Shocked by the eugenicist and ableist massacre of Sagamihara in 2016, emerging documentarian Taku Aoyagi crafts an empathetic filmic response, focusing here on Mirai Farm, a welfare center in Yamanashi, that he used to frequent with his mother as a child. From small gesture to the next, pastime to hobby, Aoyagi introduces us to the distinct talents and personalities of the people working at Mirai. He thus manages to construct an exemplary documentary on disability, which does not create “subjects”, but rather friends who occupy and create the space that is theirs, despite the latent intolerance of Japanese society. Fujiyama Cotton showcases those who care for the land, and encourage us to see the world with kindness.

Written in 1978, Mémoire fertile is the first film shot by a Palestinian director within the borders of the West Bank. Neither documentary nor fiction, Michel Khleifi instead films the lives of two women who resist in their own distinct ways: Farah Hatoum, a widow who cares for her children and grand-children and still hopes to recover her land expropriated by Israel in 1948, as well as Sahar Khalifeh, Palestinian novelist (Chronique du figuier barbare; La foi des tournesols; L’impasse de Bab Essaha) who proudly lives on occupied territory. Within this contrast between mother and intellectual, domesticity and discourse, Khleifi captures essential images of Palestinian life, as well as the commonality of existence under apartheid, as a constant quest for freedom and dignity.

With Farah Hatoum, Sahar Khalifeh

Festivals: Cannes’ International Critics’ Week 1981

Spider, a 56-year-old man from Toronto, faces new jail time for an assault he committed during a drunken night out. His last hope is to locate Cougar, the woman with whom he partied that night, and claim that the attack was actually a romantic gesture. A personal quest ensues through Toronto’s rundown neighbourhoods, where we uncover the stigmas of Spider’s past alongside a cast of eccentric characters and as many broken dreams. A gonzo social drama, produced for the price of the few beers that its deliciously anti-establishment protagonist guzzles on screen.

With Frank Dunsten, Oliver Roberts, Jake Cote, Aurora Shields, Brian Joseph Chakasim

Festivals: Bleeding Edge 2024

• The screening will be followed by a debate moderated by Justine Smith (film critic and programmer) with filmmakers Ben Roberts, Oliver Roberts, Melanie Shatzky and Brian M. Cassidy.