Kosai Sekine | JAPAN | 89 min | Subtitles
Co-presented by von Dehn Homes
In Partnership with Ms. Meri Mak
In Partnership with Three Pieces
Supported by Wyndham Art Supplies
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: GYMC
Tickets: $20/PWYW

EVENT: Styling Change

Feature Film Screening:Renowned Japanese fashion designer Yuima Nakazato is a key figure in the ethical manufacturing movement. As the second Japanese designer ever invited to Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week, Nakazato is dedicated to merging his unique artistic vision with sustainable, green technology. Follow Nakazato's journey towards socially responsible fashion, from the landfills of Kenya to the Paris runway. Through his ethereal designs, Yuima Nakazato offers a radical reimagining of the fashion industry, emphasizing a future where creativity and care for the world go hand in hand.

Post-Film: Celebrate Guelph fashion and the local trend setters who are passionate about making style sustainable. And door prizes from Wyndham Art Supplies!

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CANADA | 87 min | Partial Subtitles Co-presented by The Biking Lawyer
Support by Ed Video
Support by Silence
Time: 2:30pm
Venue: Silence
Tickets: $12/PWYW

EVENT: Art & Impact

Burcu's Angels
Özgün Gündüz | CANADA | 20 min

At the heart of Vancouver, Burcu’s Angels is more than just a vintage store—it’s a haven, a stage, and a sanctuary. Offering more than clothes—it offers belonging.

Hearse Chasing 
Teresa Alfeld | CANADA | 43 min

Singer-songwriter Cassidy Waring has long used music to process trauma. Now, as she prepares to release If I Had Only Been Better, an album inspired by her past, she returns to Calgary to confront the family tragedy that shaped her life. Hearse Chasing explores grief, resilience, trauma, and the healing power of art.

Post-film: Live performance by singer-songwriter Cassidy Waring and talkback with the filmmaking team of Hearse Chasing.

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Patrick Shannon | CANADA | 97 min Co-presented by The Biking Lawyer
Time: 11:30am
Venue: Silence
Tickets: $12/PWYW

Feature Film Screening: The Skidegate Saints are perennial favourites to win the highly competitive All Native Basketball Tournament. For over 60 years, this tournament has been a multi-generational gathering place for First Nations from Haida Gwaii. The Saints have become leaders on and off the court. While the aging Saints take to the court to defend their title, an emerging contender of younger all-stars from the lower mainland is hungry to challenge the village champions.

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Gazelle Gaignaire | BELGIUM | 86 min | Subtitles
*International Premiere*
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Church of the Apostles
Tickets: $15/PWYW

EVENT: Fertile Ends

Feature Film Screening: What if, after our last breath, we were turned into fertile soil? A movement is underway, in Europe and beyond, advocating for humusation (the composting of human remains) to be validated and legalized. It’s a culturally revolutionary idea, even though it’s based on aerobic decomposition, perfected by nature over millions of years. Its trailblazers are breaking taboos, awakening ecological awareness, shaking up the funeral world, and offering us another vision of death, one that regenerates life, paving the way for the creation of new rites. 

Post-Film: A quirky and creative exploration of post-life planning with local death doulas. And don’t forget the Write Your Own Epitaph arts and crafts corner.

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Kaitlyn Schwalje & Alex Wolf Lewis | USA | 73 min
Co-presented by RahrBSG
In Partnership with Habitat for Humanity Guelph Wellington ReStore
*International Premiere*
Time: 7:00pm
Venue: ReStore: Habitat for Humanity
Tickets: $15/PWYW

EVENT: Staying Afloat

Feature Film Screening: As America’s aging wastewater systems begin to fail, one plant does all it can to stay afloat. Plant manager Dustin Price, together with his motley crew of unlikely heroes, battle aging infrastructure, forever chemicals, and the misconceptions of an odor averse public to keep Portland, Maine clean and healthy. Who doesn't love a buddy-comedy about wastewater (and environmental care)?

Post-Film: Give it a swirl. Do you detect notes of minerals? Perhaps a little softener? Join us for a wine-style water tasting. And see if you can spot our local vintage. 

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Katsitsionni D Fox | CANADA | 27 min
Presented by Art Not Shame
Time: 7:00pm
Venue: Art Not Shame
Tickets: PWYW

EVENT: Special Pop Up Event Presented by Art Not Shame!

Feature Film Screening: Prior to European contact there was a rich and vibrant diversity of foods, with women primarily responsible for the seeds. A grassroots Indigenous food sovereignty movement, led by Haudenosaunee women, is reclaiming this sacred caretaking of the seeds.

Post-Film: Checkout all the awesomeness that that is Art Not Shame and enjoy this impactful short! 

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Kim A Snyder | USA | 92 min | Partial Subtitles
Co-presented by OPIRG
In Partnership with Art Not Shame
Time: 7:00pm
Venue: Art Not Shame
Tickets: $15/PWYW

***SOLD OUT ONLINE****

EVENT: Shhhh...Revolt In Process

Feature Film Screening: An unprecedented wave of book banning, largely focused on race and LGBTQ+ issues, is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond. Librarians, under siege, join forces and emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy, free access to information, and free speech. Controlling the flow of ideas means control over communities, and the possibilities for the world that we see. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing their work—the librarians’ rallying cry for the freedom to read is an inspiring and chilling cautionary tale.

