17 year old Mike has always been kind of a outcast, never quite on time, never knowing quite the right thing to say. He’s doing his best just to survive high school. But all that changes when a new kid arrives in his class, William. And when the two of them are immediately thrust together to complete an English class assignment, Mike sees his chance to become closer to the quiet, enigmatic Will. As the two spend more time together under the auspices of making a ‘monster movie’ version of Romeo & Juliet, they begin to realise that their feelings towards one another may be more powerful than they’d anticipated. But like the two main characters in the greatest love story ever told, Mike and Will seem pre‐destined to be kept apart, by their respective dysfunctional families, by their classmates, and by their own sexual confusion. Can their love overcome all obstacles? Or, like the Shakespearian monsters that inhabit their school project, are they fated to spend their existence haunted and alone? A coming‐out and coming‐of‐age drama firmly set in the 1990’s, MONSTER PIES is a snapshot in time, a moving teen romance unafraid to tackle the contradictions and complexities of the male adolescent heart and mind. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

Event Info↗

On February 12, 2008, in Oxnard, California, eighth‐grade student Brandon McInerney shot his classmate Larry King twice in the back of the head during first period. When Larry died two days later, his murder shocked the nation. Was this a hate crime, one perpetrated by a budding neo‐Nazi whose masculinity was threatened by an effeminate gay kid who may have had a crush on him? Or was there even more to it? Looking beyond all the copious news coverage of this tragic event, Valentine Road tells the story of two victims: the deceased and the murderer. With keen insight, the film connects the human wreckage of Larry’s and Brandon’s troubled lives—both physically abused, both from broken homes, and both searching for a sense of belonging. Filmmaker Marta Cunningham puts a human face on a critical issue challenging communities everywhere. Namely, how do we help kids like Brandon and Larry before tragedy happens? Haunting, infuriating, and powerful, Valentine Road shakes us to our core as it calls to question our very notion of justice.

Event Info↗

An epic romance about an untenable love affair, Xavier Dolan’s third feature is his most stylish and mature work to date. The film centres on the tortured, on‐again, off‐again relationship between Laurence (Melvil Poupaud), a writer and teacher, and his girlfriend Fred (Suzanne Clément), a line producer on film productions. As the film opens, they’re ensconced in one of their favourite places: the 10 car wash, a fitting emblem for their claustrophobic relationship. Devout bohemians who have little interest in conventional mores, they lead a charmed existence buoyed by their contempt for virtually everyone else on the planet. That is, it’s a charmed existence until Laurence breaks down in tears and confesses that he believes he’s a woman trapped in a man’s body. Initially shocked, Fred soon decides to carry on as if nothing has happened. But as family pressures and her own doubts begin to mount, the couple drifts apart.

Event Info↗