FILM LINEUP
FIRST OF WAVE OF FILMS ANNOUNCED
Wednesday, Oct. 14
OPENING NIGHT FEATURE
Back In Black
Dir. Ron Murphy
WEDS. OCTOBER 14 | 7:00 PM | CITY CINEMA | 92 min.
WEDS. OCTOBER 14 | 7:30 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 92 min.
Ron Murphy will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A
A macabre comedy about murder in a small town where the family running the local funeral home stands to make a killing. Christopher Walken is hilarious as the foul-mouthed mortician Clyde Mortimer who bemoans the fact that people simply aren’t dying like they used to. Weighed down by the sight of Clyde and his beloved wife Autumn (Jane Curtin) having to struggle so much in their golden years, their taciturn granddaughter Sam happens upon a potential means of reversing the clan’s decline. Soon enough, people all around town are falling prey to “accidents” that help provide the Mortimer Family Funeral Home with a bounty of new clients. It’s a hilarious and sharply observed satire from the longtime director of Trailer Park Boys - Ron Murphy.
Ontario, 2026
Starring Christopher Walken, Jane Curtain, Ella Ballentine.
PEI Premiere
Thursday, Oct. 15
A Long Winter
Dir. Andrew Haigh
THURS. OCTOBER 15 | 7:00 PM | CITY CINEMA | 117 min.
Following the extraordinary emotional resonance of 2023’s All of Us Strangers, Andrew Haigh returns with a period drama occupying the liminal space between hope and acceptance. Adapted by Haigh and Colm Tóibín from the acclaimed Irish novelist’s short story, A Long Winter follows Mike, a young man on the cusp of adulthood whose life is upended when his mother disappears during the first blizzard of the season. As the search stretches from days into weeks, the onset of winter becomes inseparable from the family’s slow reckoning with the possibility that she may never return.
Canada/UK, 2026
Starring Fred Hechinger, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Kit Connor
PEI Premiere
SHORTS PROGRAM: ALTERED STATES
THURS. OCTOBER 15 | 7:30 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 86 min.
Surrender yourself to a sustained shot of genre fare. Werewolves, strange sonic frequencies, dough men and the overwhelming grief of loss all lie waiting for you in this shorts program. These are Altered States.
Walrus Inc. (Dir. Sarah Swire)
What We Feed (Dir. Eric Cerisano)
HOLIDAY (Dir. Dustin Harvey)
Flickers (Dir. Alexa Jane Jerrett)
Fish Out Of Water (Dir. Corey Nikolaus)
Noise Complaint (Dir. Julien Cloutier)
Skeptics & Believers (Dir. The Big 3)
Accismus (Dir. Brandy Marien)
Dough Man (Dir. Brittney Gavin, Amy Mielke)
Jim Queen
Dir. Marco Nguyen, Nicolas Athané
THURS. OCTOBER 15 | 9:30 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 85 min.
Thriving, shallow, and ultra-muscular, Jim Queen is the center of the Gay scene in Paris. With adoring fans, lovers, and rivals looking to him to set trends. Until a new STI hits gay men in Paris. It’s called Heterosis and those infected turn heterosexual, caring about sports, losing their muscles, and suddenly driven by the urge to breed. What follows is a raunchy, campy, unapologetically queer satire. From the opening musical number to the spoof of conversion therapy to an outrageous Trojan-horse gag and beyond, Jim Queen is a raucous delight.
Starring: Jérémy Gillet, Alex Ramirès, Shirley Souagnon
In French with English subtitles.
Atlantic Canada Premiere
Friday, Oct. 16
SHORTS PROGRAM: PRESSURE POINTS
FRI. OCTOBER 16 | 6:00 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 90 min.
The dramas of life laid bare. Some are painful, some are hiding behind false faith, and some are found through art. This shorts program showcases powerful stories about the hard pressures we face in life.
Full Circle (Dir. Anna Hopkins)
False Profits (Dir. Josiah Dyck)
Motherbaby Runs a Race (Rebecca E. Tremblay)
Sweet Pain (Dir. Jeremy Thornhill, Trilby Jeeves)
Gal Pals (Dir. Margaret Donahoe)
Swimmers (Dir. Ryan Nesbitt)
The Art of Knowing You (Dir. Dylan Duff)
THE RESIDENT (Dir. Dawn Johnston)
In The Heart Of The South
Dir. Nyla Innuksuk
FRI. OCTOBER 16 | 6:00 PM | CITY CINEMA | 94 min.
