Screening times:
Sunday, July 26, 5:30 PM
Friday, July 31, 6:30 PM
Mark Jenkin | UK | 2026 | 114m
When fishing boat the Rose of Nevada, lost with all hands 30 years ago, mysteriously reappears in the harbour, it’s surely a sign. Director Mark Jenkin (Bait, Enys Men) once again uses the Cornish coast as his muse in this beautiful 16mm puzzle.
Screeing times:
Thursday, July 16, 6:30 PM - SOLD OUT
Sunday, July 19, 8:00 PM - show added!
Sunday, July 26, 8:15 PM - another show added!
Boots Riley | United States | 2026 | 114m
A crew of professional shoplifters take aim at a cutthroat clothing designer in Boots Riley’s (Sorry to Bother You) latest satirical critique of the state of the world.
Screening times:
Thursday, July 30, 6:30 PM
Baz Luhrmann | Australia | 1992 | 94 mins
A maverick ballroom dancer risks his career by performing an unusual routine and sets out to succeed with a new partner in Baz Luhrmann’s campy underdog romance. Carbon Arc Cinema turns 16 years old this July! Birthday celebrations include a Baz Luhrmann double bill (Strictly Ballroom will be followed by Romeo + Juliet). Free popcorn to anyone wearing sequins or sparkles!
Screening times:
Thursday, July 30, 9:00 PM
Baz Luhrmann | USA | 1996 | 120 min
The children of two rival families fall in love at first sight before they realize they should be bitter enemies. You know the rest! Carbon Arc Cinema turns 16 years old this July! Birthday celebrations include a Baz Luhrmann double bill (Romeo + Juliet will be preceded by Strictly Ballroom). Free popcorn to anyone wearing sequins or sparkles!
IMPORTANT: This is an outdoor screening! If the weather turns ugly on the night, we will head into the indoor auditorium as usual.
Screening times:
Saturday, August 1, 6:00 PM
Steven Soderbergh | USA, UK | 2026 | 100 mins
Steven Soderbergh takes the art caper film in a surprising direction with a film that mixes black comedy with deeply felt human connection. ICYMI stands for “In Case You Missed It (at the Multiplex)”, where we screen films we think deserve a longer theatrical run!
Screening times:
Saturday, August 1, 8:30 PM
Harry Dodge and Silas Howard | United States | 2001 | 95 mins
Groundbreaking when it was made and still fiercely innovative today, By Hook or By Crook is a newly-restored trans and butch buddy film; an anti-authoritarian tale of friendship, trust and redemption.
Screening times:
Sunday, July 12, 7:45 PM
Sunday, August 2, 5:30 PM
Sho Miyake | Japan | 2026 | 89m
Japanese with English subtitles
Lauded by IndieWire as “one of the finest, most soulful Japanese filmmakers of his generation”, Sho Miyake’s latest explores longing and loneliness in an adaptation of two short mangas by revered artist Yoshiharu Tsuge.
Screening times:
Saturday, July 18, 6:00 PM
Sunday, August 2, 7:45 PM
Taratoa Stappard | New Zealand | 2025 | 89m
English, Māori with English subtitles
When a young Māori woman is summoned from New Zealand to North Yorkshire, she uncovers her horrific colonial heritage and is compelled to confront the titled Englishman who devastated her family in this breathtaking and violent gothic horror.
Screening times:
Thursday, August 6, 6:30 PM
Sunday, August 23, 5:30 PM
John Early | USA | 2026 | 101 mins
A pitch-perfect blend of satire, melodrama, daring tonal shifts and intimate performances, John Early’s debut feature marks a bold new voice in contemporary cinema.
Screening times:
Friday, August 7, 6:30 PM
Jeong Jae-un | South Korea | 2001 | 112 mins
Korean with English subtitles
A sleeper hit in 2001 that has gained an intense cult following since then, Take Care of My Cat offers a tender and multi-faceted portrait of young women at the turn of the new millennium. And yes, there is a cat.
Screening times:
Saturday, August 8, 6:00 PM
Věra Chytilová | 1966 | former Czechoslovakia | 76m
Czech with English subtitles
Two bored Czech women play pranks on men and rebel against a materialistic society. Stylistically anarchic and spiritedly played, Daisies is a liberating rebuke of polite society that will bring the rebel out of viewers who are up for the freewheeling ride.
Screening times:
Saturday, August 8, 8:30 PM
Kathryn Bigelow | USA | 1991 | 122m
Absurd, over-the-top, and often wildly entertaining, Point Break is here to show you that the human spirit is still alive. Men, By Women is our August Retrospective Series, screening Saturday nights at 8:30 PM! Masculinity perceived, portrayed and perforated by female directors!
Screening times:
Sunday, August 9, 5:30 PM
IMPORTANT: this screening occurs at Sanctuary Arts Centre in downtown Dartmouth, and not Carbon Arc's usual venue!
Robert Zemeckis | USA | 1988 | 104m
Preceded by short film "Every Dog's Guide to Complete Home Safety" | Les Drew | 1986 | 10m, courtesy of NFB
When a cartoon rabbit is accused of murder, he enlists the help of a burnt out private investigator to prove his innocence. Make a day of it in Dartmouth! Dartmouth Comic Arts Festival is occurring all weekend at Alderney Landing so we’re bringing the ‘toons to you at the Sanctuary Arts Centre on Ochterloney St … so you can do both!
Screening times:
Sunday, August 9, 5:30 PM
Saturday, August 22, 6:00 PM
Sasha Waters | United States | 2026 | 91m
A moving documentary portrait of poet Mary Oliver, who was America’s unlikely contemporary mystic.
Screening times:
Thursday, August 13, 6:30 PM
Friday, August 28, 6:30 PM
Milagros Mumenthaler | Argentina | 2025 | 104 mins
Spanish with English subtitles
A quietly gripping psychological mystery with dreamlike, hallucinatory threads that weave a portrait of a woman struggling to understand herself.
Screening times:
Thursday, August 13, 9:00 PM
Ridley Scott | USA | 1991 | 129 mins
35 years after its release, Thelma and Louise still sparks conversations about its relation to feminism, and is still a ride or die fable of female friendship anchored by two actresses with unmatchable chemistry.
Screening times:
Friday, August 14, 6:30 PM
Thursday, August 27, 6:30 PM
Lucio Castro | USA, Argentina | 2025 | 82 mins
English, Spanish with English subtitles
Over two summers, between city streets and forest paths, young art student Adnan has a series of unexpected intimate encounters both artistic and erotic.
Screening times:
Saturday, August 15, 6:00 PM
Brendan Lyle | Canada | 2025 | 90 min
This Canadian mockumentary comedy film stars beloved Nova Scotian comedy duo Tracy and Martina, two working class friends from Cape Breton Island, who travel to Alberta to perform as an opening act for the indie rock band Slowcoaster, only for events to go awry in hilarious fashion.
Screening times:
Saturday, August 15, 8:30 PM
Claire Denis | France | 2000 | 90 mins
French, Italian and Russian with English subtitles
An ex-Foreign Legion officer recalls his once-glorious life leading troops in Djibouti in Claire Denis’ almost dialogue-free masterpiece, rated by Sight and Sound as the 7th best film of all time. Beau Travail is part of our August retro series: Men, By Women
Screening times:
Sunday, August 16, 5:30 PM
Will Braden/Cats | USA | 2026 | 73 mins
Various languages/Meows
A fun festival of silly cat videos found on the internet, that raises money for local cats in need. This screening is supporting My Grandfathers Cat; a charity based in Halifax that helps seniors and terminally ill people feed and arrange second forever homes for their beloved pets.
Screening times:
Thursday, August 20, 6:30 PM
Brandt Johnson | USA | 2025 | 86m
Ellen Jovin and Brandt Johnson attending!
