We are closed for the 20th annual Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival!
HIFF takes place 27-30 May, 2026! Carbon Arc will reopen the following week <3
HIFF happens at Bus Stop Theatre on Gottingen St. Tickets here: https://www.hiff.ca/
Screening times:
Thursday, June 4, 6:30 PM
Director Mathieu Denis attending!
Mathieu Denis | Canada | 2025 | 116m
French with English subtitles
Facing financial hardship and craving prosperity, a family man takes progressively darker actions in his desperate pursuit of a better life.
Screening times:
Friday, June 5th 6:30 PM
Saturday,June 20th 6:00 PM
Faith Akin | Canada | 2026 | 93 m
German with English subtitles
In 1945 Amrum Island, 12-year-old Nanning hunts seals, fishes at night, and farms to help feed his family. Life feels idyllic on this windswept isle until peace reveals an unexpected danger closer to home.
Screening times:
Saturday, June 6th, 6:00 PM
Genki Kawamura | Japan | 2026 | 95 m
Japanese with English subtitles
A man trapped in a endless sterile subway passageway sets out to find Exit 8. The rules of his quest are simple: do not overlook anything out of the ordinary. If you discover an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you don’t, carry on. Then leave from Exit 8. But even a single oversight will send him back to the beginning. Will he ever reach his goal and escape this infinite corridor?
Screening times:
Saturday, June 6, 9:00 PM - SOLD OUT, rush tickets may be available closer to the date
Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Canada | 2001 | 122m
French with English subtitles
Amélie is a fanciful comedy about a young woman who discretely orchestrates the lives of the people around her, creating a world exclusively of her own making.
Screening times:
Sunday, June 7, 5:30 PM
Various directors & countries | 2025 | 108m
Don’t miss some of the world’s most entertaining, inspirational and humorous commercials from around the world! The Globe and Mail presents the latest winning ads from the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Screening times:
Thursday, June 11, 6:30 PM
Friday, June 19, 6:30 PM
Adam Carter Rehmeier | USA | 2026 | 105m
Caroline (Samara Weaving) skips her smalltown with a charismatic con man. They Bonnie and Clyde their way through the Southeast leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Screening times:
Friday, June 12, 6:30 PM
Sunday, June 28, 5:30 PM
Ildikó Enyedi | Germany, France, Hungary | 2025 | 147m
German with English subttiles
Tony Leung and and Léa Seydoux star in this gentle epic that revolves around an ancient Gingko tree on the campus of a medieval German university.
Screening times:
Saturday, June 13, 6:30 PM
Friday, June 26, 6:30 PM
Kamal Aljafari | Palestine, Germany, Switzerland, France. Qatar | 2025 | 106 min
Arabic with English subtitles
Three videotapes of life in Gaza from 2001 were rediscovered. What starts as Kamal Aljafari’s search for a former prison mate leads to an unexpected road trip through Gaza with Hasan, collecting images from places that are now unrecognisable.
Screening times:
Saturday, June 13, 8:30 PM
The Wachowskis | USA | 1996 | 104m
While Corky, a tough ex-convict, is working on an apartment renovation she meets the dangerous couple living next door: Caesar, a paranoid mobster, and Violet, his seductive girlfriend, who is immediately attracted to her. Unbelievable sexual chemistry ensues.
Screening times:
Sunday, June 14, 5:30 PM
Michael Arias | Japan | 2006 | 103m
Japanese with English subtitles
Black, a boy who seeks to bend the city to his will through strength, and White, his innocent counterpart, are two orphaned street kids living in the slums of Treasure Town. When real estate developers threaten to transform Treasure Town into a massive theme park, its very existence is put at risk. Determined to protect both White and their city, Black takes on the yakuza and assassins, gradually losing his innocence as he confronts a dark manifestation within himself.
Screening times:
Saturday, June 20, 8:30 PM
The Wachowskis| Canada | USA | 1996 | 136m
Neo believes that Morpheus, an elusive figure considered to be the most dangerous man alive, can answer his question: What is the Matrix?
Screening times:
Saturday, June 27, 8:30 PM
The Wachowskis | USA | 2008 | 135m
Born into a family business of race cars, Speed Racer is one of the track's hot stars. Sitting at the wheel of his Mach 5, he consistently deflates the competition. When Speed turns down an offer from the head of Royalton Industries, he uncovers a secret. Powerful moguls fix the races to boost profits. Hoping to beat the executive, Speed enters the same arduous cross-country race that killed his brother.
Screening times:
Sunday, May 24, 7:45 PM
Jennifer Lynch | USA | 1993 | 107m
A surgeon becomes obsessed with the seductive woman he once was in an affair with. Refusing to accept that she has moved on, he amputates her limbs and holds her captive in his mansion.
Screening times:
Thursday, May 14, 6:30 PM
Sunday, May 24, 5:30 PM
Sophy Romvari | Canada,Hungary | 2025 | 91m
English, Hungarian with English subtitles
In this assured debut feature based on the filmmaker's childhood, an 8-year-old and her immigrant family have their fresh start interrupted by dangerous behavior from the family's oldest child.