A crackling criticism of how the Canadian art world treats Indigenous artists, this psychological thriller stars Inuit actors from the series North of North. In the Heart of the South follows Yura Ivalu, the latest darling of the Toronto art world, whose virtual reality piece promises to blow your mind. Presented with a new opportunity to develop a film, she offers to lean into a traumatic story from her youth, which involves a friend who believed she was a shaman. But when that friend, Sesi, re-enters her life, Yura’s sheen of perfection in this polite society begins to show cracks.
Ontario, 2026
Starring Anna Lambe, Zorga Qaunaq, Star Slade
PEI Premiere
L’Autre (The Other)
Dir. Alexandre Franchi
FRI. OCTOBER 16 | 8:00 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 98 min
Wild delusions and genuine dangers threaten a patient recovering from cancer surgery in this visceral and darkly comedic thriller by Quebec’s Alexandre Franchi. This is a wild horror/comedy unlike anything else at the festival.
Quebec, 2026
Starring Pierre-Yves Cardinal, Karine Gonthier-Hyndman, Nahéma Ricci
In French with English subtitles.
Atlantic Canada Premiere
The Snake
Dir. Jenna MacMillan
FRI. OCTOBER 16 | 8:30 PM | CITY CINEMA | 89 min
SUSAN KENT, ROBIN DUKE, DAN PETRONIJEVIC, EMMA HUNTER, JENNA MACMILLAN, MELANI WOOD AND SHARLENE KELLY WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR A POST-SCREENING Q&A ON FRIDAY
The first PEI film ever to premiere at a major international festival comes home.
When 40-something wild child Jamie's life blows up spectacularly, leaving her newly evicted, partially single and fully unhinged, she sets out to take it back from bad boyfriends, a tyrannical mother and fair- weather friends.
Raunchy, heartfelt and full of surprises, The Snake is Jenna MacMillan's acclaimed directorial debut, written by and starring Susan Kent in a show-stopping performance that won a Special Jury Award at SXSW.
PEI, 2026
PEI Premiere
Starring Susan Kent, Jonathan Torrens, Robin Duke
Susan Kent - Winner Special Jury Award for Performance at SXSW 2026
Susan Kent - Winner Outstanding Performance at AIFF 2026
Susan Kent - Winner Best Atlantic Screenwriting at AIFF 2026
Jenna MacMillan - Winner Best Atlantic Director at AIFF 2026
SOLD OUT - ENCORE SCREENING ADDED OCT. 18
SOLD OUT
The History of Concrete
Dir. John Wilson
FRI. OCTOBER 16 | 10:00 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 100 min
A filmmaker applies lessons from a Hallmark movie writing workshop to pitch a documentary about concrete. Documentarian, humourist, and the star of HBO's HOW TO WITH JOHN WILSON, John Wilson makes his feature directorial debut with a film that is both incredibly funny and difficult to describe. As the title suggests, Wilson chronicles the history of concrete in his typical comedic style; but by the end, the building material becomes a jumping off point for a meditation on life and death.
USA, 2026
PEI Premiere
Saturday, Oct. 17
SHORTS PROGRAM: PANORAMAS
SAT. OCTOBER 17 | 2:00 PM | CITY CINEMA | 80 min.
Documentary shorts with incredible perspectives. Travel the world and meet the most interesting people featured at the festival. Meet the cowboy who found community in PEI, visit a bookstore that's open all night, or spend a day with a strange door-to-door lawn aeration salesman. You never know where you'll visit and who you'll meet in Panoramas.
Charlottetown's Cowboy (Dir. Vanessa Tignanelli)
The Powerful Sum of Every "I" (Dir. Hélène Lebon)
ᐃᒪᕐᒥᐅᑕᐃᑦ ᐆᒪᔪᑦ / Living waters (Dir. Felippe, Taloyoak Umaruliririgut Association)
Something To Hold Onto (Dir. Taylor Olson)
Flying Turns (Dir. Timothy Moore)
The Bookstore That Never Sleeps (Dir. Justin Zoras)
In The Heart Of The South (ENCORE)
Dir. Nyla Innuksuk
SAT. OCTOBER 17 | 2:00 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 94 min.