A grammar guru takes her pop-up grammar advice stand on an epic road trip across all 50 US states to show that comma fights can bring us closer together in a divided time.
Come hang out with the filmmaker and film’s subject before the show! The film's protagonist, Ellen Jovin, will be at her internationally acclaimed Grammar Table to answer your most pressing grammar questions. After the movie, please stick around for a Q&A with director Brandt Johnson and Ellen, followed by a book signing of Ellen’s grammar bestseller.
Screening times:
Saturday, July 25, 8:30 PM
Lynne Fernie, Aerlyn Weissman | Canada | 1992 | 85m
Lynne Fernie and Aerlyn Weissman’s hybrid documentary/drama delves into the history of Canadian queer women’s experiences in the mid-20th century, in a film rich with humour and heartbreak.
Forbidden Love will be preceded by local short "Anita Louise and the Wild Women" | Arena Alamino | Canada | 2025 | 12m introduced by Arena Alamino!
Screening times:
Thursday, July 9 6:30 PM
Saturday, July 25 6:00 PM
Amalie Atkins | Canada | 2025 | 86m
Without a drivers license, cell phone, running water, or even a functioning landline 90-year old Agatha’s forges a solitary existence on her ancestral farm, preserving heirloom seeds in her handmade universe. Agatha’s Almanac offers a window into the experiences of a nearly lost generation and carves out a (mostly) calm space in a chaotic world.
Screening times:
Friday, July 24, 8:45 PM
Houston Bone | Canada | 2026 | 85m
With Chloe Van Landschoot attending in person!
Haunted by strange urges and visions, a pregnant woman named Sara accepts an invitation to dinner that spirals into a bloody, demented nightmare.
Screening times:
Friday, July 24, 6:30 PM
Bretten Hannam | Canada | 2026 | 86 mins
English, Mi'kmaq and French with English subtitles
Haunted by their past, two siblings are destined to reunite and join forces against a dark spirit from their childhood, in Bretten Hannam’s visceral supernatural thriller. ICYMI stands for “In Case You Missed It (at the Multiplex)”, where we screen films we think deserve a longer theatrical run!
Screening times:
Thursday, July 23, 6:30 PM
Guy Maddin | Canada | 1992 | 100m
Guy Maddin attending live via video-link for a post-screening Q&A!
Guy Maddin’s early masterpiece takes place in a 19th-century Alpine village where the wary residents —adult, child and animal!—must speak softly and tread lightly lest they cause an avalanche. Newly restored in 4K!
Screening times:
Saturday, July 11, 6:00 PM
Sunday, July 19, 5:30 PM
Carla Simòn | Spain, Germany | 2026 | 115m
Spanish with English subtitles
With her mother’s diary in hand, orphaned Marina’s search for documents for university leads her to her biological family. What starts as a simple quest reveals buried family secrets in director Carla Simón’s reimagining of her own fractured past.
Screening times:
Saturday, July 18, 8:30 PM
John Greyson | Canada | 1996 | 95m
English, French with English subtitles
Director John Greyson explores forbidden sexuality, race, gender, the Catholic church and a tragic miscarriage of justice in this groundbreaking adaptation of Michel Marc Bouchard’s play Lilies.
Lilies will be preceded by local short "Pan & Syrinx" | A. Laurel Lawrence | Canada | 2024 | 16m - introduced by A. Laurel Lawrence!
Screening times:
Friday, July 17 6:30 PM
Lino Brocka | Phillipines | 1988 | 136m
Tagalog with English subtitles
Upon losing a reliable American client, young gigolo Pol leaves his native province to try his luck in the soapy gay clubs of Manila. Lino Brocko’s Macho Dancer was heavily censored by the Filipino government after its release in 1988 and almost lost to time, but has now been fully restored from a smuggled print.
