ReFrame Film Festival Announces 2025 Film Lineup!

Pete Fisher
1 week ago
• Categories: Upcoming Events

ReFrame Film Festival Announces 2025 Film Lineup!
Celebrated local film festival returns in hybrid format with In-Person and Virtual Programs. January 23 – February 2 2025.

ReFrame Film Festival reveals its 2025 lineup featuring 50+ transformative social and environmental justice documentary films.

ReFrame has been lighting up the darkest time of year with illuminating documentary film and media arts for 21 years. One of the most celebrated cultural events in Nogojiwanong / Peterborough, ReFrame draws thousands of people each year to engage in learning and cultural exchange through documentary film.

Films in the 2025 lineup are grouped into categories to draw attention to thematic, stylistic or geographical connections: Close to Home, centring on regional filmmakers and issues that resonate locally; Film Forward, celebrating innovative approaches to filmmaking; Rooted and Rising, exploring resilience in the face of ecological crisis; Reel Embodiment, navigating the intersecting identities of gender, sexuality, ability and race; Place and Identity, unpacking the ways in which “home” and culture shape us; and Evening Features, spotlighted films that embody the festival’s thematic heartbeat. The following selections represent highlights from each themed grouping.

Standing Above the Clouds (Jalena Keane-Lee | United States | 2023 | Rooted and Rising) highlights the movement to protect Mauna Kea from destruction by the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope, through the intergenerational stories of women. January 24, 2:15 PM, Market Hall. Also available to view online for Virtual and Hybrid pass-holders.

Agent of Happiness (Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó | Bhutan | 2024 | Evening Features) follows Amber, a happiness agent, as he travels the Bhutanese Himalayas surveying people’s happiness. On his remote mountain journey, he searches for fulfillment. January 26, 5:00 PM, Showplace. In-Person program only.

Dis-Ease (Mariam Ghani | United States | 2024 | Film Forward) explores how disease is imagined through medical imaging, public health messaging, and pop culture, revealing the real-world impact of these narratives. January 26, 12:00 PM, Market Hall. In-Person program only.

House with a Voice (Kristine Nrecaj and Birthe Templin | Germany | 2024 | Reel Embodiment) tells the story of six Burrneshas who take on male roles to navigate and defy patriarchal structures for freedom and survival. January 25, 2:15 PM, Market Hall. Also available to view online for Virtual and Hybrid pass-holders.

The Cigarette Surfboard (Ben Judkins | United States | 2024 | Rooted and Rising) follows Taylor Lane as he builds a surfboard from 10,000 cigarette butts, learning from activists and surfers about protecting the ocean. January 24, 5:00 PM, Showplace. In-Person program only.

The Day Iceland Stood Still (Pamela Hogan | United States | 2024 | Place and Identity) recounts Icelandic women’s fight for societal transformation, offering a message about collective power and reimagining the possible. January 26, 3:00 PM, Showplace. Also available to view online for Virtual and Hybrid pass-holders.

The Click Trap (Peter Porta | Spain | 2024 | Close to Home) investigates the role of targeted advertising in fueling scams, misinformation, and extremism while questioning its societal and ethical impact. January 26, 3:00 PM, Market Hall. Also available to view online for Virtual and Hybrid pass-holders.

The full program can be found at reframefilmfestival.ca/film-guide-2025. In-Person, Hybrid and Virtual Passes are on sale now. Screening venues for ReFrame 2025 are: Showplace Performance Centre (290 George St N) and Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St). There is limited seating (both in-person and online), and passholders have first access!

Think local this holiday season, and give a remarkable experience to those you love: ReFrame Passes make a wonderful festive gift.