Returning with my In The City series with a personally curated list of events as part of my birthday-celebration of life week. I am starting with Part 1 as there are many events I want to share with you.

Here, I give you a personally curated list of includes film screenings around Toronto, as well as, films you can screen from the comfort of home.

As always, hope you find some new favourites.

Cinema Screenings

One of Them Days (Comedy)
Directed by Lawrence Lamont (2025)
Cineplex Cinemas

Best friends and roommates Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA) are about to have One of Them Days. When they discover Alyssa’s boyfriend has blown their rent money, the duo finds themselves going to extremes in a comical race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact.

This is by far one of the best buddy comedies I have seen in a while. The film starts off in a big way, and does not steer off on the amount of ‘drama’ that ensues over the course of one day. Palmer and SZA work so well together; the chemistry makes for a great watch. Lots of laugh out loud and gasp moments plus a great soundtrack. I will be rewatching this film for sure.

It’s All Gonna Break (Documentary)
Directed by Stephen Chung (2025)
Featuring Broken Social Scene
Hot Docs Cinema
January 24 and 25, 2025

The film unearths the intimate, never before seen, behind-the-scenes footage documenting the creation of Canada’s most influential music collective. The film features interviews with the full Broken Social Scene band, Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Feist, Emily Haines, Amy Milan, Charles Spearin, Andrew Whiteman, Justin Peroff, John Crossingham, Evan Cranley, James Shaw, Jeffrey Remedios, David Newfeld, all of whom helped catapult this indie-darling group from the beer-soaked bars of Toronto to stadium stages at festivals across the United States and Europe. The film is not just a way to watch an incredible group of friends and musicians come together to create timeless art; it’s the documentation of a moment that changed Canadian culture, while reaching the rest of the world with their much-loved indie rock sound. 

Following its theatrical and festival run, Bell Media’s Crave will broadcast the film in early Summer 2025.

Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story
Directed by Alison Duke
Select Theatres Starting January 31

Considered the anthem of the reggae genre, ‘Bam Bam’ is one of reggae’s most sampled vocals in history. But the woman behind the voice of reggae’s most well-known song, Sister Nancy, remains a relative unknown to those outside of the genre. Deceived for decades and denied the royalties that were rightfully hers, Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story follows the musician as she travels to Jamaica, London, Toronto, New York and Atlanta, between sold-out shows, to reclaim the rights to what is rightfully hers. With support from Janelle Monae, Young Guru, Pete Rock and more, Sister Nancy confronts the music industry in a fight for equality of women and women of colour and their artistry.

The film will be available for streaming on Crave on February 17, 2025.

Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story (Documentary)
Written & Directed by Bruce David Klein (2025)
January 31, 2025 + February 1, 2025 – Hot Docs Cinema – Toronto
February 2, 2025 – The Fox – Toronto
February 8 to 11 – Revue Theatre – Toronto

This star studded tribute brings into focus the dazzling, complex period of Liza’s life starting in the 1970s, just after the tragic death of her mother Judy Garland – as she confronts a range of personal and professional challenges on the way to becoming a bona fide legend. Over these years, Liza seeks out extraordinary mentors: Kay Thompson, Fred Ebb, Charles Aznavour, Halston and Bob Fosse. With insightful participation from a coterie of luminaries who know her well – Michael Feinstein, Mia Farrow, Ben Vereen, Joel Grey and the late Chita Rivera, along with the revelatory participation by the star herself – the film illuminates the contradiction of Liza Minnelli: her privilege and struggle, strength and vulnerability, unreal expectations and towering talent – the friction of which fueled her stunning rise, resilience and her enduring place as one of the greatest, most original performers in the history of entertainment.

Blue Rodeo: Lost Together (Documentary)
Directed by Dale Heslip (2025)
Hot Docs Cinema: February 2 – 4:30pm & February 22 – 12:00p
Cineplex Cinemas: February 2 and 3

The film offers an intimate and revealing look at the enduring career of Blue Rodeo, one of Canada’s most beloved and longest-running bands. Guided by the distinctive voices of Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, the film dives deep into the band’s remarkable four-decade journey, providing an unfiltered, humorous, and deeply moving account of their unlikely rise to stardom. The documentary goes beyond the music, exploring the dynamic relationship between Cuddy, the pragmatic charmer, and Keelor, the intense and rebellious artist, whose contrasting personalities ignited a powerful creative force. The film takes audiences back to the band’s humble beginnings at North Toronto Collegiate, where an improbable friendship blossomed into a lifelong creative partnership.

