Desire, Relationships, Break-ups. Smoldering and brooding, these films deal with all aspects of the heart, especially when romantic love does not go as planned. We describe this bundle as tense, funny and vulnerable.

Whether related through blood, heritage or “found family,” these films explore the dynamics of our closest bonds. MENA staff describes this program as pensive and bittersweet.

This shorts program includes non-fiction films exploring the relationship between the MENA/SWANA community and their homelands. Affected by exile, genocide, censorship, and government neglect, each subject voices their complex bond with home. MENA staff says these stories are nostalgic and full of wisdom, as many feature the experience of community elders.

It is impossible to talk about love and the MENA/SWANA region without referencing our relationship to the land. These films are love letters to the landscapes affected by western intervention, focusing on the communities that inhabit them. This program is for cinematography enthusiasts and our team describes this bundle as meditative and beautiful.

This program compiles all LGBTQ+ short films from this year’s festival! These films spotlight the Vancouver queer community with love, and include intimate biographical documentaries, experimental films and coming-of-age narratives.

This one’s for the baddies, pioneers and survivors, who understand that self care is not just a consumer act, but sometimes a dedicated practice of overcoming. Subjects of each film address challenges to their wellbeing or dreams head-on, even as they face transphobia, sexism, chronic health disabilities, trauma and violence. These films explore what it means to truly be comfortable with oneself as we face adversity from outside and within. MENA staff describe this bundle as powerful.

A first for the MENA Film Festival: This event combines two shorts and a feature film that exemplify the romance inherent in all things theatrical! While some films have topics that are more overtly about the performing arts, some draw inspiration from the theater in their set design and cinematography. Join us for an artist panel after the screening that will explore the intersection of film, performance, and theatricality. Please register for tickets to the film program and artist panel separately.

A special screening of three short films centering veiled women whose stories move through the layered terrains of visibility, identity, and resilience—across the region and diaspora. The program concludes with a curated panel featuring scholars, artists, and advocates in dialogue on representation, agency, and the politics of visibility.