In The Queen of My Dreams, a queer Pakistani-Canadian woman and her once-outgoing mother find their way back to each other after a family tragedy gives them new, unconsidered insights.
TIFF 2023 REVIEW: Sing Sing Uses Theatre to Fight the Dehumanization of the US Prison System
In this drama, a group of incarcerated people in New York state’s Sing Sing Correctional Facility come together for a shared love of theatre. Doubts, fears, and the unjust prison system they’re in threaten to tear the theatre troupe apart as they prepare to put on their most audacious stage play.
TIFF 2023 REVIEW: Mountain Queen Challenges Gender Stereotypes on the Slopes
In Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, director Lucy Walker charts the incredible life story of the Nepalese mountain climber Lhakpa Sherpa and her lifelong love affair with Mount Everest.
TIFF 2023 REVIEW: Close To You Questions Why We Should Accept Bigotry Just Because It Comes From Family
Sam (Elliot Page) is returning home for the first time since transitioning in Close To You. His hopes and fears for his family reunion are both debunked and validated, especially when he meets his old school friend, Katherine (Hillary Baack).
TIFF 2023 REVIEW: The Premise of Mother, Couch Goes Nowhere
In Mother, Couch, a woman sits down on a couch and refuses to get up. Why this couch? Why this store? Why won’t she get up? It’s up to her three children to sort out, unless they want to buy the couch and carry her out.
TIFF 2023 REVIEW: The Boy and the Heron Explores Grief and Displacement
A grieving boy finds himself on a wild adventure to save his stepmother in Hayao Miyazaki’s latest Studio Ghibli film, The Boy and the Heron. There was understandably a lot of hype around The Boy and the Heron at TIFF 2023 as this was supposedly the last Studio Ghibli film by Hayao Miyazaki. However, Miyazaki has since said that…
TIFF 2023 REVIEW: Boil Alert Promises to Protect Indigenous Waters
On a mission to travel the ‘Red Road’ and reconnect with her Mohawk heritage through the power of water, activist Layla Staats investigates the Indigenous reservations in North American that have been under a ‘boil alert,’ boil-water advisories because the water is unsafe to drink.
Con Diaries: Solidarity with the Writer’s Strike at Fan Expo Canada 2023
I made my annual trek to Fan Expo Canada 2023, braving the heat and rain to be amongst fellow geeky people. But this was a different kind of convention, reminding us of the price that entertainment comes at.
Previously on Comics: Congratulations, Steve!
Hello and welcome to another Monday morning, and happy Civic Holiday to my fellow Canadians. It’s your Friendly Neighbourhood Previously Editor with all the news, views, and what-have-yous from the world of entertainment. Starting off with a delightful announcement. Friend of WWAC, Steve Morris, has joined the publishing division of Rebellion as marketing manager for…
REVIEW: Hot Docs 2023 — We Are Guardians Rings the Bell on the Fate of the Amazon
Editors Note: This review is part of a series of reviews from the Hot Docs Festival that took place from April 27th to May 7th 2023 in Toronto, Canada. We Are Guardians follows a group of forest activists in Tenetehara as they protect their homes from illegal loggers despite the great risk to their own…
Previously on Comics: A Little Help from Friends
Hello and welcome to another Monday. They sure are inescapable, eh? Anyway! It’s your Friendly Neighbourhood Previously Editor in the house with a round-up of what’s good, what’s bad, what’s downright terrifying in the world of entertainment. Starting off with an intriguing opportunity for comics creators. Broken Frontier’s Small Press Day takes place on August…
REVIEW: Hot Docs 2023 — Still: A Michael J Fox Movie Celebrates an Extraordinary Life in the Spotlight
Editors Note: This review is part of a series of reviews from the Hot Docs Festival that took place from April 27th to May 7th 2023 in Toronto, Canada. In Still: A Michael J Fox Movie, film and TV actor Michael J. Fox takes audiences through his life, from a Canadian youngster to a household…