Screening times:
Sunday, February 8, 5:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Sunday, February 8, 8:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Thursday, February 26, 8:45 PM - SOLD OUT
Thursday, March 12, 8:45 PM - show added!

Joachim Trier | Norway | 2025 | 135m
English and Norwegian with English subtitles

Sentimental Value is an intimate and moving exploration of family, memories, and the power of art. Nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress - to be announced at this year’s Oscars.

Screening times:
Saturday, March 7, 8:30 PM

Martin Scorsese | USA | 1985 | 97m

Throughout March we fondly remember late, great Canadian actor and comedian Catherine O'Hara (1954-2026) with films screening on Saturday nights. We look back at O'Hara's career via an early role in Martin Scorsese's neo-noir comedy After Hours (1985), to her iconic turn in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988) and a lead part in Christopher Guest's ensemble mockumentary Waiting For Guffman (1996).

Screening times:
Saturday, March 7, 6:00 PM - filmmakers attending!

Elizabeth Vibert, Chen Wang | Canada | 2025 | 62m

Aisha and her husband started their grain mill in Baqa'a refugee camp, Jordan, 35 years ago. She safeguards the culture by milling grains essential to Palestinian cuisine and passing her knowledge to the next generation.

Screening times:
Friday, March 6, 8:30 PM - director attending!

Isiah Medina | Canada | 2025 | 84m

As he mulls over the budget for his new film, director-gangster Clem sends his artist cronies after an old comrade rumoured to be a leaker.

Screening times:
Friday, March 6, 6:00 PM - director attending via video-link!

Habibata Ouarme | Canada | 2025 | 78m
French with English subtitles

To mark International Women's Day, Alliance invites you to a screening of 1001 Couronnes Pour Ma Tête (1001 Crowns For My Head), a powerful exploration of African and afrodescendant hairstyles as symbols of identity, resistance, and pride.

Screening times:
Sunday, March 1, 7:30 PM

Jafar Panahi | Iran, France, Luxembourg | 2025 | 102m
Persian with English subtitles

A group of survivors of an authoritarian regime debate what to do when they find a man they believe could be their torturer. This film is nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film at the 2026 Academy Awards.

Screening times:
Thursday, February 19, 6:30 PM
Sunday, March 1, 5:30 PM

Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki | Iran, Qatar, Chile, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, USA | 2025 | 95m
Azerbaijani, Turkish, Persian with English subtitles, and English

The first Iranian woman elected as councilwoman in her rural village works to empower girls while challenging the establishment. Both a stirring portrait of a determined trailblazer and a clear-eyed study of social inequity, Cutting Through Rocks is a visually-striking and inspiring documentary.

Screening times
Saturday, February 7, 6:00 PM
Saturday, February 28, 6:00 PM - the February 28 screening occurs at Bus Stop Theatre on Gottingen St

Bi Gan | China, France | 2025 | 156m
In Mandarin with English subtitles

In a world where humanity has lost the ability to dream, a monster, adrift in reverie, clings to visions no one else can see — until a woman appears.

Screening times:
Friday, February 27, 6:30 PM

Reza Dahya | Canada | 2024 | 93m

After aspiring rapper Rome's apartment is burgled, and his only copy of his music stolen, he devises a plan with the help of his friend Jenaya to track down his four producers and reassemble his album in time for an event with megastar music producer Richie Hill.

Screening times:
Saturday, February 21, 6:00 PM
Thursday, February 26, 6:30 PM

Hlynur Pálmason | Iceland, Denmark, France, Finland, Sweden | 2025 | 109m
Icelandic with English subtitles

Tenderly and hilariously captures a year in the life of an Icelandic family of five, as the parents navigate their separation. Come for the charming story, stay for the dreamlike soundtrack—and prepare to be won over by the Cannes ‘Palm Dog’ winner Panda, the scene-stealing Icelandic sheepdog.

Screening times:
Saturday, February 21, 8:30 PM

Rob Reiner | USA | 1987 | 119m

Throughout February we remember late director Rob Reiner with beloved classics including This is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally…, and The Princess Bride. Screening on Saturday nights in February!

Screening times:
Sunday, February 15, 5:30 PM
Friday, February 20, 9:15 PM

Eiichi Yamamoto | Japan | 1973 | 86m
Japanese with English subtitles

A peasant woman is banished from her village and makes a deal with the devil to gain magical powers. Filled with brilliant visual artistry in the form of a unique artistic style that combines watercolor aesthetics with a nightmare-like quality.

Screening times:
Friday, February 20, 6:30 PM - director Alison Duke attending via video-link!

Alison Duke | Canada | 2024 | 105m

Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam” has been part of our collective consciousness for over 40 years, but what do we really know about her? This fun, inspirational documentary showcases Sister Nancy's resilience through dynamic tour performances, interviews, archival footage, and reenactments.

Screening times:
Friday, February 13, 8:45 PM
Sunday, February 15, 7:30 PM

Richard Linklater | USA | 2025 | 100m

On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self confidence as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit Oklahoma!

Screening times:
Saturday, February 14, 8:30 PM

Rob Reiner | USA | 1989 | 95m

Throughout February we remember late director Rob Reiner with beloved classics including This is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally..., and The Princess Bride. Screening on Saturday nights in February!

Screening times:
Thursday, February 5, 6:30 PM
Saturday, February 14, 6:00 PM

Ira Sachs | USA | 2025 | 76m

In 1974, acclaimed photographer Peter Hujar describes the routines and rituals that define an artist's life to his friend, the writer Linda Rosenkrantz.