Screening times:
Saturday, May 23, 8:30 PM
Alanis Obomsawin | 1993 | Canada | 119m
A dispute over a proposed golf course to be built on Kanien’kéhaka lands in Oka, Québec, set the stage for a historic confrontation that would grab international headlines and sear itself into the Canadian consciousness.
Screening times:
Sunday, May 3, 8:00 PM
Saturday, May 23, 6:00 PM
Radu Jude | Romania | 2025 | 109m
Romanian, Hungarian, and German with English subtitles
A court bailiff in the Transylvanian town of Cluj is having a very bad day. Shot on a cell phone over 10 days, Kontinental ‘25 is a scathing social satire from provocateur Radu Jude.
Screening times:
Thursday, April 30, 6:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Friday, May 15, 6:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Sunday, May 17, 8:00 PM - SOLD OUT
Friday, May 22, 9:15 PM - show added!
Annemarie Jacir | Palestine, UK, France, Denmark, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan | 2025 | 120m
English, Arabic with English subtitles
1936. As villages across Palestine rise against British colonial rule, Yusuf drifts between his rural home and the energy of Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the growing unrest. But history is relentless.
Original title: La Vallée des Fous
Screening times:
Friday, May 22, 6:30 PM
Xavier Beauvois | France | 2024 | 120m
French with English subtitles
Jean-Paul is going through a rough patch. Up to his ears in debt, he signs up to a ‘virtual regatta’, and commits to sailing around the world… from his garden.
Screening times:
Sunday, May 17, 5:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Thursday, May 21, 9:00 PM - show added!
Chandler Levack | Canada | 2025 | 112m
A bright romantic comedy starring Barbie Ferreira as Grace, a 24-year-old music critic who moves to Montréal to figure out life and love.
Screening times:
Thursday, May 21, 6:30 PM - Amir and Dounia Daoud attending!
Julien Cadieux | Canada | 2025 | 75m
French, Arabic, Spanish with English subtitles
Dounia travels the world with her son Amir, who has a rare genetic mutation. Together they embrace life while inviting others they meet along the way to welcome difference.
Screening times:
Thursday, April 30, 6:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Friday, May 15, 6:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Sunday, May 17, 8:00 PM - SOLD OUT
Friday, May 22, 9:15 PM - show added!
Annemarie Jacir | Palestine, UK, France, Denmark, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan | 2025 | 120m
English, Arabic with English subtitles
1936. As villages across Palestine rise against British colonial rule, Yusuf drifts between his rural home and the energy of Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the growing unrest. But history is relentless.
Screening times:
Sunday, May 17, 5:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Thursday, May 21, 9:00 PM - show added!
Chandler Levack | Canada | 2025 | 112m
A bright romantic comedy starring Barbie Ferreira as Grace, a 24-year-old music critic who moves to Montréal to figure out life and love.
Screening times:
Saturday, May 16, 8:30 PM
Colin Higgins | USA | 1980 | 110m
English with English captions
The most lighthearted of our Films of Resistance Retrospective series for May, 9 to 5 still has something to say. Singing along to the theme song IS encouraged.
Screening times:
Sunday, May 3, 5:30 PM
Saturday, May 16, 6:00 PM
The May 16 screening will be followed by a post-film conversation with Nancy Hunter (The Many vs The Money, Community Not Cops, Shoulder to Shoulder) and Sara Farias!
Felipe Bustos Sierra | Scotland | 2026 | 99m
English with English captions
Neighbours and activists rush to surround an immigration van detaining two residents of Scotland’s most diverse community. An intense and ultimately uplifting account of ground level resistance.
Screening times:
Thursday, April 30, 6:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Friday, May 15, 6:30 PM -SOLD OUT
Sunday, May 17, 8:00 PM - show added and selling fast!
Friday, May 22, 9:15 PM - show added!
Annemarie Jacir | Palestine, UK, France, Denmark, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan | 2025 | 120m
English, Arabic with English subtitles
1936. As villages across Palestine rise against British colonial rule, Yusuf drifts between his rural home and the energy of Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the growing unrest. But history is relentless.
Screening times:
Thursday, May 14, 8:45 PM - followed by Q&A!
Kunsang Kyirong | Canada | 2025 | 99m
In this mesmerizing and enigmatic debut feature, a quiet thief forms a bond with the new tenant inside a large apartment complex housing west Toronto's Tibetan community.
Screening times:
Thursday, May 14, 6:30 PM
Sunday, May 24, 5:30 PM
Sophy Romvari | Canada,Hungary | 2025 | 91m
English, Hungarian with English subtitles
In this assured debut feature based on the filmmaker's childhood, an 8-year-old and her immigrant family have their fresh start interrupted by dangerous behavior from the family's oldest child.
AFX15 is happening May 7-10, 2026!
The full festival schedule is out now! Full of open studios for all ages and stages, film screenings, artist talks, fun events to meet people and mingle… and more!
AFX is completely PWYC/Free! To find out more and reserve your tickets, head to www.anifx.ca
Screening times:
Saturday, May 2, 8:30 PM
Gillo Pontecorvo | 1966 | Italy, Algeria | 121m
Arabic and French with English subtitles
A documentary-like depiction of a nation's real-life efforts to expel a colonizing force, The Battle of Algiers puts viewers on the front lines with gripping realism. An iconic film whose message of hope still resonates today.
