THROUGH HER EYES: A HERSTORY OF THE FEMALE EYE FILM FESTIVAL, 

directed by Lara Cordiano. In this documentary, we join FeFF founder and executive director Leslie Ann Coles as the nomadic festival transitions into its new home at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. (WP, Documentary, 12:00, 2020, Canada)

THE CONDOR AND THE EAGLE,

directed by Sophie and Clément Guerra. Four Indigenous leaders embark on an extraordinary transcontinental adventure, from the Canadian boreal forests to deep into the heart of the Amazonian jungle, to unite the peoples of North and South America and deepen the meaning of climate justice. This documentary offers a glimpse into a developing spiritual renaissance as the film’s four protagonists learn from each other’s long legacy of resistance to colonialism and its extractive economy. Their path through the jungle takes them on a challenging and liberating journey that will forever change their attachment to the Earth and one another. (TP, Documentary, 82:00, 2019, USA)

IN HER BOOTS,

directed by Kathrin Steinbacher. Hedi is experiencing strange things. While her granddaughter is visiting, she suddenly embarks on a hiking journey to the deepest parts of the Alps, revealing the reason for her devoted attachment to her hiking shoes. (OP, Animation, 6:03, 2019, UK)

WE CHOOSE TO GO,

directed by Marlene Emilia Rios. After an astronaut’s mission to explore deep space critically fails, she begins to reconsider the life she left on Earth. (WP, Drama, 14:45, 2020, UK)

THROW LIKE A GIRL,

directed by Seri DeYoung. Despite the odds, Tanya Benter dreams of playing Major League Baseball. Her brother Brian has helped her become one of her high school’s best players. (CP, Drama, 14:55, 2019, USA)

MYRTLE SIMPSON: A LIFE ON ICE,

directed by Leigh Anne Sides. In 2017, more than 50 years after Myrtle Simpson became the first woman to cross the polar ice cap of Greenland, Queen Elizabeth II awarded her the Polar Medal for services in the Arctic. Named by National Geographic as one of four pioneering women who defied expectations and smashed stereotypes, Simpson has travelled the globe, from Spitsbergen to Greenland, from the Scottish Highlands to New Zealand, from the high Arctic to Peru. She has blazed her own unique trail as an explorer, a scientist, a mother of four, and the author of 13 books. (OP, Documentary, 34:00, 2019, UK)

RECIPE IN EXILE,

directed by Chantal Kassarjian. Recipe in Exile tackles a very personal yet universal story about tradition, family heritage, and adaptability that spans a hundred years, juxtaposing the lives of two immigrant women and linking them through a family recipe passed from generation to generation. The story is inspired by the Syrian refugee crisis in the context of the Armenian diaspora, highlighting the importance of holding on to our cultural heritage to stay connected to our roots. (CP, Animation, 4:30, 2019, Lebanon/USA)

PASSAGE TO WOMANHOOD,

directed by Inaya Graciana Yusuf. A group of Muslim trans women stand their ground against social marginalization in secular Malaysia. Redefining femininity in Islam, they are painting their own portrayal of womanhood. (CP, Documentary, 30:00, 2018, Malaysia)

NO DISTANCE BETWEEN US,

directed by Vera Hong. How do contemporary First Nations people identify with a 20,000-year-old collection of footprints? Told through the voices of the traditional custodians of Australia’s Willandra Lakes Region, the Mutthi Mutthi, Barkandji and Ngiyampaa people, and filmed in the window of time before the largest human fossil trackway in the world was covered in tons of sand for conservation, No Distance Between Us explores the ancient connection to country experienced by Australia’s First Nations people and their struggle for recognition of traditional Indigenous knowledge. Shot on location in the beautiful Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Site. (CP, Documentary, 11:43, 2019, Australia)

HEAVEN AWAITS,

directed by Marlies Smeenge. In a Belgian monastery where time seems to have stood still, the last three living Sisters Norbertienen are preparing for the festive season. As best they can, they entertain their family and friends over Christmas. This lighthearted documentary is a portrait of the three women and their hyperactive Pomeranian, Skippy. (NAP, Documentary, 29:06 min, 2019, Netherlands)

THE FORGOTTEN ONES,

directed by Tracii McGregor. This is the story of one man’s struggle with and ultimate triumph over his 40-year battle with addiction and homelessness. (CP, Documentary, 7:07, 2020, USA)

BABA’S NEXT CHAPTER,

directed by Jamie C.X. Wang. Jamie is a Chinese film student studying abroad, and her father is a philosophy professor living alone in China. Once a rebellious youth, Baba abandoned his artistic pursuits because of social and family pressures. The only creative passion he retained was writing novels. But he stops sending Jamie new stories as his retirement approaches, leading her to hatch a plan to inspire him to keep writing. During a video chat, Jamie tells Baba she wants to adapt one of his stories into a short film, and they begin collaborating, not knowing what awaits. (CP, Documentary, 9:42, 2018, China/USA)

CRANBERRY NIGHTS,

directed by Sara Robin. Behind her mother’s back, 16-year-old Juana sneaks out to a party to get closer to her crush, Robin. She never suspects that her best friend, Kelly, will risk Juana’s life with a drunken slip of the tongue. (WP, Drama, 15:53, 2020, USA)

SINGH,

directed by Jenna Ruiz. In May 2007, Gurinder Singh Khalsa (a Sikh man who wears a turban) is barred from boarding an airplane unless he removes his turban for further inspection by TSA agents. He is made to choose between his religious beliefs and his desire to visit his dying mother in her last days. (TP, Drama, 17:59, 2019, USA)

TOUCHING AN ELEPHANT,

 directed by Lara Brose. What if someone asked you to prove your sexual orientation? What if your life depended on the evidence? Tens of thousands of people are asked to prove their sexual orientation when dealing with Germany’s federal ministry for migration and refugees. It is fortuitous when staff members decide to believe someone is gay; usually they don’t. (CP, Documentary, 14:33 min, 2019, Germany)

LANCASTER PARK,

directed by Lynda Reiss. In a dusty trailer park in the high desert of California, a body is discovered bludgeoned to death. No one has any idea who he is or who might have been responsible, but it has been noted that a group of teens were seen near the site. A single mom assumes the worst of her daughter when she finds a hidden shirt covered in blood. After destroying what she believes is incriminating evidence, she becomes lost in the desert, where she learns that not everyone is what they seem. (CP, Drama, 17:06, 2019, USA)

Gala Feature: AMERICAN WOMAN,

written and directed Semi Chellas.