Canadian Film Festival (CFF) Capsule Reviews

“Executive produced by Charlie Kaufman and based on Martha Baillie’s 2009 novel The Incident Report, Darkest Miriam plays in a darkly humorous and deeply fragmented wheelhouse.”

March 29, 2025

Sarah Galea-Davis’s feature directorial debut The Players tells a universal story of power dynamics and gender roles through an avant-garde lens. Set in Ontario in the summer of 1994, the film follows aspiring young actor Emily (Stefani Kimber), whose dream comes true when she gets cast in a local production of Hamlet. Emily begins to feel seen and heard by the group of actors, as though she’s found her family through experimental expression. But in her naivete, she trusts that her aspirations will be nurtured and not taken advantage of. She trusts that putting herself in pain is “necessary” in the name of art. The company director, Reinhardt (Eric Johnson), operates his theatre like a cult, blurring lines between personal and creative relationships to feed his ego and toxic behavior. Written and directed by Davis, the film resonates as a coming-of-age story and a cautionary tale for young women who wish to get into the industry. Davis deftly captures the 90s mentality around what behaviors were tolerated. Additionally, Davis points out how this pre-#MeToo era made it more difficult for women to speak up about exploitation and abuse, not to mention the lack of safe spaces for women to discuss their experiences with one another. Led by an impressive performance from Stefani Kimber, The Players strikes a reverberating chord.

The Players premieres on Saturday, March 29 at 6:30 pm and will be preceded by Dan Abramovici’s short film Spaceman.
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March 28, 2025

Closing out this year’s Canadian Film Fest (CFF), Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story steps into the ring of pro-wrestler Luna “The Lunatic” as she wrestles between personal and professional demons. The documentary paints a troubling portrait of an intimidating stage persona of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), particularly when so few women were embraced or taken seriously in the sport. From hyper-sexualization and stereotypical expectations to sexual assault and gender inequity, the documentary explores a challenging landscape through which Luna navigated. Directed, written, and produced by pro-wrestler Kate Kroll, Lunatic delves less into wrestling narratives and more into observations on Luna’s identity and how she was perceived by her surroundings, whether family and friends or former colleagues and fellow female wrestlers. Kroll attempts to infuse in-depth perspective with a mix of archival footage and floating head interviews, however, the material feels redundant and the focus is scattered. Additionally, repetitive storytelling techniques and shaky editing rob the documentary of its potential emotionality and staying power. Despite such shortcomings, Lunatic raises some intrigue about Luna Vachon’s uniquely carved legacy. 

Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story premieres on Saturday, March 29 at 9:00 pm and will be preceded by Michelle D’Alessandro Hatt’s short film Brave Rebel Army.

March 26, 2025

​Meelad Moaphi’s feature debut His Father’s Son shines as one of the most intriguing stories in this year’s Canadian Film Fest (CFF) lineup. Written and directed by Moaphi, the film explores an Iranian-Canadian family through lived-in character dynamics and layered performances. Struggling chef Amir (Alireza Shojaei) and his seemingly more successful younger brother Mahyar (Parham Rownaghi) face daily expectations from their parents, Farhad (Gus Tayari) and Arezou (Mitra Lohrasb). When the family receive news that an unexpected inheritance has been left to Mahyar, the gift cracks open revelations that will shape the family’s future. The film balances strong portrayals of each character’s perspective and finds strength in establishing how they relate to one another Amir and his father Farhad in particular share an ambiguously tense dynamic. Amir tries to make a name for himself through cooking, which Farhad does not consider a feasible career path. While the film attempts to earn an emotionally satisfying ending using this narrative father + son conflict, Moaphi’s writing lacks the depth and precision to pull it off. Additionally, the female supporting characters are not given much nuance outside of playing “the girlfriend” role. However, compelling performances elevate the material and help craft a memorable story.
 
His Father’s Son premieres on Thursday, March 27 at 6:00 pm and will be preceded by Aisha Evelyna and Natalie Novak Remplakowski’s short film, Nola.

March 25, 2025

​This year’s Canadian Film Fest (CFF) kicked off with Naomi Jaye’s eccentric sophomore directorial feature, Darkest Miriam. The film stars Britt Lower (known for her role as Helly R. in Severance) as Miriam Gordon, a Toronto librarian who lives a relatively strange and quiet life. Haunted by the death of her father, Miriam navigates enigmatic waves of grief while dealing with the everyday oddities of library patrons. No matter how many incident reports she files away, the patrons (Fainting Man and Unusually Pale Female Patron, to name a few) persist. So too does Miriam’s mysterious interior world, as it flows eloquently into frame, whether through Lower’s majestic performance or Jaye’s poetic use of imagery. Executive produced by Charlie Kaufman and based on Martha Baillie’s 2009 novel The Incident Report, Darkest Miriam plays in a darkly humorous and deeply fragmented wheelhouse. While the film often gets lost in Miriam’s trailing memories, and feels much longer than its runtime, there’s an enticing quality to the puzzling narrative and wry tone. Featuring an incredibly understated performance by Lower, who wisely lets the viewer put pieces of her character together, the film is full of little discoveries that speak volumes.
 
Darkest Miriam will be available digitally on April 15.

Canadian Film Festival (CFF) runs from March 24-29, 2025 at Cineplex’s Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto.