Denial - 7PM
2016-12-08 19:00 (America/Toronto) | Annual Barrie Film Festival
Screening:
Thursday, December 8, 2016 – 7:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Directed by: Mick Jackson
Principle Cast: Rachel Weisz, Timothy Spall, Tom Wilkinson, Andrew Scott
Biography/Drama, 14A for mature thematic material/brief strong language, 110 minutes Language: English, Hebrew and German with English Subtitles (USA/United Kingdom)

Based on the acclaimed book Denial: Holocaust History on Trial, DENIAL recounts Deborah E. Lipstadt’s (Academy Award® winner Rachel Weisz) legal battle for historical truth against David Irving (BAFTA nominee Timothy Spall), who accused her of libel when she declared him a Holocaust denier. In the English legal system, in cases of libel, the burden of proof is on the defendant; therefore it was up to Lipstadt and her legal team, led by Richard Rampton (Academy Award® nominee Tom Wilkinson), to prove the essential truth that the Holocaust occurred.
Directed by Emmy Award® winner Mick Jackson and adapted for the screen by BAFTA and Academy Award® nominated writer David Hare. This film is an especially timely and gripping reminder that history should never be taken for granted.

Sponsored By:

Things To Come - 4PM
2016-12-15 16:00
Things To Come (L’Avenir)
Thursday, December 15, 2016 – 4:00 pm
Written and Directed by: Mia Hansen-Løve
Principal Cast: Isabelle Huppert, André Marcon, Roman Kolinka, Edith Scob, Sarah Le Picard, Solal Forte
Drama, 14A, 100 minutes, Language: French and German with English Subtitles (France/Germany)
“Convincing proof that Mia Hansen-Løve is one of the best filmmakers on the planet.” – David Ehrlich, indieWIRE
“Things To Come is an oddly calm film. Hansen-Løve doesn’t force the drama, but simply observes, letting the magnificent Huppert find the tension or emotion in the moment as her character, a lifelong intellectual, gradually realizes that life can only be analyzed for so long before you actually have to live it.” – NOW Magazine
Nathalie teaches philosophy at a high school in Paris. She is passionate about her job and particularly enjoys passing on the pleasure of thinking. Married with two children, she divides her time between her family, former students and her very possessive mother. One day, Nathalie’s husband announces he is leaving her for another woman. With freedom thrust upon her, Nathalie must reinvent her life.
Awards:
Won, Silver Berlin Bear/Best Director, Berlin International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Best Director, Bucharest International Film Festival, 2016
Nominated, Best Feature, Chicago International Film Festival, 2016
Nominated, Best International Film, Jerusalem Film Festival, 2016

Things To Come - 8PM
2016-12-15 20:00

The History of Love - 4PM
2017-01-04 16:00
The History of Love
Screening: Wednesday, January 4, 2016 – 4:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Adapted and Directed by: Radu Mihaileanu
Principle Cast: Gemma Arterton, Derek Jacobi, Sophie Nélisse and Elliott Gould
Drama/Fantasy/Romance, PG, 134 minutes, Language: English (France/Canada/Romania/USA)

What if a book written before World War II in a little village in Eastern Europe could shine through the years, crossing continents and surviving violent conflicts, to guide the journey of three generations? This book is entitled THE HISTORY OF LOVE.
New York, the 21st century. Leo, an old Polish Jewish immigrant, lives with the memory of the great love of his life. Despite his painful history, he cheerfully navigates life’s ups and downs with indefatigable, crazy humour, alongside his best friend Bruno. Across town, in Brooklyn, teenage Alma is determined to find the ideal man for her mother to remarry. Always in control, she is staggered to find herself falling for her handsome classmate Misha and discovering love for the first time. Nothing seems to link old Leo and young Alma. And yet… From Poland in the 1930s to Ellis Island, from Chile to Central Park, the manuscript of “the most loved woman in the world” will travel through time to unite their destinies. After The Concert, Radu Mihaileanu returns with a joyful, tender and deeply moving saga.

Sponsored By:

The History of Love - 7PM
2017-01-04 19:00
The History of Love
Screening: Wednesday, January 4, 2016 – 7:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Adapted and Directed by: Radu Mihaileanu
Principle Cast: Gemma Arterton, Derek Jacobi, Sophie Nélisse and Elliott Gould
Drama/Fantasy/Romance, PG, 134 minutes, Language: English (France/Canada/Romania/USA)

What if a book written before World War II in a little village in Eastern Europe could shine through the years, crossing continents and surviving violent conflicts, to guide the journey of three generations? This book is entitled THE HISTORY OF LOVE.
New York, the 21st century. Leo, an old Polish Jewish immigrant, lives with the memory of the great love of his life. Despite his painful history, he cheerfully navigates life’s ups and downs with indefatigable, crazy humour, alongside his best friend Bruno. Across town, in Brooklyn, teenage Alma is determined to find the ideal man for her mother to remarry. Always in control, she is staggered to find herself falling for her handsome classmate Misha and discovering love for the first time. Nothing seems to link old Leo and young Alma. And yet… From Poland in the 1930s to Ellis Island, from Chile to Central Park, the manuscript of “the most loved woman in the world” will travel through time to unite their destinies. After The Concert, Radu Mihaileanu returns with a joyful, tender and deeply moving saga.

