ReFrame Film’s 2026 Festival Launches Friday

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This year’s ReFrame Film Festival opens on Jan. 30 with two concurrent screenings at Showplace Performance Centre and Market Hall Performing Arts Centre.

the nest, screening jan.30 at market hall. photo courtesy of reframe film festival.

The launch marks the beginning of ReFrame’s weekend-long in-person program of screenings and ancillary programming, followed by a Canada-wide virtual program running Feb. 3 to 8.

Showplace Performance Centre (290 George St N.)

Friday, Jan. 30 at 4:45 p.m.

Echoes in Steel (short, 13 min., also available in the virtual program)
Ocean Seen from the Heart (feature, 97 min., also available in the virtual program)

Echoes in Steel by Rob Viscardis centres on artist Garrett Gilbart as he adapts his sculpture practice following the closure of a long-favoured scrapyard. The screening is followed by a Q&A with Viscardis and Gilbart. The presentation continues with the beautiful and urgent feature Ocean Seen from the Heart by Iolande Cadrin-Rossignol and Marie-Dominique Michaud, featuring astrophysicist Hubert Reeves.

Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St.)

Friday, Jan. 30 at 4:45 p.m.

The Nest (feature, 89 min., also available in the virtual program)

The Nest follows writer Julietta Singh as she returns to her childhood home and uncovers generations of forgotten matriarchs and political rebels. The film unfolds as an innovative and spellbinding reckoning with legacy, memories and silenced voices. The screening is followed by a Q&A with co-director Chase Joynt and NFB Executive Producer Chanda Chevannes.

The festival launch on Jan. 30 marks the beginning of ReFrame’s in-person program, from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, with screenings and ancillary programming taking place across downtown Peterborough.

Following the in-person program, ReFrame’s virtual program begins from Feb. 3 to 8, offering audiences across Canada on-demand access to more than half of the films in the 2026 lineup. Select virtual screenings are accompanied by Q&A’s and further ancillary programming.

Tickets are available online.

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ReFrame Film Festival Announces 2026 Film Lineup

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ReFrame Film Festival has released its 2026 film lineup, featuring more than 40 new documentary films which aim to confront inequities and celebrate resilience.

Photo Courtesy of Reframe Film Festival.

Each year, ReFrame’s lineup is organized into curated thematic collections. This year’s collections are Art Beat, A Thousand Words, Flora & Fauna, Sharp Angles, Women Everywhere and Windows In, each reflecting the range of perspectives that shape the festival.

The following titles are notable examples from the 2026 lineup and serve as highlights from across the program:

No More Silent Battles (Collection: Windows In)

Through the experiences of four families navigating dementia care, this documentary centres resilience, compassion and the importance of community support. Led by Peterborough-based geriatrician Dr. Jenny Ingram, the film offers a grounded look at caring for people living with dementia at home and the conditions that make it possible.

Holloway (Collection: Women Everywhere)

Six women return to the now-abandoned Holloway Prison to take part in a women’s circle. Sharing some of the most intimate experiences of their lives, they each unravel what led them to prison, building an eye-opening portrait of failing systems and trauma while discovering their extraordinary capacity to heal through sisterhood.

Future Council (Collection: Flora & Fauna)

Millions of children around the world are frustrated by the dire lack of action to protect the planet and their future. Until now, their only avenue to express these concerns has been protesting on the streets. Director Damon Gameau (2040, That Sugar Film) invites eight children on an epic adventure across Europe in a school bus powered by biofuel.

At All Kosts (Collection: Art Beat)

In Haiti, in the time of cholera and street gangs, artists have used the performing arts as a mode of resistance. Born after the Duvalier dictatorship, these young people have lived through 19 presidents, 36 prime ministers, eight coups d’état, three foreign military interventions and two major earthquakes.

ReFrame Film Festival takes place in person Jan. 30 to Feb. 1 at the Showplace Performance Centre and Market Hall Performing Arts Centre, followed by a virtual program streaming nationwide Feb. 3 to 8. Just over half of the full lineup will be available online.

In-person, virtual and hybrid passes are available on the website.

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ReFrame Film Festival Announces Dates and Pass Sales for 2026 Documentaries

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Peterborough’s ReFrame Film Festival has announced its 2026 show dates, running from Jan. 30 to Feb. 8, with passes now available for purchase.

