With 2022 coming to a close, Films We Like is looking back on an incredible year. Not only have cinemas re-opened, and our favourite films festivals have returned to in-person screenings and events, but we have also acquired and released some fantastic films!

For December, we have decided to highlight our favorite titles that we have acquired and released in 2022. Including impactful films from prolific auteurs, first time features from brilliant new directors, and incisive and touching docs and arthouse hits, our #LookingBack collection is bound to excite and challenge filmgoers from all walks and tastes.

FIRST TIME DIRECTORS

ANONYMOUS CLUB (2021)

The first feature from long-time music video director Danny Cohen, ANONYMOUS CLUB delivers an up-close and personal look at the critically acclaimed and typically cloistered singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett.

THE AUTOMAT (2021)

Unpacking the 100-year history of restaurant chain Horn & Hardart, first-time director Lisa Hurwitz’s THE AUTOMAT details the restaurant’s rise and fall by way of interviews with its famous customers like Mel Brooks and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

FILMS FROM OUR FAVE DIRECTORS

NO BEARS (2022)

The latest film from the recently jailed and tireless political critic Jafar Panahi, NO BEARS portrays two parallel love stories. In both, the lovers are troubled by hidden, inevitable obstacles, the force of superstition and the mechanics of power.

EO (2022)

Director of cult-favourite THE SHOUT, Jerzy Skolimowski’s touching new film EO follows its titular character, a donkey, as he moves through life experiencing joy, pain, good-luck, and tragedy. EO is Poland’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2023 Academy Awards.

TALES FROM THE GIMLI HOSPITAL REDUX (1988)

Originally released in 1988 and recently restored, TALES FROM THE GIMLI HOSPITAL REDUX finally brings the debut feature of Guy Maddin, one of Canada’s most acclaimed filmmakers, back to the big-screen in stunning 4K.

OUTSTANDING DOCS

RIOTSVILLE, U.S.A. (2022)

Comprised entirely of archival footage, Sierra Pettengill’s RIOTSVILLE, U.S.A. dissects the numerous rebellions and social upheavals of the 1960’s by turning its gaze towards the Johnson administration’s Kerner Commission, and the resulting explosion in spending on policing by the US government.

LET THERE BE DRUMS! (2022)

Give the drummer some! LET THERE BE DRUMS! is a deeply personal doc from Justin Kreutzmann, son of The Grateful Dead’s drummer and founding member Bill Kreutzmann, that explores the accomplishments and challenges of some of the world’s most renowned drummers, and the intergenerational role that art, music, and drums play in everyday life.

GEOGRAPHIES OF SOLITUDE (2022)

Shot on 16mm, the latest award-winning feature from Cape Breton-born and Montreal based director Jacquelyn Mills immerses its viewers in the astounding eco-system of Sable Island, Nova Scotia, guided by environmentalist and decades-long resident Zoe Lucas.

WHEN FLOWERS ARE NOT SILENT (2021)

Equal parts heart-wrenching and eye opening, Andrei Kutsila’s WHEN THE FLOWERS ARE NOT SILENT details the aftermath of the civil unrest that gripped Belarus following its widely disputed 2020 election, by way of the stories of several women who were caught up in the protests.

BURT’S BUZZ (2014)

Focusing on the intriguing life of Burt Shavitz, this intimate doc from Canadian director and producer Jody Shapiro looks at how life and business collided for the man that would found and become the face of Burt’s Bees.

ARTHOUSE HITS

WE ARE LIVING THINGS (2021)

Solomon and Chuyao, two immigrants living in NYC are brought together by their preoccupation with UFOs and set off on a cross-country road trip in search of truth in Antonio Tibaldi’s Slamdance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-nominated WE ARE LIVING THINGS.

THE PASSENGERS OF THE NIGHT (2022)

As her marriage comes to an end, Elisabeth begins to work a late-night radio station, where she meets a troubled teenager that she takes under her wing, who will impact Elisabeth and her family in ways she could have never expected. Mikhaël Hers’ Golden Bear-nominated THE PASSENGERS OF THE NIGHT is a poignant film about family, human connection, and hope.

MADELEINE COLLINS (2021)

Living a double life with two families in different countries, Judith begins to crack under professional and personal pressure, and eventually goes on the run, with her dual lives spiralling out of control in Antoine Barraud’s 2021 Venice Film Festival competitor MADELEINE COLLINS.

RABIYE KURNAZ VS. GEORGE W. BUSH (2022)

An inspiring biopic, Andreas Dresen’s RABIYE KURNAZ VS. GEORGE W. BUSH, which won the Silver Bear at the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival, tells the story of how one mother fights to have her son released from Guantanamo Bay, launching the Turkish housewife from her home in Bremen, Germany, to the US Supreme Court and onto the world stage.

PACIFICTION (2022)

In Albert Serra’s Palm D’Or nominated and 2022 Louis-Delluc Award winning PACIFICTION, an French diplomat in Tahiti must navigate his relationships with the political establishment and the island’s residents amidst rumours of appearances of a mysterious submarine, and fears that the French government will resume nuclear testing on the Polynesian island.

COMING IN 2023

SAINT OMER (2022)

In France’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2023 Academy Awards, a young novelist named Rama travels to the titular city of Saint-Omer to attend the trial of Laurence Coly, a young immigrant accused of leaving her 15-month old daughter on the shores of the North Atlantic to be swept away by the sea. Winner of the Silver Lion at the 2022 Venice Film Festival and the 2022 Louis-Delluc award, Alice Diop’s SAINT OMER will challenge and enthral viewers.

METRONOM (2022)

Set during 1972 in Bucharest, in the midst of Ceauşescu’s reign over Romania, 17 year-old Ana writes to the eponymous and clandestine radio program Metronom, unwittingly drawing the attention of the secret police of her despotic home, and irrevocably changing her life. Winner of the prestigious Un Certain Regard award at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Alexandru Belc’s METRONOM is an impactful portrayal of youth and love under tyranny.

THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS (2022)

From Academy Award winning director Felix van Groeningen, THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS follows the lives of Pietro, a boy from the city, and Bruno, a boy from a remote mountain-side village, as they forge a lasting friendship before drifting in and out of each others lives. The latest film from one of Belgium’s greatest auteurs and the winner of the Jury Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, is at once touching and heart breaking.

GODLAND (2022)

Hlynur Pálmason’s GODLAND tells the story of a 19th century Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland with the intention of erecting a church and photographing the area’s people. What begins as a simple mission soon becomes an existential battle for the priest, as his purpose and morality are challenged.