6 personal picks from the 2026 ReFrame Film Festival

This past year, I had a chance to volunteer with the Programming Advisory Committee for the ReFrame Film Festival, Peterborough’s annual festival of social and cultural documentaries. The festival returns to Peterborough January 30 to February 8, with a mix of in-person screenings and online streaming films.

I and the six other members of the committee were there to help the festival’s Creative Director, Eryn Lidster, choose the films that would comprise this year’s festival. Members of the committee watched through about 125 films in total, which came in through direct solicitations and an open call, from around the world and right here in Peterborough. (This was after an initial screening process by Lidster, who estimates that she watches about 300 films for the festival each year.)

The committee divided the films into categories, watched through them, and then came together once a month to discuss each and every one of them, before making our final recommendations.

So, with the festival finally on the horizon, I thought I would provide some personal picks. I was assigned to just two categories this year, Arts & Culture and 2SLGBTQIA+ Rights, and so I’ve limited my picks to those. There are plenty more films on the bill, covering topics from environmental activism and international human rights, to youth and aging, but here’s what I personally responded to and think are worth a watch.

Head to the ReFrame website for the full film list, showtimes, and ticket info.

At All Kosts

The sound of gunfire crackles in the distance as artists assemble costumes, choreograph dance routines, and prepare for a multi-day arts festival in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a city wracked by gang violence and political instability. At All Kosts is an inspiring tale of those who choose to stay, who choose to work in a place where it’s dangerous and difficult, and of artists who believe in the transformative power of their work. The works they create also happen to be some of my personal favourite art that I saw throughout this whole process, as these phenomenally talented artists create gorgeous works that weave history, culture, and self-expression. The ‘hair’ dance routine in the centre of the film is flooring.

Endless Cookie

Seth Scriver, a Toronto-based filmmaker and animator, collaborates with his Indigenous half-brother Peter Scriver, who lives on the Shamattawa First Nation in far-northern Manitoba with his large and rambunctious family, in this truly unique cinematic work. A film about Peter’s life, it’s presented as animated by Seth with a fantastically detailed and endlessly imaginative (and deeply silly) style, where intricately observed details of life in the Canadian north intermingle with surreal fantasy. I especially connected to the film as a younger brother: Endless Cookie is clearly a work by a younger brother who is in awe of his older sibling, the challenges he’s faced, and the beautiful life and family he’s helped to build. A delight!

Heightened Scrutiny

One of the challenges that the Programming Committee faced was how, exactly, to confront the “current moment” in American politics. It’s a story that looms so large in people’s minds, and it was the topic of many film submissions, but it can also be so oppressively depressing and unpleasant. As much as possible, ReFrame followed Mr Rogers’ advice: “Look for the helpers.” Chase Strangio is one of them. A lawyer with the ACLU, Strangio is the first out trans person to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court, confronting Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care. Despite the deadly serious stakes and rising transphobia, it’s a film about the kindness and support of the queer community, and the inspiring power of their public fight.

Leveret Road

A 10-year-old girl with multiple neurodivergences is forced to face the fact that she may have to go to a different school than her friends, in order to get the learning supports that she needs. At just 15 minutes, Leveret Road is the shortest film I’m recommending, but its length allows it to focus in tightly on this one specific moment in this young girl’s life, exploring the implications it has for her schooling and her entire life, and the quiet dignity she possesses to confront it. A beautiful work about what it’s like to be different, and how society fails people whose minds don’t work the same as everyone else’s.

The Nest

In the heart of Winnipeg is a very old house, dating back 140 years. It’s now owned by the mother of co-director Julietta Singh, but eventually Singh uncovers more and more of its remarkable history, from its construction by Annie Bannatyne (a Metis woman famous both for helping to found Winnipeg’s first hospital and for publicly horse-whipping an anti-Metis racist), to its time as a school for the Deaf, to its connection to anti-Japanese movements during the Second World War. Filmed entirely within the house, with a lyrical and evocative style, this is a film full of ghosts – not the kind that haunt you, but the kind that leave behind memories. It’s a film about women telling each other’s stories and making sure no one is ever forgotten.

Queer as Punk

It’s illegal to be gay in Muslim-majority Malaysia, but that ain’t stopping trans man Faris and his delightfully noisy punk band, Shh…Diam! A film about resistance and self-expression, even in the face of oppression, Queer as Punk has a wild, youthful energy, and Faris is a hilarious and charismatic lead, but it balances that with an at-times remarkably sober exploration of the social and legal challenges that queer and trans people face, in Malaysia and around the world. Make space for queer joy!