A crackling criticism of how the Canadian art world treats Indigenous artists, this psychological thriller stars Inuit actors from the series North of North. In the Heart of the South follows Yura Ivalu, the latest darling of the Toronto art world, whose virtual reality piece promises to blow your mind. Presented with a new opportunity to develop a film, she offers to lean into a traumatic story from her youth, which involves a friend who believed she was a shaman. But when that friend, Sesi, re-enters her life, Yura’s sheen of perfection in this polite society begins to show cracks.
Ontario, 2026
Starring Anna Lambe, Zorga Qaunaq, Star Slade
PEI Premiere
Captain Newfoundland
Dir. Jamie Miller, Mike Feehan
SAT. OCTOBER 17 | 4:30 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 94 min
JAMIE MILLER AND MIKE FEEHAN WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR A POST-SCREENING Q&A
Media mogul, activist, and creator of the psychedelic superhero Captain Newfoundland: Geoff Stirling is the perfect subject for a documentary. Using a blend of archival footage, animation, and fantastical recreations from Stirling's experimental 1970s late-night TV show, Captain Newfoundland, paints a robust and wildly compelling portrait of a complicated figure from Newfoundland history. A man who believed Newfoundland may’ve been the tip of the long-lost island of Atlantis.
Newfoundland, 2026
PEI Premiere
Strong Son
Dir. Ian Bawa
SAT. OCTOBER 17 | 4:30 PM | CITY CINEMA | 82 min
IAN BAWA WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR A POST-SCREENING Q&A
A bodybuilder struggles to keep it together as he cares for his elderly father in this perceptive and deeply felt drama. Between his long hours in the gym, Harvinder “Harvey” Singh is trapped between his anxiety and insecurity. He’s just returned home to Winnipeg to take care of his aging father, Jagdeep. Struggling with the role of a caregiver and undermined by his father’s very vocal opinions on manhood, Harvey is barely hanging on. Strong Son is an affecting exploration of masculinity at a time where we may need it most.
Manitoba, 2026
Starring Mandeep Sodhi, Amrit Parbhakar, Michaela Kurimsky
In English and Punjabi with English subtitles.
Atlantic Canada Premiere
Unholy Night
Dir. Michael Gabriele
SAT. OCTOBER 17 | 7:00 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 91 min
PRODUCER JENNA MACMILLAN WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR A POST-SCREENING Q&A
The horror/comedy that earned rave reviews out of Fantasia pounces on Charlottetown!
Unholy Night is an effortless blend of genres that brings the madcap energy of Evil Dead home for the holidays. Hilarious, heartfelt, and soaked in blood - there’s really nothing else like it at Anchor Fest 2026. Shot in Charlottetown and featuring an ensemble cast packed with local talent, this is a twisty holiday horror delight will surely earn a place on your Christmas movie rotation for years to come.
A family's Christmas Eve dinner becomes a nightmare as their reanimated grandmother crashes the celebration. It’s Christmas Eve, and Gino’s tight-knit Italian family can’t help but pass judgement on his life. While he struggles to keep it together, things come to a head when his reanimated nonna comes home for the holidays. In this wild and gloriously gory horror comedy, Gino and his family must work together to battle an onslaught of undead relatives and get their Christmas back on track. Shot in Charlottetown and featuring an ensemble cast packed with local talent - this is one you don’t want to miss!
PEI & Nova Scotia, 2026
Starring Marc Bendavid, Shailene Garnett, Al Sapienza
PEI Premiere
Winner Gold Audience Award for Best Canadian Feature at Fantasia 2026
Permanent Damage
Dir. Seth A Smith
SAT. OCTOBER 17 | 7:00 PM | CITY CINEMA | 85 min
SETH A. SMITH AND NANCY URICH WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR A POST-SCREENING Q&A
Permanent Damage is an electric fever dream of Maritime noir. Tommy Gods breaks out of a correctional center and stumbles onto the doorstep of the memory-impaired Mrs. Whynot. Taking advantage of her delusion that he’s her son, Tommy crashes on her couch while working off her back-rent debt to her short-fused landlord LL. Slow-burn romance begins when Tommy connects with LL’s niece, Joe, sparking a scheme to swipe LL’s prized "golden goose."This is a hypnotic slice of Maritime neo-noir that’s dripping with dread, pierced by black humor, and cut with gonzo energy that evokes the best of Harmony Korine.
