Five Must-See Movies at the 2025 Available Light Film Festival

Photo courtesy of Luxbox

BY Rachel HoPublished Jan 31, 2025

One of the most uniquely located film festivals in the country, Available Light Film Festival (ALFF), is back for its 23rd edition from February 7 to 16. Under the Northern Lights of Whitehorse, YT, ALFF returns with 10 jam-packed days of screenings, workshops, industry panels and, of course, the festival's Pitch Event on February 8.

This year, ALFF presents Oscar-nominated films, including The Brutalist and The Apprentice and many others. The festival will also screen some Exclaim! CanCon favourites like Universal Language, Paying for It and Are We Done Now — and excitingly, directors Matthew Rankin and Sook Yin Lee (Universal Language and Paying for It, respectively) will be appearing at the festival as part of the ALFF Creator Talk series. ALFF will also be showcasing talent from their own backyard, such as the 2023 ALFF Pitch Prize winner Fistful of Vodka, filmed in Pelly Crossing and intriguingly described as a Bannock Western.

As we eagerly await opening night, here are five must-see films at the 2025 Available Light Film Festival!

For more information about the programming and tickets, check out ALFF's website here.

All We Imagine as Light 
Directed by Payal Kapadia


Controversially not India's selection this year for the Academy, Payal Kapadia's Golden Globe-nominated All We Imagine as Light follows the story of three nurses living in Mumbai making life work, whatever that means and looks like. It's a quiet film that distills humanity in gentle handfuls, leaving audiences with an unusual calm without offering any answers. All We Imagine as Light is a gorgeous film that celebrates the best things about cinema.

Hard Truths
Directed by Mike Leigh


Appropriate to its title, Marianne Jean-Baptiste's performance in Hard Truths is a hard watch, but in a good way. As Pansy, Jean-Baptiste brings to life a horrid woman whose horrid behaviour and attitude goes beyond a bad day. Raw and detestable, Pansy — in true Mike Leigh fashion — becomes a character study in empathy, trauma, grief and everything in between. Containing one of the year's most powerful and moving performances, Hard Truths asks for patience from its audience, but offers high reward.

No Other Land 
Directed by Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor


I tried to avoid placing an Oscar-nominated film on this list, simply to give some lesser-known films some airtime; however, No Other Land occupies an odd space of being a heavily talked about and favoured film (including BAFTA and Satellite Award nominations, in addition to the Academy Award) — but as of writing, doesn't have a Canadian distributor (or an American one for that matter). Made collectively by Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers, the documentary examines the conflict in the West Bank from within the region itself. An important film that should be seen far and wide, Canadians are dependent upon festivals like ALFF to platform No Other Land until it gets wider distribution.

Northlore 
Directed by Melaina Sheldon and David Hamelin


ALFF's opening night feature and the film's world premiere, Northlore promises an extraordinary cinematic journey through the Yukon. A hybrid documentary using live-action and animated elements, Melaina Sheldon and David Hamelin's film looks to celebrate the territory's land and peoples, connecting generations past and present. Increasingly, films and television shows are being made in the North about the North, and we're completely locked in for more. Also, bonus points: Sheldon and Hamelin, as well as the film's composer Jeremy Parkin, are scheduled to appear at ALFF.

Seeds
Directed by Kaniehtiio Horn


One of Exclaim!'s favourite films in 2024, Kaniehtiio Horn's directorial debut showcases her comedic and action sensibilities in a wild ride. Horn plays Ziggy, a wannabe influencer living in the city who gets pulled back to the rez to housesit for her aunt just as her brand sponsorship opportunities are kicking off. At first, Ziggy's return is marked by old loves and friends, but when an intruder attempts to steal something near and dear to her and her family, Seeds flips itself into a home invasion comedy that demonstrates the heart and humour of a rez community.

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