Sponsored By:

The History of Love - 4PM
2017-01-05 16:00
The History of Love
Screening: Thursday, January 5, 2016 – 4:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Adapted and Directed by: Radu Mihaileanu
Principle Cast: Gemma Arterton, Derek Jacobi, Sophie Nélisse and Elliott Gould
Drama/Fantasy/Romance, PG, 134 minutes, Language: English (France/Canada/Romania/USA)

What if a book written before World War II in a little village in Eastern Europe could shine through the years, crossing continents and surviving violent conflicts, to guide the journey of three generations? This book is entitled THE HISTORY OF LOVE.
New York, the 21st century. Leo, an old Polish Jewish immigrant, lives with the memory of the great love of his life. Despite his painful history, he cheerfully navigates life’s ups and downs with indefatigable, crazy humour, alongside his best friend Bruno. Across town, in Brooklyn, teenage Alma is determined to find the ideal man for her mother to remarry. Always in control, she is staggered to find herself falling for her handsome classmate Misha and discovering love for the first time. Nothing seems to link old Leo and young Alma. And yet… From Poland in the 1930s to Ellis Island, from Chile to Central Park, the manuscript of “the most loved woman in the world” will travel through time to unite their destinies. After The Concert, Radu Mihaileanu returns with a joyful, tender and deeply moving saga.

Sponsored By:

The History of Love - 7PM
2017-01-05 19:00
The History of Love
Screening: Thursday, January 5, 2016 – 7:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Adapted and Directed by: Radu Mihaileanu
Principle Cast: Gemma Arterton, Derek Jacobi, Sophie Nélisse and Elliott Gould
Drama/Fantasy/Romance, PG, 134 minutes, Language: English (France/Canada/Romania/USA)

What if a book written before World War II in a little village in Eastern Europe could shine through the years, crossing continents and surviving violent conflicts, to guide the journey of three generations? This book is entitled THE HISTORY OF LOVE.
New York, the 21st century. Leo, an old Polish Jewish immigrant, lives with the memory of the great love of his life. Despite his painful history, he cheerfully navigates life’s ups and downs with indefatigable, crazy humour, alongside his best friend Bruno. Across town, in Brooklyn, teenage Alma is determined to find the ideal man for her mother to remarry. Always in control, she is staggered to find herself falling for her handsome classmate Misha and discovering love for the first time. Nothing seems to link old Leo and young Alma. And yet… From Poland in the 1930s to Ellis Island, from Chile to Central Park, the manuscript of “the most loved woman in the world” will travel through time to unite their destinies. After The Concert, Radu Mihaileanu returns with a joyful, tender and deeply moving saga.

Sponsored By:

Maliglutit (Searchers) - 4PM
2017-01-19 16:00
Maliglutit (Searchers)
Screening: Thursday, January 19, 2017 – 4 pm
Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Directed by: Zacharias Kunuk and Natar Ungalaaq
Cast: Benjamin Kunuk, Karen Ivalu and Jonah Qunaq
Drama, 14A, 94 minutes, Language: Inuktitut with English subtitles
(Canada)

Fifteen years ago, Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk won the prestigious Caméra d’or for Best First Feature at Cannes with Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. His second feature, The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, opened TIFF in 2006. A decade later, Kunuk and collaborator Natar Ungalaaq have used the plot of John Ford’s 1956 western The Searchers as inspiration for a very different kind of revenge story, in which an Inuk man and his band of maliglutit (“followers”) set out across the barren Arctic in search of the marauders who have ransacked his home and kidnapped his wife. Like Ford’s film, Kunuk’s Maliglutit (Searchers) explores the repercussions of violence, asking whether these hunters have begun to act like those who have torn apart their family. Very unlike Ford, Kunuk questions not only the colonial ideology inherent to the western genre, but also the possibility of justice in a seemingly unjust world. With a tale as timeless as the landscape in which it is set, Canada’s foremost Inuk filmmaker has provided us with another classic.
Awards:
Nominated, Platform Prize, Toronto International Film Festival, 2016

Program is Sponsored by:

Contact the following sponsoring restaurant to make your reservation and inquire about their special Barrie Film Festival Dinner & Movie Menu!
The North Restaurant
49 Mary St., Barrie, ON
705-812-2192
Groovy Tuesday’s Bistro
73 Collier St. Barrie
705-721-0302

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Maliglutit (Searchers) - 8PM
2017-01-19 20:00
Maliglutit (Searchers)
Screening: Thursday, January 19, 2017 – 8 pm
Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Directed by: Zacharias Kunuk and Natar Ungalaaq
Cast: Benjamin Kunuk, Karen Ivalu and Jonah Qunaq
Drama, 14A, 94 minutes, Language: Inuktitut with English subtitles
(Canada)

Fifteen years ago, Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk won the prestigious Caméra d’or for Best First Feature at Cannes with Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. His second feature, The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, opened TIFF in 2006. A decade later, Kunuk and collaborator Natar Ungalaaq have used the plot of John Ford’s 1956 western The Searchers as inspiration for a very different kind of revenge story, in which an Inuk man and his band of maliglutit (“followers”) set out across the barren Arctic in search of the marauders who have ransacked his home and kidnapped his wife. Like Ford’s film, Kunuk’s Maliglutit (Searchers) explores the repercussions of violence, asking whether these hunters have begun to act like those who have torn apart their family. Very unlike Ford, Kunuk questions not only the colonial ideology inherent to the western genre, but also the possibility of justice in a seemingly unjust world. With a tale as timeless as the landscape in which it is set, Canada’s foremost Inuk filmmaker has provided us with another classic.
Awards:
Nominated, Platform Prize, Toronto International Film Festival, 2016