Nova Scotia, 2026
Starring Stephen Dorff, Calem MacDonald, Olivia Scriven
PEI Premiere
Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney
Dir. Matthew Rankin
SAT. OCTOBER 17 | 9:30 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 105 min
A kaleidoscopic culture jam from visionary filmmaker Matthew Rankin (ChFF 2024 - Universal Language) details the rise of Canada’s 18th prime minister through a satirical collage of archival footage, television nostalgia, and national mythmaking. This weird and surreal documentary from the National Film Board needs to be seen to be believed.
Quebec, 2026
Starring Brian Mulroney, Joe Clark, Pierre Trudeau
PEI Premiere
A Safe Distance
Dir. Gloria Mercer
SAT. OCTOBER 17 | 9:30 PM | CITY CINEMA | 86 min
GLORIA MERCER AND AIDAN WEST WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR A POST-SCREENING Q&A
When unfulfilled 35-year-old Alex turns down a proposal from her long-term boyfriend during a camping trip, he abandons her in the woods. Alone and injured, Alex is rescued by Kianna and her partner Matt. As Alex warms up to the couple at their off-the-grid campsite, her curiosity unfurls into a sexual awakening. But when she starts to suspect her rescuers are responsible for a series of high-profile bank robberies, she finds herself dangerously entangled in their shifting power dynamics.
British Columbia, 2026
Starring Bethany Brown, Tandia Mercedes, Cody Kearsley
Atlantic Canada Premiere
Sunday, Oct. 18
Purgatory
Dir. Lindsay Lanzillotta
SUN. OCTOBER 18 | 2:00 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 104 min
When her mother suddenly announces that she is moving out to “self actualize”, a sheltered, suburban ‘80s tween questions her faith in everything and everyone as she tries to force things back to normal and save her family.
Newfoundland, 2026
PEI Premiere
Starring
Unholy Night (ENCORE)
Dir. Michael Gabriele
SUN. OCTOBER 17 | 7:00 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 91 min
PRODUCER JENNA MACMILLAN WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR A POST-SCREENING Q&A
The horror/comedy that earned rave reviews out of Fantasia pounces on Charlottetown!
Unholy Night is an effortless blend of genres that brings the madcap energy of Evil Dead home for the holidays. Hilarious, heartfelt, and soaked in blood - there’s really nothing else like it at Anchor Fest 2026. Shot in Charlottetown and featuring an ensemble cast packed with local talent, this is a twisty holiday horror delight will surely earn a place on your Christmas movie rotation for years to come.
A family's Christmas Eve dinner becomes a nightmare as their reanimated grandmother crashes the celebration. It’s Christmas Eve, and Gino’s tight-knit Italian family can’t help but pass judgement on his life. While he struggles to keep it together, things come to a head when his reanimated nonna comes home for the holidays. In this wild and gloriously gory horror comedy, Gino and his family must work together to battle an onslaught of undead relatives and get their Christmas back on track. Shot in Charlottetown and featuring an ensemble cast packed with local talent - this is one you don’t want to miss!
PEI & Nova Scotia, 2026
Starring Marc Bendavid, Shailene Garnett, Al Sapienza
PEI Premiere
Winner Gold Audience Award for Best Canadian Feature at Fantasia 2026
The Snake (ENCORE)
Dir. Jenna MacMillan
SUN. OCTOBER 18 | 2:00 PM | CITY CINEMA | 89 min
JENNA MACMILLAN AND SHARLENE KELLY WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR A POST-SCREENING Q&A
The smash-hit comedy that took both SXSW and AIFF by storm comes home to PEI!
This hilarious comedy was produced and filmed in Charlottetown and follows an ungovernable woman that refuses to take anyone’s shit. Jenna MacMillian’s The Snake embodies the dirtbag greasyness of Trailer Park Boys and marries it with the crass humour of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This is one that’s not to be missed!
When Jamie, a 40 something wild child collides with her venomous mother, her life blows up spectacularly leaving her newly evicted, partially single, and in bed with her best friend's husband.