Dave Mackison’s “The Engine Inside” was one of the festival’s feature films from the 2024. Photo courtersy of the Reframe Festival.

ReFrame’s 2026 In-Person Program will have a lineup of over 40 new documentary films at the Showplace Performance Centre and Market Hall Performing Arts Centre from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1. The Virtual Program will run with more than half of the films from the in-person lineup from Feb. 3 to Feb. 8, available on-demand Canada-wide.

The programming is enriched by filmmaker question-and-answer sessions, workshops, panels, performances and exhibits across the community throughout the ten days of the festival.

Festival passes can be purchased online or in person at Watson & Lou, located at 383 Water St., downtown Peterborough.

Hybrid Pass - $145

Provides full access to all in-person screenings and events (Jan. 30 to Feb. 1) plus complete access to the Virtual Program (Feb. 3 to 8).

In-Person Pass - $120

Provides access to all screenings, performances, workshops, panels, and Q&As in the In-Person Program from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1.

Watch-With-A-Friend Virtual Pass - $75

Provides access to the Virtual Program for those enjoying online films together from Feb. 3 to 8.

Single Virtual Pass - $60

Provides access for one viewer to the Virtual Program, available on-demand across Canada from Feb. 3 to 8.

For more information, visit the ReFrame Film Festival website.

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ReFrame Film Festival Announces Opening Night Celebration Details

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ReFrame Film Festival is kicking off its 21st season with opening night scheduled at Showplace Performance Centre for Jan. 23, announced on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival.

The night starts at 6 p.m. with a catered pre-show reception downstairs in Showplace’s Cogeco Studio. The event will officially open at 7 p.m. on the main stage by artist Alice Olsen Williams.

Attendees will be treated to a screening of the new Canadian documentary Red Fever (2024), directed by Neil Diamond and Catherine Bainbridge. The film follows Cree’s Diamond on his journey to explore the pervasive impact of stereotypical Indigenous imagery in popular culture says ReFrame Festival.

“Red Fever began as an exploration of cultural appropriation and how our spirituality, traditional wear, objects, identities and ceremonies were being exploited – often by people who meant well, but were ignorant of their significance,” said Diamond. “The idea behind Red Fever evolved into a study of the vast influence Native America has had, and still has, on Western culture from sports, fashion, politics, and the environmental movement today.”

“Neil and I welcome you to a new look at our history – and in Neil’s witty, teasing, understated Cree way that he tells these stories – we hope you come to appreciate Indigenous cultures with a new understanding – and can abandon the buckskin mini dress and braided wig in your mind – for images so much more inspiring, rich, and real,” said Bainbridge.

The evening will end with live musical performances by Missy Knott (Singing Wild Rice Girl) and James Mixemong.

The cost of the event is $25 or on a pay-what-you-can pricing basis.

Opening Night is not included with festival passes. Tickets for opening night must be purchased online.

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ReFrame Film Festival Launches Passes For 2025 Season

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The ReFrame Film Festival has launched pass sales for the 2025 midwinter festival.

Photo courtesy of the Reframe Film Festival.

This year’s edition boasts a lineup of the year’s best documentary films from diverse and renowned filmmakers worldwide.

Three different levels of passes are available for the acclaimed local film festival.

  • In-Person Pass: $110. Provides access to all in-person screenings, taking place between Jan 24 - 26.

  • Virtual Pass: $50. Provides access to all virtual screenings available from Jan 27 - Feb 2.

  • Hybrid Pass: $135. Provides complete access to both the In-Person and Virtual Programs.

Passes can be purchased on the ReFrame website.

After the success of last year’s hybrid festival, ReFrame 2025 is offering two programs:

  • In-Person Program: Jan. 24 – 26. Screening approximately 50 newly-released and ground-breaking documentary films. Venues: 2 centrally-located venues in Nogojiwanong / Peterborough: Showplace Performance Centre and Market Hall Performing Arts Centre

  • Virtual Program: Jan. 27 – Feb. 2. Just over half of the films in ReFrame’s 2025 lineup will be available to view online (due to licensing restrictions), on-demand and Canada-wide.

