filmmaker, and Sadiel, an idealistic Cuban activist, unfolds against the astonishing beauty of the Alps over coffee, breakfast or lunch, and also love, sex and endless conversations about politics. Eventually, Sadiel’s passion for the freedom of his people and his disappointment in communist Cuba leads him to a shift towards right-wing ideologies. Though this strains the men’s relationship, Matthias tries to remain mindful of Sadiel’s progressive ideals. Meanwhile, he films with graceful sensitivity the day to day of their evolving relationship as they go through personal transformations, acting as a mirror of the political turmoil of our time. This intimate portrait of the loving relationship between two human beings who remain congenial despite being at political odds is also a revelation of the fine line between left- and right-wing politics, what makes them so similar, and of how the binary of polarized politics and ideologies can permeate our everyday lives and relationships. Lucila Moctezuma.

In August 2018, Nicholas Gibbs was suffering from a mental health breakdown outside his home. Montreal police were called and, during an altercation, the 23-year-old father of three was fatally shot by an officer. Residents witnessed the shocking and tragic event, which continues to reverberate far beyond their Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood. Gibbs’s death adds to an appallingly long list of victims of police violence who didn’t receive the support they needed and highlights a justice system that remains unjust. Using art as an act of resistance, director Stefan Verna blends testimony and tribute through music, dance and spoken word to elevate Gibbs’s family's desire for accountability in the face of systemic racism. The area is transformed with murals and gardens to hold space for Gibbs’s memory, amplifying calls for change, speaking truth to power, helping grieve the loss of a loved one and addressing the void created by his absence. Alexander Rogalski.

Brash, defiant and wickedly funny, punk rockers Shh…Diam! are an underground sensation in Kuala Lumpur. An all-queer band led by charismatic trans man Farris Saad, they’ve won devoted fans with playful anthems like “I Woke Up Gay” and “Lonely Lesbian.” Even their name (“Shut up!” in Malay) is a joke, poking fun at those who’d rather queer folks just kept quiet. Malaysia’s harsh laws are no laughing matter, however, and they put Farris and his bandmates at real risk of state persecution. Filming over six years, director Yihwen Chen follows them to practices, gigs and protests, capturing their irreverent advocacy amid a spate of anti-LGBTQ raids and arrests. She also documents major developments in their personal lives and relationships, including Farris’s preparations for his surgical transition. Both an iconic portrait of fearless activism and an intimate chronicle of chosen family, Queer as Punk is an instant entry in the queer cult canon. Julian Carrington.

A meditative journey through memory and history, Letícia Simões’s hybrid documentary explores the lives of three men who were once in her life, and how their legacies reflect the violence that has occurred throughout Brazil’s past and that shaped its present. Arnaud, Simões’s grandfather, was a vigilante bandit; her father Fernando was an informant for the SNI under the military dictatorship; and Sebastião, her godfather, was a gay Black man whose partner was murdered in a homophobic attack. Using the hundreds of photographs Sebastião left for her, Simões conceives a meeting of the three men’s ghosts in non-linear staging with actors. In a mixture of the archival and the imaginary, the characters recount crucial moments in their lives while the performers interrogate Simões’s own memories. This innovative approach pushes the boundaries of the documentary form and delivers a deeply resonant and moving film that weaves Brazil’s violent past through her personal history. Vicci Ho.

Isabel Castro’s Selena y Los Dinos charts the rise of Selena Quintanilla, the singer from Corpus Christi who, from a young age, was recognized as a formidable talent by her friends and family. Nurtured by early performances at quinceañeras and her family’s restaurant, Selena transforms, becoming a vocal powerhouse sensation, selling out concerts at the Houston Astrodome and breaking through barriers for women in the world of Tejano music. The film is told through an exquisite trove of never-before-seen family archives and grounded in intimate testimony from her family and bandmates, who continue to work tirelessly to ensure the legacy of the woman known as the Queen of Tejano Music remains intact 30 years after her passing. Winner of the US Documentary Special Jury Award for Archival Storytelling at the Sundance Film Festival, this is a heartfelt portrait and celebration of the life and legacy of an enduring icon whose life, tragically, faded far too soon. Essential viewing for all the Selena fans out there! Lauren Clarke.

With life on Earth feeling increasingly uncertain, They’re Here invites us to find the extraordinary in the everyday. Our fascination with UFOs and extraterrestrial life has reached a fever pitch as we search for something beyond ourselves and the mess we've created. Against the backdrop of mass sightings of mysterious drones and governments openly discussing non-human intelligence, the film focuses on the human experience, offering an intimate, judgement-free space for four quirky, relatable UFO witnesses from New York—the state is a hotspot for sightings—to share their wondrous encounters with the unknown. As they seek understanding, a new world opens up, revealing a supportive community and much-needed connection. With clear-eyed agnosticism, They’re Here explores this fascinating subject with playful humour, compassion and curiosity. While the witnesses may not find the exact answers they seek, what they do find may prove more extraordinary than anything they imagined. David Knipe. 

At the end of 2021, sparked by an unprecedented influx of migrants from Venezuela, Chile experienced a remarkably violent anti-immigrant protest. The last decade’s economic collapse has driven close to 8 million Venezuelans to flee their country—the second-largest migration crisis worldwide and the first of its kind in South America. For those who chose to migrate south, traversing thousands of kilometres to the Andean Highlands and the Atacama Desert, a harsh reality awaited. Determined to preserve their lifestyle, an angry community made sure to make them feel “unwelcomed,” responding with violence and attacking families and children while the police turned a blind eye. This poignant chorus of testimonies floating over majestic cinematography sheds light on a new era in the history of migration: those fleeing conflict and economic uncertainty are treated as criminals, and their choices for a hopeful future are narrowing down. Lucila Moctezuma.

One month after the start of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian French filmmaker Antonin Peretjatko travels to Lviv accompanied by a Ukrainian refugee who must return to pack up his belongings. The friends arrive to discover a war that feels both invisible and omnipresent. In western Ukraine, where the fighting still threatens to spread, they encounter an eerie reality in which war profiteers, evangelists, displaced Ukrainians and others simply trying to live their lives have converged. In this richly textured road film, told with a unique and poetic sensibility reminiscent of the early French New Wave, Peretjatko captures the essence of a country once again grappling with conflict, teasing out the fears and realities of those who stayed behind. Despite ever-present heartache, the film celebrates hope, humour and how a flower growing in spring or a toast with friends in wartime can feel like a revolutionary act. Vivian Belik.

Decades ago, a remote area of Kazakhstan was used by the Soviets to test nuclear bombs, which were dropped by the hundreds. While ecologists research the impact of the radioactivity a nearby village has since had to endure, generations of locals still struggle with the repercussions of the devastating drills authorities forced on them. Through a deeply personal lens, filmmaker Zhanana Kurmasheva gives intimate access to a near-desolate region that was bombarded by chaos. Her mother was born just as the bomb tests were taking place, and here Kurmasheva aims to find a sense of reckoning for all those who are affected to this day. Families are stricken with illness while fighting to have their voices heard. With the seemingly never-ending looming threat of nuclear catastrophe upon us once again, We Live Here showcases the lingering cost of a world at war. Gabor Pertic.