PEI, 2026
PEI Premiere
Starring Susan Kent, Jonathan Torrens, Robin Duke
Susan Kent - Winner Special Jury Award for Performance at SXSW 2026
Susan Kent - Winner Outstanding Performance at AIFF 2026
Susan Kent - Winner Best Atlantic Screenwriting at AIFF 2026
Jenna MacMillan - Winner Best Atlantic Director at AIFF 2026
SHORTS PROGRAM: ABSURDITIES
SUN. OCTOBER 18 | 4:30 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 81 min.
Life is so strange that sometimes all you can do is laugh. These primarily comedic stories tackle bad Christmas gifts, scepticism and belief, making "end of life" arrangements, and… going to a shitty party on PEI. Join us for a shorts program that celebrates the absurdities of life.
Smoke Break (Dir. Eric Peterson)
Boys Night (Dir. Malcolm MacMaster)
Kasra (Faran Moradi)
SHIRT! (Mel Hennigar)
Plant Parenthood (Dir. Luise Docherty)
A Hand to Hold (Dir. Philip Clyde-Smith)
Lobster of Love (Dir. Set Shuter)
It's Harder Than You Think (Dir. Justin Rix)
Wookalark (Dir. Bailey Dockendorff)
All About The Money
Dir. Sinead O’Shea
SUN. OCTOBER 18 | 4:30 PM | CITY CINEMA | 94 min
Fergie Chambers is a man of deep contradictions. On one hand, he's the son of one of America's wealthiest families. He is young and rich enough to do whatever he wants. On the other hand, he uses that wealth to create a communist revolutionary base in rural Massachusetts as a means of disrupting the capitalist system he grew up in, but has now come to despise.
Ireland, 2026
Starring Fergie Chambers
Atlantic Canada Premiere
WORLD PREMIERE
Rite of Passage
Dir. Eliza Knockwood
SUN. OCTOBER 18 | 7:00 PM | CITY CINEMA
ELIZA KNOCKWOOD WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR A POST-SCREENING Q&A
Follows an epic paddle journey across PEI, reliving the historic paddle which the Mi’kmaq used to do for millennia and which director Eliza Knockwood’s mother did with her uncle in the 50’s to prepare her for the brutal future he saw coming.
PEI, 2026
World Premiere
The Snake (ENCORE)
Dir. Jenna MacMillan
SUN. OCTOBER 18 | 9:10 PM | CITY CINEMA | 89 min
JENNA MACMILLAN AND SHARLENE KELLY WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR A POST-SCREENING Q&A
The smash-hit comedy that took both SXSW and AIFF by storm comes home to PEI!
This hilarious comedy was produced and filmed in Charlottetown and follows an ungovernable woman that refuses to take anyone’s shit. Jenna MacMillian’s The Snake embodies the dirtbag greasyness of Trailer Park Boys and marries it with the crass humour of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This is one that’s not to be missed!
When Jamie, a 40 something wild child collides with her venomous mother, her life blows up spectacularly leaving her newly evicted, partially single, and in bed with her best friend's husband.
PEI, 2026
PEI Premiere
Starring Susan Kent, Jonathan Torrens, Robin Duke
Susan Kent - Winner Special Jury Award for Performance at SXSW 2026
Susan Kent - Winner Outstanding Performance at AIFF 2026
Susan Kent - Winner Best Atlantic Screenwriting at AIFF 2026
Jenna MacMillan - Winner Best Atlantic Director at AIFF 2026
Castration Movie Chapter iii.ii
Junior Ghosts—Premorphic Drift; a fragmentary passage
Dir. Louise Weard
SUN. OCTOBER 18 | 9:30 PM | TIVOLI CINEMA | 127 min
Focused on one segment that will make up the final five-hour film, Castration Movie Anthology Volume 3, a fragmentary passage follows Izzy (Avalon Fast) as she does everything in her power to stop her partner (Henri Gillespi) from transitioning. Haunting and anxious, the film explores the unrelenting violence transwomen are subjected to in an increasingly unforgiving and brutal world. The film is uncomfortable but also radiates a defiant, unabashed honesty that feels transcendent rather than apologetic. Rather than a purity test, the Castration Movie Anthology operates as a kind of blood pact: how far are you willing to go for what you believe in, and what are you willing to do to become your authentic self?
British Columbia, 2026
Starring Avalon Fast, Henri Gillespi
Atlantic Canada Premiere