Screening times:
Sunday, July 12, 5:30 PM
Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud | 2007 | France, USA | 96m
French with English subtitles
Persepolis is an emotionally powerful, dramatically enthralling autobiographical gem. Lucid Toons screens Persepolis in remembrance of acclaimed Iranian-French cartoonist, filmmaker and activist Marjane Satrapi (1969-2026).
Screening times:
Saturday, July 11, 8:30 PM
Patricia Rozema | Canada | 1987 | 81m
An absent-minded temp with spiky orange hair and a polished, bourgeois curator build a strong connection through their love of art in this whimsical, heartfelt first feature from Patrica Rozema.
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing will be preceded by local short "The Year Long Boulder" | Brielle LeBlanc | Canada | 2022 | 9m - introduced by Brielle LeBlanc!
Screening times:
Friday, July 10, 6:30 PM
Ronald Neame | USA | 1972 | 117m
En route from New York City to Greece on New Year's Eve, majestic passenger ship the S.S. Poseidon is overtaken by a tidal wave. The Poseidon Adventure exemplifies the disaster film done right, going down smoothly with ratcheting tension and a terrific ensemble to give the peril a distressingly human dimension.
Screening times:
Thursday, July 9, 8:45 PM - followed by filmmaker Q&A!
Avalon Fast | Canada | 2025 | 111m
Emily is the cause of two devastating tragedies in her life. At her dad’s suggestion, she becomes a counsellor at a camp for troubled youth. Emily stands at the forefront of a new kind of life, but a voice calls out from the woods that she can’t seem to ignore.
Screening times:
Friday, June 12, 6:30 PM
Sunday, June 28, 5:30 PM
Ildikó Enyedi | Germany, France, Hungary | 2025 | 147m
German with English subttiles
Tony Leung and and Léa Seydoux star in this gentle epic that revolves around an ancient Gingko tree on the campus of a medieval German university.
Screening times:
Sunday, June 28, 2:30 PM
"Pop-up cinema: how this unconventional theatre brings people together in Halifax"
Gareth Wasylynko | Canada | 2026 | 5m
This short documentary will precede a 60-minute Open Community Consultation moderated by Carbon Arc Managing Director Alice Body and Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE) director (and Carbon Arc Strategic Planning Consultant) Sonya Yokota William. Please note seating limited, reserve your free ticket now!
Screening times:
Saturday, June 27, 8:30 PM
The Wachowskis | USA | 2008 | 135m
Speed Racer is a young and brilliant racing driver. When corruption in the racing leagues costs his brother his life, Speed must team up with his family and the mysterious Racer X to bring an end to the corruption and criminal activities.
Screening times:
Thursday, June 18, 6:30 PM - followed by post-screening conversation with Carbon Arc programmer Joseph Jung!
Saturday, June 27, 5:45 PM - followed by post-screening conversation with Carbon Arc programmer Joseph Jung!
Chie Hayakawa | Japan | 2025 | 119m
In Japanese with English subtitles
In 1987 Tokyo, a quirky and sensitive 11-year-old girl copes with a terminally-ill father and meets a string of lonely, imperfect adults nudging her towards embracing the truth of what is happening in a tender, sometimes unsettling portrait of childhood grief.
Screening times:
Sunday, June 21, 7:45 PM
Friday, June 26, 9:00 PM
Grace Glowicki | Canada | 2026 | 84m
A lonely Gravedigger who stinks of corpses finally meets her dream man, but their whirlwind affair is cut short when he tragically drowns at sea. A Hellifax Horror fest hit comes alive again at Carbon Arc.
Screening times:
Saturday, June 13, 6:00 PM
Friday, June 26, 6:30 PM
Kamal Aljafari | Palestine, Germany, Switzerland, France. Qatar | 2025 | 106 min
Arabic with English subtitles
Three videotapes of life in Gaza from 2001 were rediscovered. What starts as Kamal Aljafari’s search for a former prison mate leads to an unexpected road trip through Gaza with Hasan, collecting images from places that are now unrecognisable.
