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.
Fremont, California, known for having the largest Afghan diaspora in the US, is home to Donya (Anaita Wali Zada), a young woman and former translator for the U.S. Army. Every morning she commutes to San Francisco’s Chinatown where she works at a fortune cookie factory. Despite friendly coworkers and an unusually supportive boss, her discontent is palpable. While seeing an earnest psychiatrist (Gregg Turkington) for insomnia, whose “bibliotherapy” approach wavers in helping Donya make sense of her trauma, she sets off on a road trip that results in an awkward yet sweet encounter with a mechanic (Jeremy Allen White). The film’s saturnine atmosphere, intensified by stoic black-and-white cinematography, is softened by deadpan humour, earning comparisons to Jim Jarmusch, Aki Kaurismäki, and Paweł Pawlikowski. Challenging American dream platitudes, Fremont presents an unsensational depiction of PTSD and survivor’s guilt that is complicated by longing for companionship and a less monotonous life. Welcoming remarks by Dr. Lakshmi N. Yatham and Dr. Catherine Hickey. Post-screening discussion with Dr. Martina Scholtens. Co-sponsored by the Canadian Psychiatric Association
Seven climate scientists sign up for a group therapy session facilitated by therapist Richard Beck…In order to cope with increased existential anxiety and fear, Beck’s therapy session makes clear that human connection is necessary—for climatologists and everyday citizens alike. Post-screening discussion with Dr. Rashmi Chadha and Dr. Kai Irani.. Co-sponsored by
While straining to emotionally connect with those around her, a young woman named Cora experiences debilitating and painful allergic reactions to food. Looking for answers to her medical mystery, Cora discovers Sun Haven, an isolated community practicing breatharianism—the pseudoscientific belief that humans can survive solely on light and air.