Free films, first-come, first-wowed!

Gems from the NFB collection

Round up your family or some friends and come see recent gems from the NFB collection on the big screen in Montreal. Every Thursday, we’re presenting free public screenings at the NFB’s Alanis Obomsawin Theatre in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles. Reserve your seats below. See you there!

All screenings begin at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30).

Accessible to persons with reduced mobility.

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Thursday January 22 – Anything For Fame

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Tyler Funk, 2023
84 minutes
Original English version, French subtitles

In the ruthless “attention economy” of the Internet, young influencers gamble everything for fame-‘n’-fortune. A startling and timely study of contemporary celebrity, Anything for Fame ventures into the virtual Wild West to profile an ambitious—and reckless—new breed of content creator.

This work deals with mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised.

The documentary will be preceded by the short film Social Me (Katia Café-Fébrissy, 2015, 23 min)

Thursday January 29 – In Full Voice

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Saida Ouchaou-Ozarowski, 2021
52 minutes
Original English version, French subtitles

Muslim women are disconcerting, intriguing, polarizing—and straitjacketed by conflations of ideas in front-page stories. While the media tend to portray them as submissive and silenced, filmmaker Saïda Ouchaou-Ozarowski has chosen to distance herself from that caricature, with which she does not identify. She sat down with six Muslim Canadian women eager to talk about what shapes their identities. The resulting documentary, In Full Voice, offers an intimate perspective on the journey of these women, who have a common desire to share their visions of Islam.

The documentary will be preceded by the short film Question Period (Ann Marie Fleming, 2019, 5 min)

Thursday February 5 – Pink Ribbons Inc.

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Léa Pool, 2011
97 minutes
Original English version, French subtitles

Pink Ribbons, Inc. is a feature documentary that shows how the devastating reality of breast cancer, which marketing experts have labeled a “dream cause,” has been hijacked by a shiny, pink story of success.

The documentary will be preceded by the short film April Hubbard: Leading by Example (Monique LeBlanc, 2025, 4 min)

Thursday February 12 – Love, the last chapter

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Dominique Keller, 2021
78 minutes
Original English version, French subtitles

Inside a seniors’ facility, director Dominique Keller follows three couples as they navigate the complexities of late-in-life relationships. Revealing the importance of intimate connections, this observational film builds fully embodied portraits of each individual in all of their indelible humanity.

The documentary will be preceded by the short film Anatomy (Patrick Bossé, 2013, 8 min)

Thursday February 19 – Ninth Floor

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Mina Shum, 2015
81 minutes
Original English version, French subtitles

It started quietly when a group of Black Caribbean students began to suspect their professor of racism. It ended in the most explosive student uprising Canada had ever known. Over four decades later, Ninth Floor reopens the file on the infamous Sir George Williams (now Concordia) protests in Montreal—a watershed moment in Canadian race relations and one of the most contested episodes in the nation’s history.

Preceded by the recent short film reXistence by Will Prosper (2025, 9 min). Through striking Canadian archival footage, the film exposes systemic violence and celebrates Black strength in Canada.

The screening, co-presented by CinéCozry, will be followed by a discussion in English and French with author

David Austin, a professor at John Abbott College and McGill. Topics will include what Black radicals envisioned in speaking of freedom and the internationalist ideals these revolutionaries inspired, both then and now.

This event will also mark World Day of Social Justice (February 20).

Thursday February 26 – Beyond Paper

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Oana Suteu Khintirian, 2022
131 minutes
Original French version, English subtitles

At a critical moment in the history of the written word, as humanity’s archives migrate to the cloud, one filmmaker goes on a journey around the globe to better understand how she can preserve her own Romanian and Armenian heritage, as well as our collective memory. Blending the intellectual with the poetic, she embarks on a personal quest with universal resonance, navigating the continuum between paper and digital—and reminding us that human knowledge is above all an affair of the soul and the spirit.

Thursday March 5 – The Nest

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Chase Joynt and Julietta Singh, 2025
89 minutes
Original English version, French subtitles

At the end of her mother’s life, decolonial writer Julietta Singh returns to say goodbye to her childhood home. As she digs into the history of the house, she uncovers 140 years of forgotten matriarchs and political histories she never knew. In this genre-defying cross-community collaboration, a single home is transformed from a place of siloed stories into a site of radical potential.

The documentary will be preceded by the short film Mary & Myself (Sam Decoste, 2013, 6 min)

Thursday March 12 – Afterwards

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Romane Garant Chartrand, 2023
24 minutes
Original French version, English subtitles

Inside a shelter, participants in a talking circle share their experiences of intimate partner violence as a way to regain their dignity and strength to act. Powerfully empathetic, Afterwards creates a space of sisterhood and solidarity—a chorus of voices breaking down the walls of silence.

The documentary will be followed by a podcast.

Thursday March 19 – A Delicate Balance

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Christine Chevalerie-Lessard, 2018
75 minutes
Original French version, English subtitles

Filmed from the point of view of its young subjects, A Delicate Balance takes an introspective look at the lives of four dancers on the cusp of adolescence—that critical time in one’s life when childhood fantasies begin to collide with the realities of being an adult. A tender and captivating documentary in which students of the École supérieure de ballet du Québec candidly tell their stories and share their hopes and dreams.

The documentary will be preceded by the short film Zab Maboungou (Carmine Pierre-Dufour, 2021, 4 min)

In collaboration with the Rendez-vous de la francophonie and the International Festival of Films on Art.

Thursday March 26 – A Losing Game

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Jenny Cartwright, 2025
97 minutes
Original French version, English subtitles

A Losing Game follows three candidates in Quebec’s 2022 provincial election—each with one thing in common: no chance of winning. As their campaigns unfold, the film exposes the cracks in Quebec’s electoral system—from barriers faced by women and racialized candidates to flawed voting processes, skewed campaign financing, and the outsized influence of media and polls. With a sharp critical lens, director Jenny Cartwright reveals a system where the race is rigged from the start—and the real losers are the voters.

In collaboration with Apathy is Boring.

PAST SCREENINGS

Thursday January 15 – Stolen Time

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Helene Klodawsky, 2023
85 minutes
Original English version, French subtitles

A compelling call for justice, Stolen Time follows charismatic elder rights lawyer Melissa Miller as she takes on the corporate for-profit nursing-home industry—an industry notorious for its lack of transparency and accountability. As the legal battle unfolds, families, frontline caregivers and change-makers chronicle an urgent crisis with ramifications—and inspiration—for us all.

The documentary will be preceded by the short film Toe Heel Toe Heel (Gabrielle Cornellier, 2018, 3 min)