2024/25 Best of the Fests
BEETHOVEN’S NINE: ODE TO HUMANITY
[Dir: Larry Weinstein, 2024, Germany/Canada, 90 min.]
Featuring a live performance by Cicela Månsson & Don Conley!
You don’t have to love classical music to fall in love with this uplifting and profoundly moving film about Beethoven’s Ode to Joy.
Inspired by the ideals of the Enlightenment, Beethoven’s timeless Ninth Symphony was the first in history to be accompanied by words – words about love & freedom, hope & peace – written both as a love letter to humankind and as a powerful piece of protest music.
Canadian filmmaker Larry Weinstein travels around the world and delves into the deeply personal to explore the question: How far have we come in the past 200 years since Beethoven wrote his Ninth Symphony? Are we finally worthy of the hopes & dreams of this highly evolved and thoroughly modern artist?
If the horrific wars raging in Ukraine & the Middle East have you questioning why as a species we seem so intent on destroying one another, this timely reminder of our shared humanity will leave you incandescent with hope for the future. Perhaps only music and art can save us from ourselves.
Learn More
Watch The Trailer Here
ANY OTHER WAY: THE JACKIE SHANE STORY
[Dir: Michael Mabbott & Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, 2024, Canada, 99 min.]
Wednesday, December 4th, 2024 at ArtSpring
Co-presented by Gulf Islands Community Radio and
the Salt Spring Jazz & Blues Society.
Once you hear Jackie Shane sing, you’ll never forget it. With an outsize stage presence that eclipsed even the greatest R&B artists, the Nashville-born transgender soul singer shattered barriers in Montreal & Toronto in the late 1960s and early ’70s with raw talent, courage and an unbreakable commitment to living as her authentic self.
Through dazzling state-of-the-art animation, never-before-heard recordings and an incredible soundtrack, the full scope of Jackie’s extraordinary life is revealed in this unforgettable portrait of a largely forgotten star miraculously brought back to life on the big screen.
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Watch The Trailer Here
US, OUR PETS AND THE WAR
[Dir: Anton Ptushkin, 2024, Ukraine/Canada, 78 min.]
Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at ArtSpring
Co-presented by the Salt Spring “Help Ukraine” Committee and
the Salt Spring SPCA.
Amidst the worst of circumstances, courageous Ukrainians are coming together to rescue animals that have been left behind by those forced to flee.
From cats in bombed-out buildings to dogs in abandoned shelters to exotic animals in the nation’s zoos, unbelievable rescue efforts are underway to extract animals from the war zone and bring them to safety.
Ordinary people do extraordinary things in this remarkable tribute to the very best of the human spirit in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
Learn More
Watch The Trailer Here
BLUE RODEO: LOST TOGETHER
[Dir: Dale Heslip, 2024, Canada, 88 min.]
Wednesday, January 22, 2025 at ArtSpring
With the unmistakable voices of Jim Cuddy & Greg Keelor guiding the way, this engaging dive into the world of one of Canada’s most beloved bands – which made its World Premiere at the Whistler Film Festival in December – takes you behind the scenes of their incredible 40-year adventure.
Capturing Blue Rodeo’s rise from the vibrant ‘80s independent music scene on Toronto’s Queen Street West to the forefront of the Canadian cultural fabric, this entertaining retrospective follows the unlikely story of two high school football players who formed a legendary musical partnership and together reshaped the sound of a generation.
Blending candid honesty with heartfelt humour, and featuring interviews with such Canadian luminaries as Sarah McLachlan and Eric McCormack, this lively celebration of lifelong friendships between artists and an iconic band’s extraordinary journey is a must-watch not only for Blue Rodeo fans, but also for anyone who appreciates how music brings people together.
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Watch The Trailer Here
SINGING BACK THE BUFFALO
[Dir: Tasha Hubbard, 2024, Canada, 98 min.]
Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at ArtSpring
Don’t miss this stunningly beautiful film about the centrality of buffalo to Indigenous peoples, from award-winning Cree filmmaker Tasha Hubbard, director of NÎPAWISTAMÂSOWIN: WE WILL STAND UP, which screened at ArtSpring in 2019.
This revelatory documentary follows Indigenous visionaries who are collaborating through buffalo breeding and distribution programs to rematriate the species from the edge of extinction to the lands they once defined.
Together with Blackfoot Elder Leroy Little Bear, Hubbard’s eight-year journey weaves an intimate story of humanity’s connections to buffalo, eloquently revealing how their return to the Great Plains can usher in a new era of sustainability and balance.
Richly visualized and deeply uplifting, this epic reimagining of Turtle Island through the lens of buffalo consciousness is a potent dream of what is within our grasp. In this time of immense environmental degradation and global uncertainty, the buffalo can lead us to a better tomorrow.
Learn More
Watch The Trailer Here
FAIRY CREEK
[Dir: Jen Muranetz, 2024, Canada, 86 min.]
Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at ArtSpring
Return to the tumultuous frontlines of the recent Fairy Creek blockades, where thousands of activists – including many from Salt Spring! – bravely put their bodies on the line in a last-ditch effort to save Vancouver Island’s pristine Ada’itsx Valley in the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history, resulting in over 1200 arrests.
Filmmaker Jen Muranetz weaves together an engrossing array of perspectives, capturing visceral footage of a wide range of resistance strategies, as tenacious protestors chain themselves to road barriers and daring tree-sitters wrangle at dizzying heights with RCMP officers dangling from helicopters.
Deftly exploring the environmental movement’s internal conflicts, as disagreements emerge not only between Indigenous & non-Indigenous activists but also within the Pacheedaht First Nation, this nuanced & timely portrait of the complexities of collective action will inspire you to be courageous, collaborative and joyful in the face of adversity.
With director Jen Muranetz and producer Sepehr Samimi in attendance.