October 27, 2022

WIFF 2022: Day One Recommendations

We are kicking off the Festival today and can’t wait to see you downtown! Having trouble deciding what to see today? Check out our…

We are kicking off the Festival today and can’t wait to see you downtown! Having trouble deciding what to see today? Check out our recommendations below!

empire of light

The Empire is the kind of movie house you don’t see too often anymore, framed by bright lights and a beautiful marquee, graciously inviting all into its red-velvet seats. Hilary (Olivia Colman) serves at the front of house, opening the theatre every morning and overseeing a brimming concession stand. Meanwhile, her manager (Colin Firth) calls her into his office from time to time for illicit favours. It’s a gloomy routine that Hilary grudgingly repeats, but all her co-workers recognize that she’s been a lot quieter since returning to the job after a long absence.
When Stephen (Micheal Ward) arrives as an eager new employee, the two form a quick, if outwardly unlikely, connection. Hilary hides a troubled past, struggling to manage her mental health, while Stephen, a young Black man, grapples with the racism rampant in 1980s Britain. Both wounded by aggressions outside their control, they find an escape and safe harbour in one another—but their relationship, like the Empire cinema itself, cannot last forever.

SHOWTIMES

Thursday, Oct. 27 at 6 PM

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corsage

Empress Elizabeth of Austria is idolized for her beauty and renowned for inspiring fashion trends. But in 1877, ‘Sissi’ celebrated her 40th birthday and must fight to maintain her public image by lacing her corset tighter and tighter. While Elizabeth’s role has been reduced against her wishes to purely performative, her hunger for knowledge and zest for life makes her more and more restless in Vienna. She travels to England and Bavaria, visiting former lovers and old friends, seeking the excitement and purpose of her youth. With a future of strictly ceremonial duties laid out in front of her, Elizabeth rebels against the hyperbolized image of herself and comes up with a plan to protect her legacy.

SHOWTIMES

Thursday, Oct. 27 at 3:10 PM
Friday, Nov. 4 at 3:10 PM

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all quiet on the western front

This impassioned, visually arresting interpretation of the classic German anti-war novel makes the pacifist case to contemporary audiences through its depiction of the horrible madness of World War I and the tragedy of a doomed generation. Considered one of literature’s most honest and authentic depictions of war, Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel Im Westen nichts Neues was first adapted for the screen in 1930. Now Edward Berger has directed the first German interpretation of the story, a work of unquestionable power and urgency.

It’s 1917 and wartime in Germany, as Paul Bäumer lies about his age to enlist alongside his friends—all of them very young men filled with romanticized, patriotic notions. The reality of war almost immediately dismantles their exuberance. Soon, Paul is thrown into a trench with only the advice of an older veteran preventing him from becoming another statistic on his first day. The film’s evocation of overwhelming brutality and relentless fear reinforces a compelling message: the true enemy is the act of war itself.

SHOWTIMES

Thursday, Oct. 27 at 2:55 PM
Thursday, Oct. 27 at 5:30 PM

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peace by chocolate

After the bombing of his family’s chocolate factory, Tareq Hadhad, a charming young Syrian refugee, struggles to settle into small-town life in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Despite moving to a new country, he’s intent on pursuing his dream to become a doctor. But when his father, Issam, insists that he must focus on survival, Tareq and his family move towards a familiar path: rebuilding Issam’s chocolate business. When what seemed like a nostalgic attempt to cling onto remnants of an old life past becomes an overnight sensation, Tareq is shocked. He must choose between the demands of an exponentially growing business and an offer to go back to medical school. New challenges arise between a rival chocolatier, while the heartbreak of Tareq’s sister left behind in Syria weighs heavily on the family. As father and son both struggle to find common ground and navigate the complexities of family duty, the heightening tension between them threatens to tear the family apart. Based on the internationally recognized true story.

SHOWTIMES