Program is Sponsored by:

Contact the following sponsoring restaurant to make your reservation and inquire about their special Barrie Film Festival Dinner & Movie Menu!
The North Restaurant
49 Mary St., Barrie, ON
705-812-2192
Groovy Tuesday’s Bistro
73 Collier St. Barrie
705-721-0302

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PAYS - 4PM
2017-02-01 16:00
Pays (Boundaries)
Screening: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 – 4:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Written and Directed by: Chloé Robichaud
Principle Cast: Emily VanCamp, Macha Grenon, Rémy Girard and Serge Houde
Drama, PG, 100 minutes, Language: French with English subtitles (Canada)

“Boundaries is an intimate study of three women navigating the male-dominated milieu of international politics, where condescension and mansplaining are the norm, and threats of lethal violence often lurk [in] the shadows.” – Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter
“Basking in its understated sense of the absurd, ‘Pays’ offers insights, and laughs, at its own offbeat pace.” – T’Cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette

A tiny island nation off Canada’s east coast enters the global arena when its natural resources become the focal point for international wheeling, dealing, and politicking, in this energetic political satire from Quebec director Chloé Robichaud. This fictional country of Besco seems to have frozen in time a few decades ago. Now its natural resources are up for imminent exploitation by a foreign company. Emily Price (Emily VanCamp) is an American mediator of the negotiations between Besco’s president, Danielle Richard (Macha Grenon), and a Canadian government minister, who is aided behind the scenes by his deputy, Félixe (Nathalie Doummar). The daily negotiations take place at a primary school (the area’s only neutral space large enough to host). Squished into student desks, the politicians argue fervently, each with their share of one-sided statistics and studies. Input from lobbyists, ministries, unions, and workers only muddy the waters as they try to resolve the question: in whose interest would the mining truly be? Whenever progress is made in one area, new quarrels arise in the next, making an agreement increasingly unlikely. This film gives us a profound look at its main characters’ principles and doubts, while it portrays the game they’re playing as equal parts hilarious and damning. If history has taught anyone anything, it’s that nobody seems to agree on its teachings.
Awards:
Nominated, New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Prize, Palm Springs International Film Festival, 2017
French Trailer (film will have english subtitles):

Scene:

Sponsored By:

PAYS - 7PM
2017-02-01 19:00
Pays (Boundaries)
Screening: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 – 7:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Written and Directed by: Chloé Robichaud
Principle Cast: Emily VanCamp, Macha Grenon, Rémy Girard and Serge Houde
Drama, PG, 100 minutes, Language: French with English subtitles (Canada)

“Boundaries is an intimate study of three women navigating the male-dominated milieu of international politics, where condescension and mansplaining are the norm, and threats of lethal violence often lurk [in] the shadows.” – Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter
“Basking in its understated sense of the absurd, ‘Pays’ offers insights, and laughs, at its own offbeat pace.” – T’Cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette

A tiny island nation off Canada’s east coast enters the global arena when its natural resources become the focal point for international wheeling, dealing, and politicking, in this energetic political satire from Quebec director Chloé Robichaud. This fictional country of Besco seems to have frozen in time a few decades ago. Now its natural resources are up for imminent exploitation by a foreign company. Emily Price (Emily VanCamp) is an American mediator of the negotiations between Besco’s president, Danielle Richard (Macha Grenon), and a Canadian government minister, who is aided behind the scenes by his deputy, Félixe (Nathalie Doummar). The daily negotiations take place at a primary school (the area’s only neutral space large enough to host). Squished into student desks, the politicians argue fervently, each with their share of one-sided statistics and studies. Input from lobbyists, ministries, unions, and workers only muddy the waters as they try to resolve the question: in whose interest would the mining truly be? Whenever progress is made in one area, new quarrels arise in the next, making an agreement increasingly unlikely. This film gives us a profound look at its main characters’ principles and doubts, while it portrays the game they’re playing as equal parts hilarious and damning. If history has taught anyone anything, it’s that nobody seems to agree on its teachings.
Awards:
Nominated, New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Prize, Palm Springs International Film Festival, 2017
French Trailer (film will have english subtitles):

Scene:

Sponsored By:

PAYS - 9:15PM
2017-02-01 21:15
Pays (Boundaries)
Screening:
Wednesday, February 1, 2017 – 9:15 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Written and Directed by: Chloé Robichaud
Principle Cast: Emily VanCamp, Macha Grenon, Rémy Girard and Serge Houde
Drama, PG, 100 minutes, Language: French with English subtitles (Canada)

“Boundaries is an intimate study of three women navigating the male-dominated milieu of international politics, where condescension and mansplaining are the norm, and threats of lethal violence often lurk [in] the shadows.” – Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter
“Basking in its understated sense of the absurd, ‘Pays’ offers insights, and laughs, at its own offbeat pace.” – T’Cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette

A tiny island nation off Canada’s east coast enters the global arena when its natural resources become the focal point for international wheeling, dealing, and politicking, in this energetic political satire from Quebec director Chloé Robichaud. This fictional country of Besco seems to have frozen in time a few decades ago. Now its natural resources are up for imminent exploitation by a foreign company. Emily Price (Emily VanCamp) is an American mediator of the negotiations between Besco’s president, Danielle Richard (Macha Grenon), and a Canadian government minister, who is aided behind the scenes by his deputy, Félixe (Nathalie Doummar). The daily negotiations take place at a primary school (the area’s only neutral space large enough to host). Squished into student desks, the politicians argue fervently, each with their share of one-sided statistics and studies. Input from lobbyists, ministries, unions, and workers only muddy the waters as they try to resolve the question: in whose interest would the mining truly be? Whenever progress is made in one area, new quarrels arise in the next, making an agreement increasingly unlikely. This film gives us a profound look at its main characters’ principles and doubts, while it portrays the game they’re playing as equal parts hilarious and damning. If history has taught anyone anything, it’s that nobody seems to agree on its teachings.
Awards:
Nominated, New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Prize, Palm Springs International Film Festival, 2017
French Trailer (film will have english subtitles):

Scene:

Sponsored By:

PAYS - 4PM
2017-02-02 16:00
Pays (Boundaries)
Screening: Thursday, February 2, 2017 – 4:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Written and Directed by: Chloé Robichaud
Principle Cast: Emily VanCamp, Macha Grenon, Rémy Girard and Serge Houde
Drama, PG, 100 minutes, Language: French with English subtitles (Canada)

“Boundaries is an intimate study of three women navigating the male-dominated milieu of international politics, where condescension and mansplaining are the norm, and threats of lethal violence often lurk [in] the shadows.” – Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter
“Basking in its understated sense of the absurd, ‘Pays’ offers insights, and laughs, at its own offbeat pace.” – T’Cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette

A tiny island nation off Canada’s east coast enters the global arena when its natural resources become the focal point for international wheeling, dealing, and politicking, in this energetic political satire from Quebec director Chloé Robichaud. This fictional country of Besco seems to have frozen in time a few decades ago. Now its natural resources are up for imminent exploitation by a foreign company. Emily Price (Emily VanCamp) is an American mediator of the negotiations between Besco’s president, Danielle Richard (Macha Grenon), and a Canadian government minister, who is aided behind the scenes by his deputy, Félixe (Nathalie Doummar). The daily negotiations take place at a primary school (the area’s only neutral space large enough to host). Squished into student desks, the politicians argue fervently, each with their share of one-sided statistics and studies. Input from lobbyists, ministries, unions, and workers only muddy the waters as they try to resolve the question: in whose interest would the mining truly be? Whenever progress is made in one area, new quarrels arise in the next, making an agreement increasingly unlikely. This film gives us a profound look at its main characters’ principles and doubts, while it portrays the game they’re playing as equal parts hilarious and damning. If history has taught anyone anything, it’s that nobody seems to agree on its teachings.
Awards:
Nominated, New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Prize, Palm Springs International Film Festival, 2017
French Trailer (film will have english subtitles):

Scene:

Sponsored By:

PAYS - 7PM
2017-02-02 19:00
Pays (Boundaries)
Screening: Thursday, February 2, 2017 – 7:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Written and Directed by: Chloé Robichaud
Principle Cast: Emily VanCamp, Macha Grenon, Rémy Girard and Serge Houde
Drama, PG, 100 minutes, Language: French with English subtitles (Canada)

“Boundaries is an intimate study of three women navigating the male-dominated milieu of international politics, where condescension and mansplaining are the norm, and threats of lethal violence often lurk [in] the shadows.” – Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter
“Basking in its understated sense of the absurd, ‘Pays’ offers insights, and laughs, at its own offbeat pace.” – T’Cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette

A tiny island nation off Canada’s east coast enters the global arena when its natural resources become the focal point for international wheeling, dealing, and politicking, in this energetic political satire from Quebec director Chloé Robichaud. This fictional country of Besco seems to have frozen in time a few decades ago. Now its natural resources are up for imminent exploitation by a foreign company. Emily Price (Emily VanCamp) is an American mediator of the negotiations between Besco’s president, Danielle Richard (Macha Grenon), and a Canadian government minister, who is aided behind the scenes by his deputy, Félixe (Nathalie Doummar). The daily negotiations take place at a primary school (the area’s only neutral space large enough to host). Squished into student desks, the politicians argue fervently, each with their share of one-sided statistics and studies. Input from lobbyists, ministries, unions, and workers only muddy the waters as they try to resolve the question: in whose interest would the mining truly be? Whenever progress is made in one area, new quarrels arise in the next, making an agreement increasingly unlikely. This film gives us a profound look at its main characters’ principles and doubts, while it portrays the game they’re playing as equal parts hilarious and damning. If history has taught anyone anything, it’s that nobody seems to agree on its teachings.
Awards:
Nominated, New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Prize, Palm Springs International Film Festival, 2017
French Trailer (film will have english subtitles):

Scene:

Sponsored By:

The Apology - 4PM
2017-02-03 16:00
The Apology – Buy Tickets Now!
Friday, February 3 – 4:00 pm
Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop St. W., Barrie
Directed by: Tiffany Hsiung
Documentary, 14A for mature content, 104 min. Languages: English and Korean, Chinese, Tagalog, Japanese with English subtitles (Canada)
The Apology follows the personal journeys of three former “comfort women” who were among the 200,000 girls and young women kidnapped and forced into military sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Some 70 years after their imprisonment, the three “grandmothers” – Grandma Gil in South Korea, Grandma Cao in China, and Grandma Adela in the Philippines – face their twilight years in fading health. After decades of living in silence and shame about their past, they know that time is running out to give a first-hand account of the truth and ensure that this horrific chapter of history is not forgotten. Whether they are seeking a formal apology or summoning the courage to finally share their secret with loved ones, their resolve moves them forward as they seize this last chance to set future generations on a course for reconciliation, healing, and justice.
Awards: Won, 2nd Place, Audience Award, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, 2016