ReFrame will host a special in-person Opening Night event on Jan. 23, to be ticketed separately. Individual films will be available on a pay-what-you-can basis in January.

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Lineup For 2024 ReFrame Film Festival Announced

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The ReFrame Film Festival has released its 2024 film lineup on Jan. 25 to 28 and online streaming from Jan. 29 through Feb. 4.

More than 60 social and environmental justice documentary films will be screened during the festival.

The following is a list of some featured films for the event:

  1. The Engine Inside

  2. North Circular

  3. Allihopa

  4. Detroit Will Breathe

  5. A Human Picture

  6. Curve Lake Storytelling

  7. Underlying (Installation at Artspace)

  8. Feeling The Apocalypse

  9. Mr. Dressup

A full list and program schedule can be found online.

In-person, hybrid and virtual passes on sale with pay-what-you-can tickets for individual virtual films will be available online mid-month and at the door at festival venues for in-person screenings.

Screening venues for ReFrame 2024 include Showplace Performance Centre (290 George St. N.), Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St.) and the Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer St. N.).

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ReFrame Film Festival Hires New Creative Director Eryn Lidster

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ReFrame Film Festival has announced Monday that Eryn Lidster will be taking on the role of Creative Director, responsible for implementing the creative and artistic vision of the festival.

photo courtesy of reframe film festival.

Lidster has a strong background in programming and project management, with an emphasis on film, media art and theatre. Recently, Lidster was the project manager of the 2022 Erring at King George Festival with Public Energy, and has supported the production of over 40 performance works in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough since 2016.

Lidster holds an Honours BA in Cultural Studies with a specialization in Image, Sound and Performance from Trent University. They have also served as a guest lecturer in Documentary Film, and a media technician at Trent’s Cultural Studies and Media Studies Departments.

“I am eager to bring my love and deep curiosity for film and media art to the organization, and to come together with the community around a shared passion for the vital work of environmental and social justice,” Lidster says.

In 2018 and 2019 they were awarded the Gregory R. Firth Memorial Prize for their film work, which has been screened internationally. Lidster is a founding member of Canadian Images in Conversation screening collective, currently serves as Chair of the Board at Artspace artist-run centre, and is a passionate supporter of local arts organizations, artists and arts workers.

“We are very pleased that Eryn is joining our team,” says ReFrame Board Chair Jim Hendry. “Their commitment to film, the power of art to make change, and their deep connections with Peterborough’s artistic community will ensure that ReFrame’s vision continues to be reflected in the festival’s film offerings and our community work.”

Lidster was hired following an extensive search process for a successor to outgoing Creative Director Amy Siegel, and joins Festival Director Kait Dueck in the co-leadership of ReFrame. Siegel served as Creative Director from 2018, skillfully seeing the festival through pandemic uncertainty, and five of ReFrame’s most diverse, inclusive, and celebrated programs to date.

“I am deeply grateful to the dedicated ReFrame staff, board and volunteers, past and present. I will endeavour to uphold the high standards you have set. I look forward to everything we will accomplish together,” Lidster says.

They will take on the role as of Tuesday, April 18.

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ReFrame Film Festival Announces Complete Lineup of 2023 Films

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The ReFrame Film Festival reveals a slate of over 60 social justice documentary films for the upcoming virtual festival from Jan. 26 to Feb. 3.

The virtual festival features an extensive list of films on the International circuit including Subject, which explores the life-altering experience of sharing one's life on screen through the participants of five acclaimed documentaries, Be My Voice about exiled journalist Masih Alinejad who urges Iranian women to rebel on social media, The Seeds of Vandana Shiva presenting the incredible life story of the Gandhian eco-activist and Devil Put The Coal In The Ground, which looks at the devastation brought on by the coal industry and its decline.

Canadian premieres include Norwegian Headache about a historic lawsuit that grants unborn Norwegians the right to a clean environment and Freedom Hill which explores the environmental racism washing away the town of Princeville, North Carolina. Canadian feature films include The Colour of Ink following acclaimed Toronto artist Jason Logan as he creates incredible inks from foraged plants and found objects and Love in the Time of Fentanyl about a renegade safe injection site in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Local short films include the world premiere of Rewilding the Classroom by educator Cam Douglas and filmmaker Rodney Fuentes, about aligning educational practices with the reality of environmental crises through the Youth Leadership in Sustainability program and The Butch and the Baby Daddy, by Trent professor Karleen Pendleton Jimenez about a trans/butch lesbian who asks her close friend to help her build a family.