Flow (Animation)
Directed by Gints Zilbalodis (2024)
February 13 – 19
Revue Cinema

A solitary cat, displaced by a great flood, finds refuge on a boat with various species and must navigate the challenges of adapting to a transformed world together.

This is one of my favourite films from last year. This poignant tale of friendship and survival is filled with gorgeous visuals with animal characters animated in a way that make us connect to them on a deep level. It is truly an emotional journey.

50th Anniversary Screenings – University of Toronto Cinema Studies Institute (CSI)

The Harder They Come (Drama, Fable)
Directed by Perry Henzell (1972)
Monday, February 03 – 7:00pm
Innis Town Hall
Speakers: Zalika Reid-Benta & Kass Banning (moderator)

Ivanhoe Martin (Jimmy Cliff) arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, “The Harder They Come,” but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton (Bob Charlton), soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills.

Enormously successful in Jamaica, the film also reached the international market and has been described as “possibly the most influential of Jamaican films and one of the most important films from the Caribbean”.

Kanaval (Drama, Coming of Age)
Written and directed by Henri Pardo (2023)
Thursday, February 20 – 7:00pm
Innis Town Hall

This beautiful film tells the story of a young boy’s journey from Haiti to Quebec in the 1970s, when his family is forced to flee due during the town’s celebrations of carnival. The story is told through the point of view of Rico (Rayan Dieudonné) who tries to make sense of his mother, Erzulie (Penande Estime), her actions, and the adult world around him.

The screening of Kanaval will be followed by a Q&A with director, Henri Pardo, to celebrate Black History Month.

This is one of my favourite films from TIFF in 2023. I highly recommend it.

Streaming

MUBI

Pepe (Documentary, Avant-Garde, Fantasy)
Directed by Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias, 2024

Nelson Carlos de los Santos Arias won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 2024 Berlinale for Pepe which explores themes of colonialism, identity, memory and migration through an unconventional protagonist and narrator: a hippopotamus named Pepe. Beginning in Southern Africa and moving to South America, Pepe narrates his eventful life from being owned by Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar to his final days roaming free.

Lady Macbeth (Drama)
Directed by William Oldroyd, 2016
Streaming on February 1

England, 1865. Katherine (Florence Pugh) is stifled by her loveless marriage to a man twice her age, and his unforgiving family. When she embarks on a passionate affair with a young worker on her husband’s estate, a force is unleashed inside her so powerful that she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

I remember seeing this film at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and was very impressed by Pugh’s performance in this film.

SHUDDER

RITA (Dark Fantasy, Horror)
Written & directed by Jayro Bustamante (2024)

While fleeing a neglectful household, thirteen-year-old Rita is placed in an oppressive state-run orphanage. Rita’s arrival provides a glimmer of hope to the girls inside, who share a prophecy that an angel will appear to release them. Encouraged by one another, the girls plan an escape to claim their freedom and expose the orphanage’s abuses of power.

RITA is based on a sad and horrible real-life event, where 41 young women burned to death inside an orphanage in Guatemala City in 2017. They were protesting about inhumane conditions in the orphanage. Like in his other films, Bustamante uses cinema language to address political and human rights issues in Guatemala – that can also be generalized to other parts of the world. Some of what we see in RITA evokes the work of Guillermo del Toro – for me, I would pair it with The Devil’s Backbone (El Espinazo del Diablo). This film shines a light on the brave orphans whose fight for survival inspired a nationwide outcry for justice and reform.

Horror’s Greatest | Season 2

This series is a deep dive into everything horror. From fresh looks at classics to unearthing scores of hidden gems, this series has something for every genre film enthusiast.

Whether you are new to horror or an aficionado, there is something for you to learn in each of the episodes. You can read more about this new season here.

OVID TV

Roberta (Documentary)
Directed by Antonino D’Ambrosio, 2022

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Antonino D’Ambrosio (Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears Revisited and Frank Serpico, among others), this is the long overdue documentary about the legendary Roberta Flack. World-renowned for “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly,” she became the first person in history to win two back-to-back Grammy Awards for Best Record, yet there is so much more to her story and her impact. Among those who know Flack and have been inspired by her work attest to her powerful influence on our world.

Netflix

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Animation)
Directed by Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham (2025)

Top dog Gromit springs into action to save his master when Wallace’s high-tech invention goes rogue and he’s framed for a series of suspicious crimes.

I have been a fan of the Wallace & Gromit series for some time. The stop-motion is fantastic and the stories offer something for everyone in the family. If you have not seen this Oscar-nominated film yet, I recommend you do.