The Eagle Huntress - 7PM
2017-02-03 19:00
The Eagle Huntress – Buy Tickets Now!
Friday, February 3 – 7:00 pm
Sunday, February 5 – 12:30 pm (ENCORE SCREENING)
Directed by: Otto Bell | Narrated by: Daisy Ridley
Documentary, G, 87 min. Language: Kazakh with English subtitles (UK/USA/Mongolia)
The Eagle Huntress follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to be an eagle hunter, and rises to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been handed down from father to son for centuries. Set against the breathtaking expanse of the Mongolian steppe, The Eagle Huntress features some of the most awe-inspiring cinematography ever captured in a documentary, giving this intimate tale of a young girl’s quest the dramatic force of an epic narrative film. While there are many old Kazakh eagle hunters who vehemently reject the idea of any female taking part in their ancient tradition, Aisholpan’s father Nurgaiv believes that a girl can do anything a boy can, as long as she’s determined.
Watch the Trailer
Awards:
Won, 3rd place, Audience Award, Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival, 2016
Won, 2nd place, Audience Award, Aspen Filmfest, 2016
Nominated, Best First Documentary, Critics Choice Documentary Awards, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Hawaii International Film Festival, 2016

Tower - 1:30PM
2017-02-04 13:30
Tower – Buy Tickets Now!
Saturday, February 4 – 1:30 pm
Directed by: Ken Maitland
Documentary, 14A for violence and disturbing content, 94 min. (USA)
August 1st 1966 was the day our innocence was shattered. A sniper rode the elevator to the top floor of the iconic University of Texas Tower and opened fire, holding the campus hostage for 96 minutes in what was a previously unimaginable event. Tower combines archival footage with rotoscopic animation of the dramatic day, based entirely on first person testimonies from witnesses, heroes and survivors, in a seamless and suspenseful retelling of the unfolding tragedy. The film highlights the fear, confusion, and visceral realities that changed the lives of those present, and the rest of us, forever – a day when the worst in one man brought out the best in so many others.

Awards:
Won, Most Innovative Documentary, Critics Choice Documentary Awards, 2016
Won, Best Animated Film, Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, 2016
Won, Grand Jury Prize, Dallas International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards, 2016
Won, Best Documentary, dead CENTER Film Festival, 2016
Won, Special Jury Prize: Documentary Feature, Montclair Film Festival (MFF), 2016
Won, Audience Choice Award, Best Documentary Feature, RiverRun International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Louis Black/Lone Star Award and SXSW Grand Jury Award, Documentary Feature, SXSW Film Festival, 2016

Fire At Sea - 4PM
2017-02-04 16:00
Nominated for a 2017 Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature Category!

Fire At Sea (Fuocoammare) – Buy Tickets Now!
Saturday, February 4 – 4:00 pm
Written and Directed by: Gianfranco Rosi
Documentary, PG for mature theme, 108 min. Language: Italian with English subtitles (Italy/France)
Winner of the Golden Bear for Best Film at the Berlin Film Festival 2016, Gianfranco Rosi’s incisive, poignant and deeply moving portrait of the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa – and the humanitarian crisis occurring in the seas around it – is both a masterly work of documentary filmmaking and a timely call for urgent action. Situated 150 miles south of Sicily, Lampedusa has hit headlines as the first port of call for hundreds of thousands of African and Middle Eastern refugees hoping to make a new life in Europe. Focusing on 12-year-old Samuele, as he explores the land and attempts to gain mastery of the sea, the film slowly builds a breathtakingly naturalistic portrait of the Lampedusan people and the events that surround them. The result is a lyrical, poetic and searingly powerful documentary that casts neither judgement nor aspersions, but simply shows the world to the viewer – to utterly devastating effect.

Awards:
Won, Amnesty International Film Prize, Berlin International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Golden Berlin Bear, Berlin International Film Festival, 2016
Nominated, Best Documentary Critics Choice Documentary Awards, 2016
Won, Best European Documentary, European Film Awards, 2016
Won, Best Cinematography, International Documentary Association, 2016
Won, Best Editing, Golden Ciak Awards, 2016
Won, Special Silver Ribbon, Documentary, Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists, 2016
Won, Cinema Eye Honors Award, Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US, 2017

Beatles: Eight Days A Week - 7PM
2017-02-04 19:00
The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years – Buy Tickets Now!
Saturday, February 4 – 7:00 pm
Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop St. W., Barrie
Directed by: Ron Howard
Documentary/Music, PG, 137 min. (UK/USA)
We all know the moment. February 9th, 1964 four young men from Liverpool step onto the Ed Sullivan stage, changing culture forever. Seventy-three million people watched The Beatles perform that night, the largest audience in television history. It was an event that united a nation and signaled the birth of youth culture, as we know it today. By the time the band quit touring in August of 1966, they had performed 166 concerts in 15 countries and 90 cities around the world. It will examine the impact of those years on each of The Beatles – the toll that touring took on their relationships and the effect it had on their musical evolution, as well as the colossal boost the tours gave to their lifestyle and fame. The film will also explore the incomparable electricity between performer and audience that turned the music into a movement – a common experience into something sublime.