ReFrame and Artspace have collaborated for an in-person exhibition on-view at Artspace from Jan. 25 to Feb. 25. Featured projects include What Fools These Mortals Be, a three-channel video installation that reimagines Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a series of tableaux vivants (living pictures) performed by formerly incarcerated women and Intravene, an immersive audio experience about the opioid crisis. For viewing times and additional live performing information, check out the ReFrame and Artspace websites.

The festival is also hosting an in-person opening night screening at Showplace Performance Centre on Jan. 26. Opening night will feature All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, the critically acclaimed film about the life and activism of renowned photographer Nan Goldin. Tickets are sold separately and are not available as part of the virtual festival.

Audiences across Canada can stream the documentary films from Jan. 26 to Feb. 3.

The full program can be found on the ReFrame website, with virtual passes and ticket packs available now. Tickets for individual virtual films will be available as of Jan. 11. 

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ReFrame Film Festival Announces 2023 Lineup and Opening Night Details

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ReFrame’s 19th annual documentary film festival will be taking place from Jan. 26 to Feb. 3, 2023, screening over 50 films as part of its virtual festival and returning to Showplace Performance Centre for an in-person screening opening night.

All the Beauty. Photo courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival.

The full program will be released in early January, but a first look at films include the following.

On opening night, the in-person opening night event features the critically-acclaimed film All the Beauty and the Bloodshed by Laura Poitras. The film follows the life of artist and activist Nan Goldin in her mission to hold the Sackler family accountable for the opioid overdose crisis. ReFrame notes that opening night tickets are sold separately and are not included in the purchase of a Virtual Festival Pass.

Local film offerings will include Fault Lines: People, Work and the COVID-19 Pandemic by Natasha Luckhardt and Rob Viscardis, Bob Romerein’s film Choices and Our Glorious Bodies, a short film by Frankie Mcgee.

A diverse range of films in the Canadian spotlight include Eternal Spring from director Jason Loftus, Ali Kazimi’s Beyond Extinction: Sinixt Resurgence, Okay! The ASD Band Film by filmmaker Mark Bone and the acclaimed film Framing Agnes.

Opening night tickets are $20 or pay-what-you-can, and are available on the ReFrame website. For the in-person screening on Jan. 26, masks will be mandatory and are available on-site. Virtual Festival Passes/ pass packs are available through the ReFrame website, with pay-what-you-can tickets for single films to be released in January.

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2023 ReFrame Film Festival Dates Announced; Beginning Late Jan. 26

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The 19th annual ReFrame Film Festival has announced its dates for its 2023 season, running nine days from Jan. 26 to Feb. 3 announced on Friday.

WOCHIIGII LO: END OF THE PEACE. DIRECTED BY HEATHER HATCH. PHOTO COURTESY OF REFRAME FILM FESTIVAL.

The documentary festival presents the year’s most important, thought-provoking, and inspiring documentary films focused on intersectionality, diversity, human rights and environmental responsibility according to a press release.

“We’re thrilled to be able to share this captivating collection of films from coast-to-coast-to-coast while continuing to connect our community and keep them safe,” said Kait Dueck, ReFrame festival director.

ReFrame was a beneficiary of an Ontario Trillium Grant of $44,600. The funds are invested into staff, rental costs, cleaning materials and creating the virtual an in-person experiences of the festival.

“Many festivals and events have been adversely affected during the pandemic and have had to find new ways of engaging with their patrons,” said MPP Dave Smith. “Today is recognition of how this $44,600 grant allowed the ReFrame Film Festival to continue providing their audiences with the outstanding entertainment they have grown to look forward to every January.”

This year’s poster was desiged by local artist Casandra Lee. Photo courtesy of REFRAME FILM FESTIVAL.

Screenings of all the films can be done virtually and tickets can be purchased online at ReFrame Festival’s website with discounted Early Bird Virtual Passes (for individual or household passes) available at this article’s publication.The Early Bird Virtual Passes grant streaming access to the entire catalogue of virtual festival films.

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