Screening times:
Thursday, May 14, 6:30 PM
Sunday, May 24, 5:30 PM

Sophy Romvari | Canada, Hungary | 2025 | 91m
English, Hungarian with English subtitles

In the late 1990s, a Hungarian immigrant family relocate to Vancouver Island. Their new life is interrupted by increasingly disturbing behaviour from Jeremy, the oldest child. The complex dynamics at play are slowly revealed through the eyes of the family’s youngest, Sasha.

“It’s true I spent a lot of my life angry at him, the older I get, the less it feels like I knew him at all… Thank you for the memories. They’re all I have now.” The opening lines from Sophy Romvari’s debut feature about memory and grief only hint at the depth and surprise of this extraordinary film.

Mixing a child’s eye view and an adult’s attempt at reckoning with the past, Blue Heron builds on events and themes in Romvari’s own life. In an interview with the CBC she states: “So Blue Heron is about trying to remember, but also accepting the fact that I can’t—not really. You can re-create the memory, but it’s fading and hard to grasp onto. I realized while making the movie that it wasn’t about accuracy—it’s more like a simulacrum, which is why I consider the movie a work of fiction.”

“A reminder of the power of filmmaking to turn the deeply personal into relatable art, and an announcement of a major talent, one who has made the best film of the year to date." - Brian Tallerico RogerEbert.com

“The most emotionally devastating film of the year — and also perhaps the most comforting.” - Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire

“A lyrical study of the twisting nature of memory and the lasting impact of childhood trauma," - Nikki Baughan, Screen Daily

Winner: Swatch First Feature Award, Locarno Film Festival, 2025
Winner: Best Canadian Film Discovery, Toronto International Film Festival, 2025
Winner: Best First Feature, Toronto Film Critics Association, 2025

Tickets $12 ($11.40 at the door if available)