Awards:
Won, Best Music Documentary/Nominated Best Director (Ron Howard) Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, 2016
Nominated, Best Motion Picture, Documentary, Satellite Awards, 2016

The Eagle Huntress - 12:30PM
2017-02-05 12:30
The Eagle Huntress – Buy Tickets Now!
Sunday, February 5 – 12:30 pm
Directed by: Otto Bell | Narrated by: Daisy Ridley
Documentary, G, 87 min. Language: Kazakh with English subtitles (UK/USA/Mongolia)
The Eagle Huntress follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to be an eagle hunter, and rises to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been handed down from father to son for centuries. Set against the breathtaking expanse of the Mongolian steppe, The Eagle Huntress features some of the most awe-inspiring cinematography ever captured in a documentary, giving this intimate tale of a young girl’s quest the dramatic force of an epic narrative film. While there are many old Kazakh eagle hunters who vehemently reject the idea of any female taking part in their ancient tradition, Aisholpan’s father Nurgaiv believes that a girl can do anything a boy can, as long as she’s determined.
Watch the Trailer
Awards:
Won, 3rd place, Audience Award, Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival, 2016
Won, 2nd place, Audience Award, Aspen Filmfest, 2016
Nominated, Best First Documentary, Critics Choice Documentary Awards, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Hawaii International Film Festival, 2016

The Apology - 3PM
2017-02-05 15:00
The Apology – Buy Tickets Now!
Sunday, February 5 – 3:00 pm
Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop St. W., Barrie
Directed by: Tiffany Hsiung
Documentary, 14A for mature content, 104 min. Languages: English and Korean, Chinese, Tagalog, Japanese with English subtitles (Canada)

We have a special guest attending for a post screening Q&A on Sunday:

Director/Writer Tiffany Hsiung

The Apology follows the personal journeys of three former “comfort women” who were among the 200,000 girls and young women kidnapped and forced into military sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Some 70 years after their imprisonment, the three “grandmothers” – Grandma Gil in South Korea, Grandma Cao in China, and Grandma Adela in the Philippines – face their twilight years in fading health. After decades of living in silence and shame about their past, they know that time is running out to give a first-hand account of the truth and ensure that this horrific chapter of history is not forgotten. Whether they are seeking a formal apology or summoning the courage to finally share their secret with loved ones, their resolve moves them forward as they seize this last chance to set future generations on a course for reconciliation, healing, and justice.
Awards: Won, 2nd Place, Audience Award, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, 2016

How To Build A Time Machine - 6PM
2017-02-05 18:00
How To Build A Time Machine – Buy Tickets Now!
Sunday, February 5 – 6:00 pm
Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop St. W., Barrie
Written and Directed by: Jay Cheel
Documentary, G, 82 min. (Canada)
How to Build a Time Machine follows two men as they set out on a journey to build their own time machines. Rob Niosi is a stop motion animator who has spent the last 13 years obsessively constructing a full-scale replica of the time machine prop from the 1960 adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. It’s his attempt to recapture the memory of seeing the film in theatres with his father. Dr. Ron Mallett is a theoretical physicist whose story begins with a tragedy. He was only 10 years old when his father died suddenly of a heart attack. Distraught, he sought solace in science-fiction. After reading The Time Machine, Ron dedicated his life to studying physics. He has since become a professor at the University of Connecticut and is now working on building a real time machine in the hopes that he might go back in time to save his father’s life.
Through these stories, we will investigate our fascination with time travel and attempt to figure out what’s so appealing about reliving the past and foreseeing the future. We will also look at the power of cinema and the ways in which science fiction storytelling has inspired real life scientific breakthroughs.

My Scientology Movie - 8PM
2017-02-05 20:00
My Scientology Movie – Buy Tickets Now!
Sunday, February 5 – 8:00 pm
Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop St. W., Barrie
Co-written and Directed by: John Dower Documentary, 14A, 99 min. (UK/USA)
Not your typical exposé. BBC doc-maker and journalist Louis Theroux teams up with director John Dower and double Academy Award winning producer Simon Chinn (Searching for Sugar Man, Man On Wire) to explore the self-mythologizing Church of Scientology. Following a long fascination with the religion, the beguilingly unassuming Theroux won’t take no for an answer when his request to enter the Church’s headquarters is turned down. Inspired by the Church’s use of filming techniques, and aided by ex-members of the organization, Theroux uses actors to replay some incidents people claim they experienced as members in an attempt to better understand the way it operates. In a bizarre twist, it becomes clear that the Church is also making a film about Louis Theroux. Suffused with a good dose of humour and moments worthy of a Hollywood script, My Scientology Movie is as outlandish as it is revealing.

Old Stone - 4PM
2017-02-16 16:00
Old Stone
Screening: Thursday, February 16, 2017 – 4:00 pm
Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Written and Directed by: Johnny Ma
Cast: Gang Chen, Nai An and Hongwei Wang
Thriller, 14A for coarse language and violence, 80 minutes, Language: Mandarin with English subtitles (Canada/China)

“Defying its somewhat generic-sounding title, Johnny Ma’s gripping criminal thriller Old Stone deploys powerful performances and eerie imagery to convey the moral breakdown of an upstanding taxi driver and the society from which he emerges.” – Clarence Tsui, Hollywood Reporter