Screening times:
Friday, February 13, 6:30 PM

George Mihalka | Canada | 1981 | 90m

45th anniversary screening! A decades-old folk tale surrounding a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine's Day turns out to be true to legend.

There's more than one way to lose your heart…

Screening times:
Thursday, February 12, 6:30 PM

Sofia Bohdanowicz | Canada | 2024 | 142m

A young academic pursues early 20th-century Canadian violinist Kathleen Parlow while being haunted by the dreams of her dying mother.

Screening times:
Saturday, February 7, 9:15 PM

Rob Reiner | USA | 1984 | 82m

Throughout February we remember late director Rob Reiner with beloved classics including This is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally…, and The Princess Bride. Screening on Saturday nights in February!

Screening times:
Sunday, February 1, 5:30 PM - special guests attending! - tickets nearly gone!
Sunday, February 1, 8:45 PM - RESCHEDULED*
*Due to bad weather, the Sunday February 1, 8:45 PM screening has been rescheduled to Friday, February 6, 8:45 PM

Mort Ransen | Canada, UK | 1995 | 114m

Margaret MacNiel (Helena Bonham Carter) is a girl living in a Cape Breton coal mining town who finds her life changing when she meets Neil Currie, a cheerful bagpipe-playing dishwasher. Unfortunately, neither can escape the industry around them. This film is screening as part of the 2nd annual Nova Scotia Retro Film Festo, happening January 29 - February 2, 2026!

Screening times:
Friday, February 6, 6:30 PM

Richard Linklater | USA, France | 2025 | 105m
English and French with English subtitles

Nouvelle Vague is the story of Jean-Luc Godard making Breathless, a love letter to the revolutionary magic of the French New Wave and a homage to Godard's influential 1960 film.

Screening times:
Monday, February 2, 6:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Monday, February 2, 9:15 PM - encore screening!

Jason Eisener | Canada, US | 2011 | 86m

A homeless vigilante blows away crooked cops, pedophile Santas, and other scumbags with his trusty pump-action shotgun. This film is screening as Closing Night Film of the 2nd Nova Scotia Retro Film Festo, happening January 29 - February 2, 2026!

Screening times:
Sunday, February 1, matinee screenings

From 1:00 PM:
Margaret Perry | Canada | 1947-1958 | 35m
followed by Q&A with Jennifer VanderBurgh, PhD

From 2:30 PM:
Various Directors | Canada | 1961-1993 | 103m

This collection of vintage shorts from Nova Scotia is screening as part of the 2nd annual Nova Scotia Retro Film Festo, happening January 29 - February 2, 2026!

Screening times:
Saturday, January 31, 6:00 PM - cast and crew attending!
Please note this screening will take place at Bus Stop Theatre on Gottingen St, not Carbon Arc

Evan Kelly | Canada | 2010 | 98m

Friends head to a cabin into the wintry Nova Scotia woods, stumbling upon a terrifying supernatural presence no one can understand or explain. This film is screening as part of the 2nd annual Nova Scotia Retro Film Festo, happening January 29 - February 2, 2026!

Screening times:
Friday, January 30, 6:30 PM - lead actor Steven Yaffee attending via videolink!

Michael Melski | Canada | 2008 | 99m

Sheltered and home-schooled by loving parents who also happen to be committed neo-hippie criminals, sixteen-year-old Quinn is motivated to rebel and attend high-school for the first time. Late writer-director Michael Melski's first feature film stars Steven Yaffee, Wallace Langham, and Rosanna Arquette. This film is screening as part of the 2nd annual Nova Scotia Retro Film Festo, happening January 29 - February 2, 2026!

Screening times:
Thursday, January 29, 6:30 PM - SOLD OUT!
Thursday, January 29, 9:15 PM - encore screening!

Thom Fitzgerald | Canada | 1997 | 91m

Growing up as a closeted teen in Nova Scotia was hard for Sweet William, so he ran away at the age of 15 and never looked back. That is, until ten years later when he returns for his sister’s wedding, and must face the dysfunctional family and oppressive community he thought he had left behind. The Hanging Garden will open the 2nd annual Nova Scotia Retro Film Festo, happening January 29 - February 2, 2026!

Screening times:
Thursday, December 18, 6:30 PM
Monday, December 22, 6:30 PM - show added!

Zacharias Kunuk | Canada | 2025 | 100m
Inuktitut with English subtitles

Screening followed by a special pre-recorded Q&A with director Zacharias Kunuk and co-writer/producer Samuel Cohn-Cousineau, moderated by Carbon Arc programmer Joseph Jung!

A strange death, village upheavals, and swarming suitors lead to a love story gone awry in Zacharias Kunuk’s latest enthralling imagining of ancient Inuit stories.

Screening times:
Sunday, December 21, 5:30 PM

Scandar Copti | Palestine, France, Germany, Italy, Qatar | 2024 | 123m
Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles

A family saga that thoughtfully considers the myriad intricacies of Arab Israeli life in Jerusalem and Haifa. Happy Holidays tells four interwoven stories: Fifi, a free-spirited Palestinian student; her brother Ravi and his pregnant Jewish partner; their father’s financial misdeeds that could ruin their future, and their domineering mother, determined to make the elder sister’s wedding a success at all costs.

Screening times:
Saturday, December 20, 8:15 PM

Todd Haynes | 2015 | UK, USA | 119m

An aspiring photographer in her twenties develops an intimate relationship with an older woman in 1950s New York. Ten-year anniversary screening!