EARTH – April 22-29

Earth depicts seven places where humans are transforming the planet on a grand scale: Entire mountains being moved in California, a tunnel being sliced through rock at the Brenner Pass, an open-cast mine in Hungary, the world-famous Carrara marble quarry in Italy, a copper mine in Spain, the salt mine used to store radioactive waste in Wolfenbüttel and a Northern Canadian tar sands site where the destruction of indigenous lands threatens local communities.

Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band – Ends Wed!

Anyone who was a fan of The Band or has an interest in Americana will want to see Once Were Brothers. The story of Bob Dylan’s one time legendary backup band is a colorful, cautionary tale. Simply called The Band, they would become one of the most influential ensembles in music history.

The Whistlers – Ends Wed!

In a delightful twist, acclaimed Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu, whose inventive comedies such as Police, Adjective and The Treasure have brought deadpan charm and political perceptiveness to his country’s cinematic renaissance, has made his first all-out genre film—a clever, swift, and elegant neo-noir with a wonderfully off-kilter central conceit. "If the Coen Brothers were Romanian, they might have made The Whistlers." --The New York Times

The Booksellers

Antiquarian booksellers — whose job requires the disparate skills of a scholar, a detective, and a businessperson — have personalities and knowledge bases that are as broad and deep as the material they handle. ​This Booksellers burrows deep inside their small but fascinating world, populated by an assortment of obsessives, intellects, oddballs and dreamers.

Capital in the 21st Century

A lively, entertaining, and eye-opening look
at the number one economic issue of our time
(and the 2020 elections)

SURGE: Film + Panel Talk

SURGE is a feature documentary about the record number of first-time female candidates who ran, won and upended politics in the historic 2018 midterm elections, featuring Liz Watson's 2018 run for Congress. The film follows three candidates who each were looking to flip their red district to blue: Jana Lynne Sanchez of Texas, Liz Watson of Indiana, and Lauren Underwood of

Santiago, Italia

In the early seventies, the world was watching as Chilean voters elected Socialist leader Salvador Allende. His political ideals and aspirations—among them providing education for all children and distributing land to the nation’s workers—terrified the country’s right-wing, as well as the U.S. Nanni Moretti (Caro Diario, Ecce Bombo) tells a story many viewers may not know about: the efforts of the Italian Embassy to save and relocate citizens targeted by the fascist Pinochet regime in Chile.

Mephisto

How did an up-and-coming thespian with a mixed-race mistress and left-wing sympathies make it to the top of Nazi Germany’s theatrical world? Klaus Maria Brandauer overwhelmingly triumphs in the role of Mephistopheles, the demonic tempter in Goethe’s Faust.

The Woman Who Loves Giraffes – Now Playing

In 1956, four years before Jane Goodall ventured into the world of chimpanzees and seven years before Dian Fossey left to work with mountain gorillas, 23-year-old biologist Anne Innis Dagg made an unprecedented solo journey to South Africa to study giraffes

from Italy: The Mouth of the Wolf

Winner of major prizes at the Berlin and Turin film festivals, the hauntingly beautiful debut feature from Pietro Marcello (Martin Eden) is the story of a Sicilian tough guy and a transsexual former junkie whom he met in prison. Commissioned by the Fondazione San Marcellino, a Jesuit order dedicated to helping society’s poor and marginalized, The Mouth of the Wolf

from Italy: CITIZENS OF THE WORLD

It is never too late to change your life. Three Italians in their seventies, all single and looking for a change, decide to leave their beloved Rome and settle abroad. But where? A rash decision?--perhaps. The Professor, retired after teaching Latin his whole life, is getting bored. Giorgetto, one of the last true Romans, struggles to make ends meet every month. Attilio, an antiques dealer, wants to experience once again the sense of adventure he had while traveling as a hippie-youth. Things will change for our three musketeers, but not quite as expected.

from Italy: SICILIA!

Film has never seen a collaboration like that between Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, a fiercely intellectual husband-wife duo whose decades-spanning oeuvre aimed to spark a revolution among the masses. It contains adaptations of Kafka and Brecht, homages to D.W. Griffith, Renoir, and Bresson, and treatises on political matters both current and eternal.

Aria

In 1987, ten of the world’s most creative and celebrated directors were each given the same brief: to choose a piece of opera music and then present a visual interpretation of that music with complete artistic freedom.

FLANNERY

An intimate exploration of the life and work of Flannery O'Connor, whose distinctive Southern Gothic style influenced a generation of artists and activists.

from Israel: God of the Piano

WHY THE RYDER NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT TODAY Back in March, when we made the decision to publish the magazine without ad revenue, we thought the pandemic would be under control by September. Clearly, we were wrong about that. Today, with the end nowhere in sight, we are asking for your support to publish The Ryder into the spring. Read more

Guest of Honour

A Toronto health inspector, spends his days frequenting family-owned restaurants and wielding the power to shutter their dreams at the slightest provocation. But serving as a guardian angel for unsuspecting diners can’t begin to ease the conscience of this deeply conflicted man.

OLIVER SACKS: His Own Life

You can watch Oliver Sacks: His Own Life, right here, right now Oliver Sacks: His Own Life explores the life and work of the legendary neurologist and storyteller, as he shares intimate details of his battles with drug addiction, homophobia, and a medical establishment that accepted his work only decades after the fact. Sacks was a fearless explorer of unknown

from Portugal: FRANCISCA

With its elaborate title cards, its abundance of shots in which the action is oriented directly toward the camera, its evocative interiors, and its show-stopping gala set-pieces, Francisca is an exacting, sumptuous and utterly inimitable cinematic experience, and one of Oliveira’s crowning achievements.With its elaborate title cards, its abundance of shots in which the action is oriented directly toward the camera, its evocative interiors, and its show-stopping gala set-pieces, Francisca is an exacting, sumptuous and utterly inimitable cinematic experience, and one of Maneol de Oliveira’s crowning achievements. opens Nov 13th

John Lewis: Good Trouble

There are few who can rival Georgia Congressman John Lewis and his 60 plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health care reform and immigration. John Lewis: Good Trouble tells the story of this national treasure; Lewis was arrested more than 45 times, severely beaten and nearly killed while fighting for equality in the segregated deep South.

Marona’s Fantastic Tale

Marona is a mixed-breed Labrador whose life leaves deep traces among the humans she encounters. After an accident, she reflects on all the homes and different experiences she's had. As Marona's memory journeys into the past, her unfailing empathy and love brings lightness and innocence into each of her owners' lives, in this beautiful and deeply emotional story of an average dog and her extraordinary life.

The Invisible Witness

We are featuring two delicious murder mysteries this week in our virtual cinema, one from Italy and one from France. Both feature characters accused of murder and under house arrest, an apt metaphor for our lives in the summer of 2020.     THE INVISIBLE WITNESS:  A young, successful entrepreneur wakes up in a hotel room locked from the inside

from France: MY DOG STUPID

Henri is a middle-aged writer in crisis. He wrote one great novel 25 years earlier but not much since. Just at a time when he is assessing his life, an enormous gray dog, impolite and smelly, sneaks into his house.

from Iran: COUP 53

This twisty documentary takes a deep dive into the secret history behind the 1953 CIA-MI6 led coup that overthrew the democratically elected president of Iran, and changed the course of the Middle East. Featuring Ralph Fiennes in a surprising role.