Shadowbox বাক্স বন্দি
Wednesday, May 20, 2026 7:00pm
India/France/USA/Spain 2025. Director Tanushree Das, Saumyananda Sahi
Since his dishonourable discharge from the military, Sundar has been unemployed and spends his days drinking. Struggling with his mental health, Sundar becomes a neighbourhood outcast thanks to his obsession with frogs and antisocial behaviour, leaving Debu confused and embarrassed. When Sundar mysteriously disappears and his friend turns up dead, Maya’s resolve is put to the test as she’s forced to confront the reality of his undiagnosed, potentially dangerous condition. Post-screening discussion with Dr. Biju Mathew and Dr. Rajasree Nadella.
Cleaning to save my life” is the opening refrain of Paul’s social media reels. Paul, a 34-year-old content creator from Montreal, is a self-described “simp”—a person, typically a man, who provides devoted servitude to another person, often a love interest. Struggling with being overweight and emerging from ten years of depression, Paul openly enjoys submissive experiences based on cleaning.
Holle (Jenny Schily), a therapist and spiritual healer who supports clients with a range of health problems, is faced with the pressure of having to care for her elderly parents and her older brother Sven, who has schizophrenia. Sven has been living in his parents’ attic for years, but is deeply uninterested in the family’s affairs, preferring a life of solitude. When Holle’s mother is hospitalized after a fall, contingency planning care for Sven gains urgency
“Our elders teach us that autism is a gift. Autistic people are seen as connected to the spirit world. They are ‘sewâtsiwin’ or ‘sacred,’” says Dr. Grant Bruno, a member of Samson Cree Nation and an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta.
In the 1980s, disability rights advocate Elizabeth Bouvia made headlines in America when she sought the right to die. Bouvia, who lived with cerebral palsy and severe arthritis, insisted her quality of life was so low it was no longer worth living—sparking a debate about whether disabled people should be given the right to choose death over treatment. Provoked by Bouvia’s history, award-winning director Reid Davenport sets out on a personal investigation from Texas to Ontario, where he meets disabled people who contemplate the thin line between empowered decision and coerced resolve. Post-screening discussion with Dr. Peter Chan.