Screening times:
Saturday, May 2, 6:00 PM
Hasan Hadi | Iraq, USA, Qatar | 2025 | 103m
Arabic with English subtitles
9-year-old Lena must use her wits and imagination to gather ingredients and prepare a mandatory cake for Saddam Hussein in this feature debut that navigates disaster and hope in every scene.
Screening times:
Friday, May 1, 6:30 PM
Katsuhito Ishii | Japan | 2004 | 143m
Japanese with English subtitles
Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander on gently mind-expanding drugs, this off-kilter comedy follows the daily lives of a family living in rural Japan with more than a dash of magical realism.
Screening times:
Thursday, April 9, 6:30 PM
Sunday, April 26, 5:30 PM
Sunday, April 26, 8:00 PM - show added!
Kristen Stewart | France, Latvia, UK, USA | 2025 | 128m
In Kristin Stewart’s raw and powerful debut feature, Lidia (Imogen Poots) suffers the rages of an abusive father. She throws herself into competitive swimming as an escape and wins a college scholarship, which she blows on drink and drugs before moving towards finding her true voice through writing.
Screening times:
Saturday, April 25, 6:00 PM - please note this screening occurs at Bus Stop Theatre!
Michael Almereyda | USA | 1994 | 93m
Vampire Nadja launches a feud against her father Dracula’s killer, with stops along the way for seductions and murder. A shimmering restoration of a cult gem and a time capsule of 90s New York (if there were vampires).
Screening times:
Friday, April 24, 6:30 PM
R. T. Thorne | Canada | 2025 | 113m - director R.T. Thorne will be attending a post-film Q&A live via video-link!
A series of plagues and wars has obliterated society, but the Freemans thrive on a farm in the middle of nowhere... so long as they repel the occasional raiding party.
Screening times:
Saturday, April 18, 5:45 PM
Thursday, April 23, 6:30 PM
Simón Mesa Soto | Colombia, Germany, Sweden | 2025 | 120m
Spanish with English subtitles
An aging, drink-addled poet finds a new, dubious purpose in his life by mentoring a young talent in this twisted social satire.
Screening times:
Sunday, April 19, 8:00 PM
Gregg Araki | USA | 2007 | 84m
Featuring a tour-de-force lead performance from Anna Faris, alongside an eclectic ensemble cast including John Krasinski, Jane Lynch, and Carrot Top, Gregg Araki’s Smiley Face was a cult classic on arrival, and is credited with inventing the female stoner comedy! Pregame your 4/20 at Carbon Arc with the only stoner comedy to have premiered at the Cannes Film Festival!
Screening times:
Sunday, April 19, 5:30 PM
Harry Lighton | UK, Ireland | 2025 | 107m
A timid man (Harry Melling) is swept off his feet and onto the back of a motorcycle when an enigmatic, impossibly handsome biker (Alexander Skarsgård) takes him on as his submissive. A hilarious, subversive, sexy, and tender love story with lots of leather.
Screening times:
Saturday, April 18, 8:30 PM
Céline Sciamma | France | 2022 | 75m
French with English subtitles
8-year-old Nelly is helping her parents clear out her late grandmother’s home when she befriends a girl her age, in this fairytale of grief and hope. We’re screening Sciamma on Saturday nights all through April!
Screening times:
Saturday, April 11, 6:00 PM - plus post-film conversation with Carbon Arc programmer!
Friday, April 17, 6:30 PM
Hong Sang-soo | South Korea | 2025 | 108m
Korean with English subtitles
When poet Donghwa visits his girlfriend's family for the first time, a pleasant afternoon of conversation and home-cooked meals gradually shifts into something sharper. Slow cinema meets fast-flowing wine in the latest from Hong Sang-soo (The Novelists Film, A Traveller’s Needs).
Screening times:
Saturday, April 4, 6:00 PM
Thursday, April 16, 6:30 PM
Gabriel Mascaro | Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Netherlands | 86m
Portuguese with English subtitles
Tereza is due to be sent to a remote colony for over-80s. She defies her fate and embarks on a forbidden journey down the Amazon, fulfilling a lifelong dream. A gentle sci-fi drama and a uniquely life-affirming, coming-of-(old)-age story.
Screening times:
Wednesday, April 15, 6:30 PM
Ryszard Bugajski | Canada | 1991 | 100m
Followed by panel discussion with special guests!
Restoration Courtesy of Severin Films
35th Anniversary Screening and National Canadian Film Day screening! Graham Greene plays an Indigenous activist who recruits a white lawyer to kidnap the manager of a logging plant that has been clearcutting on unceded land. As tensions rise, each man will learn the cost of their violence in this critique of pacifism.
Screening times:
Sunday, April 12, 5:30 PM
Sunday, April 12, 7:30 PM - show added!
Kunihiko Yuyama | Japan | 1998 | 75m
Dubbed in English
Anyone of a certain age remembers the impact that this movie had on an entire generation. A surprisingly tender and exististential adventure now recognized as a bonafide animated cult classic.