When a drunken passenger causes Lao Shi to swerve and hit a motorcyclist, the driver stops to help the injured man. When no police or ambulance arrive he drives the victim to the hospital, checks him in and finds himself liable for the man’s medical bills. The repercussions of Shi’s selfless act expose a society rife with bone-chilling callousness and bureaucratic indifference. On the verge of losing his cab, his job and his family, Lao Shi (in a magnificent performance by Chen Gang) has to resort to desperate measures to survive.
Awards:
Won, Best Canadian First Feature Film, Toronto International Film Festival, 2016
Nominated, Best Film, Denver International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Best Feature Film, Pacific Meridian International Film Festival of Asia Pacific Countries, 2016
Won, Best Director & Best Screenplay, Stockholm Film Festival, 2016
Won, Outstanding Male Performer, Tallgrass International Film Festival, 2016

Program is Sponsored by:

Old Stone - 8PM
2017-02-16 20:00
Old Stone
Screening: Thursday, February 16, 2017 – 8:00 pm
Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie
Written and Directed by: Johnny Ma
Cast: Gang Chen, Nai An and Hongwei Wang
Thriller, 14A for coarse language and violence, 80 minutes, Language: Mandarin with English subtitles (Canada/China)

“Defying its somewhat generic-sounding title, Johnny Ma’s gripping criminal thriller Old Stone deploys powerful performances and eerie imagery to convey the moral breakdown of an upstanding taxi driver and the society from which he emerges.” – Clarence Tsui, Hollywood Reporter

When a drunken passenger causes Lao Shi to swerve and hit a motorcyclist, the driver stops to help the injured man. When no police or ambulance arrive he drives the victim to the hospital, checks him in and finds himself liable for the man’s medical bills. The repercussions of Shi’s selfless act expose a society rife with bone-chilling callousness and bureaucratic indifference. On the verge of losing his cab, his job and his family, Lao Shi (in a magnificent performance by Chen Gang) has to resort to desperate measures to survive.
Awards:
Won, Best Canadian First Feature Film, Toronto International Film Festival, 2016
Nominated, Best Film, Denver International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Best Feature Film, Pacific Meridian International Film Festival of Asia Pacific Countries, 2016
Won, Best Director & Best Screenplay, Stockholm Film Festival, 2016
Won, Outstanding Male Performer, Tallgrass International Film Festival, 2016

Program is Sponsored by:

I, Daniel Blake - 4PM
2017-03-01 16:00
Screening: Wednesday, March 1, 2017 – 4:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop St. W., Barrie
Directed by: Ken Loach
Principle Cast: Dave Johns, Hayley Squires and Sharon Percy
Drama, 14A for mature themes and coarse language, 100 minutes (UK/France/Belgium)

“I, Daniel Blake is one of Loach’s finest films, a drama of tender devastation that tells its story with an unblinking neorealist simplicity that goes right back to the plainspoken purity of Vittorio De Sica.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“Loach really rages against the machine here – emphatically, heroically, stoically – but the true heart of the film, the friendship between Daniel and Katie, is touching and sincere.” – CJ Johnson, ABC Radio/Australia

Daniel Blake 59, has worked as a joiner most of his life in Newcastle. Now, for the first time ever, he needs help from the State. He crosses paths with a single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie’s only chance to escape a one-roomed homeless hostel in London has been to accept a flat in a city she doesn’t know, some 300 miles away. Daniel and Katie find themselves in no-man’s land, caught on the barbed wire of welfare bureaucracy as played out against the rhetoric of ‘striver and skiver’ in modern day Britain.
Awards:
Won, Best Actor (Dave Johns) / Most Promising Newcomer (Hayley Squires), British Independent Film Awards, 2016
Won, Palme d’Dor, Cannes Film Festival, 2016
Won, Best Actress (Hayley Squires) /Nominated Best Film, Denver International Film Festival, 2016
Nominated, Best European Actor/Director/Screenwriter/Film European Film Awards, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Locarno International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Audience Award, San Sebastián International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Stockholm Film Festival, 2016
Won, Most Popular International Feature, Vancouver International Film Festival, 2016

Sponsored By:

I, Daniel Blake - 7PM
2017-03-01 19:00
Screening: Wednesday, March 1, 2017 – 7:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop St. W. Barrie
Directed by: Ken Loach
Principle Cast: Dave Johns, Hayley Squires and Sharon Percy
Drama, 14A for mature themes and coarse language, 100 minutes (UK/France/Belgium)

“I, Daniel Blake is one of Loach’s finest films, a drama of tender devastation that tells its story with an unblinking neorealist simplicity that goes right back to the plainspoken purity of Vittorio De Sica.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“Loach really rages against the machine here – emphatically, heroically, stoically – but the true heart of the film, the friendship between Daniel and Katie, is touching and sincere.” – CJ Johnson, ABC Radio/Australia

Daniel Blake 59, has worked as a joiner most of his life in Newcastle. Now, for the first time ever, he needs help from the State. He crosses paths with a single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie’s only chance to escape a one-roomed homeless hostel in London has been to accept a flat in a city she doesn’t know, some 300 miles away. Daniel and Katie find themselves in no-man’s land, caught on the barbed wire of welfare bureaucracy as played out against the rhetoric of ‘striver and skiver’ in modern day Britain.
Awards:
Won, Best Actor (Dave Johns) / Most Promising Newcomer (Hayley Squires), British Independent Film Awards, 2016
Won, Palme d’Dor, Cannes Film Festival, 2016
Won, Best Actress (Hayley Squires) /Nominated Best Film, Denver International Film Festival, 2016
Nominated, Best European Actor/Director/Screenwriter/Film European Film Awards, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Locarno International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Audience Award, San Sebastián International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Stockholm Film Festival, 2016
Won, Most Popular International Feature, Vancouver International Film Festival, 2016