Screening times:
Sunday, June 21, 5:30 PM
Thursday, June 25, 6:30 PM - followed by Q&A with Alan Bateman, son of Robert Bateman!
Alison Reid | Canada | 2026 | 90m
In 1957, world renowned wildlife artist, Robert Bateman and spirited biologist, Bristol Foster embark on a global expedition in a Land Rover called "The Grizzly Torque" setting in motion a powerful story of environmental activism.
Screening times:
Saturday, June 20, 8:30 PM
The Wachowskis | Canada | USA | 1996 | 136m
Neo believes that Morpheus, an elusive figure considered to be the most dangerous man alive, can answer his question: What is the Matrix?
Screening times:
Friday, June 5, 6:30 PM
Saturday, June 20, 6:00 PM
Faith Akin | Canada | 2026 | 93m
German with English subtitles
In 1945 Amrum Island, 12-year-old Nanning hunts seals, fishes at night, and farms to help feed his family. Life feels idyllic on this windswept isle until peace reveals an unexpected danger closer to home.
Screening times:
Friday, June 19, 9:00 PM
Joseph Khan | USA | 2012 | 95m
Co-written by Halifax's own Mark Palermo!
Detention (2011) is a meta-horror, sci-fi comedy that follows a group of eccentric high schoolers in Grizzly Lake whose prom night turns deadly when their classmate is murdered by "Cinderhella," an iconic movie killer brought to life. The teens are trapped in a school-wide detention and must figure out the killer's identity before they—and the world—are destroyed.
Screening times:
Thursday, June 11, 6:30 PM
Friday, June 19, 6:30 PM
Adam Carter Rehmeier | USA | 2026 | 105m
Caroline (Samara Weaving) skips her smalltown with a charismatic con man. They Bonnie and Clyde their way through the Southeast leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Screening times:
Sunday, June 14, 5:30 PM
Michael Arias | Japan | 2006 | 103m
Japanese with English subtitles
Black, a boy who seeks to bend the city to his will through strength, and White, his innocent counterpart, are two orphaned street kids living in the slums of Treasure Town. When real estate developers threaten to transform the city into a massive theme park, their very existence is put at risk.
Screening times:
Saturday, June 13, 8:30 PM
The Wachowskis | USA | 1996 | 104m
While Corky, a tough ex-convict, is working on an apartment renovation she meets the dangerous couple living next door: Caesar, a paranoid mobster, and Violet, his seductive girlfriend, who is immediately attracted to her. Unbelievable sexual chemistry ensues.
Screening times:
Sunday, June 7, 5:30 PM
Various directors & countries | 2025 | 108m
Don’t miss some of the world’s most entertaining, inspirational and humorous commercials from around the world! The Globe and Mail presents the latest winning ads from the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Screening times:
Saturday, June 6, 9:00 PM - SOLD OUT!
Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Canada | 2001 | 122m
French with English subtitles
Amélie is a fanciful comedy about a young woman who discretely orchestrates the lives of the people around her, creating a world exclusively of her own making.
Screening times:
Saturday, June 6th, 6:00 PM
Genki Kawamura | Japan | 2026 | 95 m
Japanese with English subtitles
A man trapped in a endless sterile subway passageway sets out to find Exit 8. The rules of his quest are simple: do not overlook anything out of the ordinary. If you discover an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you don’t, carry on. Then leave from Exit 8. But even a single oversight will send him back to the beginning. Will he ever reach his goal and escape this infinite corridor?
Screening times:
Thursday, June 4, 6:30 PM
Director Mathieu Denis attending!
Mathieu Denis | Canada | 2025 | 116m
French with English subtitles
Facing financial hardship and craving prosperity, a family man takes progressively darker actions in his desperate pursuit of a better life.
We are closed for the 20th annual Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival!
HIFF takes place 27-30 May, 2026! Carbon Arc will reopen the following week <3
HIFF happens at Bus Stop Theatre on Gottingen St. Tickets here: https://www.hiff.ca/