Post-Film: Release your perception of librarians as cardigan-wearing wallflowers and celebrate our free speech superheroes in the battle to keep all books in the hands of all readers. Wear your favourite cardigan and join the fight!

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Lyana Patrick | CANADA | 88 min
Time: 2:30pm
Venue: 10C
Tickets: $12/PWYW

Feature Film Screening: In the face of environmental destruction, two Nations fight to restore their river and a way of life. When the Kenney Dam was built in the 1950s, the Nechako River was forever changed. The Stellat’en and Saik’uz Nations embarked on a groundbreaking legal proceeding against the Canadian government and Rio Tinto Alcan that lasted over a decade—a battle that continues today. Following community members living day to day on the river while they take on powerful institutions, Nechako is an urgent call to action to restore a river and a way of life.

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CANADA | 40 min | Ages 4-12
Co-presented by Downtown Guelph Business Association
Time: 11:30am
Venue: 10C Shared Space ♿
Tickets: $5 Adults/ Kids Free

EVENT: Meet our local kid filmmakers.

Screening: A series of micro-docs made by local kid filmmakers, paired with thoughtful and fun short animated films for the whole family.

TINY DOCS BY TINY PEOPLE

1. Greta’s Pond by Greta (5) & Magnus (9)

2. Otis’ Chocolate Cooking Show by Otis Messer (5)

3. Making The Other Planet - A Documentary by Rocco Lorito (8)

4. The Sweet Corn Patch by Charlie Meads (7)

5. Lola’s Tiny Doc by Lola Coulter (6)

6. Felix’s Library Tour by Felix Messer (9)

MORNING CARTOONS

Christopher & the Bug
Vanessa Esteves & Kevin Micallef | CANADA | 12 min

Tin Tune
Carolyn Gair | CANADA/USA | 11 min

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Rashaad Newsome & Johnny Symons | USA | 99 min | CAPTIONS
Co-presented by The Kween Company
Co-presented by Guelph Black Heritage Society
Co-presented by International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation
Supported by Queer Night Out
Supported by DiverseWorks Co.
Supported by Shyne Body Butter
Time: 7:30pm
Venue:ImprovLab ♿
Tickets: $15/PWYW

Feature Film Screening:  A multisensory extravaganza that summons a cast of global performers to transform a historic military facility into a queer, Afro-futurist utopia. Contemporary artist Rashaad Newsome embarks on his most ambitious project yet—a multimedia exhibition and performance at New York’s historic Park Avenue Armory. Once a bastion of white military power, the Armory is transformed into a vibrant celebration of Black and queer culture through video projections, AI holograms, sculptures, collages, music, dance, and African fractal patterns. This reimagining challenges colonial structures while honouring the complexity and resilience of Black experience, turning pain into artistic power.

Pre & Post Screening: An immersive event by The Kween Company with a pre-screening queer performance and community Breath Wall for all attendees. Post-film sensory circle for our BIPOC and queer communities. 

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CANADA | 77 min | Partial Subtitles
Co-presented by Guelph Museums
Time: 2:30pm
Venue: Guelph Civic Museum (GCM) ♿
Tickets: $12/PWYW

A series of short documentaries that explore care and community.

Delta Dawn
Asia Youngman | CANADA | 26  min

Aunt Harriet
HAUI™ | GUELPH | 8 min

Lobster Queen
Alix Buck | CANADA | 23 min
*Ontario Premiere*

King's Court 
Serville Poblete | CANADA | 20 min

Post-Film: Talkback with the local filmmakers behind these inspiring shorts.

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Chase Joynt & Julietta Singh | CANADA | 89 min | Captions
Co-presented by Guelph Museums
Time: 11:30am
Venue: Guelph Civic Museum
Tickets: $12/PWYW

Feature Film Screening: At the end of her mother’s life, decolonial writer Julietta Singh returns to say goodbye to her haunted childhood home. As she digs into the history of the house, she uncovers 140 years of forgotten matriarchs and political rebels she never knew. This genre-defying cross-community collaboration that deftly interweaves Indigenous, Deaf, Japanese and South Asian histories, transforms a single home from a place of siloed stories into an archival site of radical potential.

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Sasha Wortzel | USA | 83 min
Co-presented by The Arboretum, University of Guelph
Co-presented by ArtsEverywhere Festival
Time: Prescreening Event 4:00 pm Screening: 7:30pm
Venue: OAC Centennial Arboretum Centre
Tickets: $15/PWYW

EVENT: Wetlands & Watersheds

Pre-Screening: A watershed/wetlands tour of the Arboretum (4pm) led by Jo Langlois. Followed by a break for dinner (5pm) before the screening (7:30). Please make sure you dress for the weather & walking! And claim tickets for BOTH the tour AND the film.

Feature Film Screening: An ode to the Florida Everglades, this immersive essay explores the historical and ongoing challenges of this endemic ecosystem through the writings of environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, testimonies of Miccosukee educator Betty Osceola, and other current occupants of the land. Sasha Wortzel weaves a captivating and interconnected portrait of this unique watershed, known for its rich biodiversity, which is the place of her upbringing, asking how we might reckon with the past and weather the coming storms together.

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Free Tickets for Arboretum Tour