Sponsored By:

I, Daniel Blake - 9:15PM
2017-03-01 21:15
Screening: Wednesday, March 1, 2017 – 9:15 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop St. W., Barrie
Directed by: Ken Loach
Principle Cast: Dave Johns, Hayley Squires and Sharon Percy
Drama, 14A for mature themes and coarse language, 100 minutes (UK/France/Belgium)

“I, Daniel Blake is one of Loach’s finest films, a drama of tender devastation that tells its story with an unblinking neorealist simplicity that goes right back to the plainspoken purity of Vittorio De Sica.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“Loach really rages against the machine here – emphatically, heroically, stoically – but the true heart of the film, the friendship between Daniel and Katie, is touching and sincere.” – CJ Johnson, ABC Radio/Australia

Daniel Blake 59, has worked as a joiner most of his life in Newcastle. Now, for the first time ever, he needs help from the State. He crosses paths with a single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie’s only chance to escape a one-roomed homeless hostel in London has been to accept a flat in a city she doesn’t know, some 300 miles away. Daniel and Katie find themselves in no-man’s land, caught on the barbed wire of welfare bureaucracy as played out against the rhetoric of ‘striver and skiver’ in modern day Britain.
Awards:
Won, Best Actor (Dave Johns) / Most Promising Newcomer (Hayley Squires), British Independent Film Awards, 2016
Won, Palme d’Dor, Cannes Film Festival, 2016
Won, Best Actress (Hayley Squires) /Nominated Best Film, Denver International Film Festival, 2016
Nominated, Best European Actor/Director/Screenwriter/Film European Film Awards, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Locarno International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Audience Award, San Sebastián International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Stockholm Film Festival, 2016
Won, Most Popular International Feature, Vancouver International Film Festival, 2016

Sponsored By:

I, Daniel Blake - 4PM
2017-03-02 16:00
Screening: Thursday, March 2, 2017 – 4:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop St. W., Barrie
Directed by: Ken Loach
Principle Cast: Dave Johns, Hayley Squires and Sharon Percy
Drama, 14A for mature themes and coarse language, 100 minutes (UK/France/Belgium)

“I, Daniel Blake is one of Loach’s finest films, a drama of tender devastation that tells its story with an unblinking neorealist simplicity that goes right back to the plainspoken purity of Vittorio De Sica.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“Loach really rages against the machine here – emphatically, heroically, stoically – but the true heart of the film, the friendship between Daniel and Katie, is touching and sincere.” – CJ Johnson, ABC Radio/Australia

Daniel Blake 59, has worked as a joiner most of his life in Newcastle. Now, for the first time ever, he needs help from the State. He crosses paths with a single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie’s only chance to escape a one-roomed homeless hostel in London has been to accept a flat in a city she doesn’t know, some 300 miles away. Daniel and Katie find themselves in no-man’s land, caught on the barbed wire of welfare bureaucracy as played out against the rhetoric of ‘striver and skiver’ in modern day Britain.
Awards:
Won, Best Actor (Dave Johns) / Most Promising Newcomer (Hayley Squires), British Independent Film Awards, 2016
Won, Palme d’Dor, Cannes Film Festival, 2016
Won, Best Actress (Hayley Squires) /Nominated Best Film, Denver International Film Festival, 2016
Nominated, Best European Actor/Director/Screenwriter/Film European Film Awards, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Locarno International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Audience Award, San Sebastián International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Stockholm Film Festival, 2016
Won, Most Popular International Feature, Vancouver International Film Festival, 2016

Sponsored By:

I, Daniel Blake - 7PM
2017-03-02 19:00
Screening: Thursday, March 2, 2017 – 7:00 pm
Location: Uptown Theatre, 55 Dunlop St. W., Barrie
Directed by: Ken Loach
Principle Cast: Dave Johns, Hayley Squires and Sharon Percy
Drama, 14A for mature themes and coarse language, 100 minutes (UK/France/Belgium)

“I, Daniel Blake is one of Loach’s finest films, a drama of tender devastation that tells its story with an unblinking neorealist simplicity that goes right back to the plainspoken purity of Vittorio De Sica.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“Loach really rages against the machine here – emphatically, heroically, stoically – but the true heart of the film, the friendship between Daniel and Katie, is touching and sincere.” – CJ Johnson, ABC Radio/Australia

Daniel Blake 59, has worked as a joiner most of his life in Newcastle. Now, for the first time ever, he needs help from the State. He crosses paths with a single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie’s only chance to escape a one-roomed homeless hostel in London has been to accept a flat in a city she doesn’t know, some 300 miles away. Daniel and Katie find themselves in no-man’s land, caught on the barbed wire of welfare bureaucracy as played out against the rhetoric of ‘striver and skiver’ in modern day Britain.

Awards:
Won, Best Actor (Dave Johns) / Most Promising Newcomer (Hayley Squires), British Independent Film Awards, 2016
Won, Palme d’Dor, Cannes Film Festival, 2016
Won, Best Actress (Hayley Squires) /Nominated Best Film, Denver International Film Festival, 2016
Nominated, Best European Actor/Director/Screenwriter/Film European Film Awards, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Locarno International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Audience Award, San Sebastián International Film Festival, 2016
Won, Audience Award, Stockholm Film Festival, 2016
Won, Most Popular International Feature, Vancouver International Film Festival, 2016

Sponsored By:
