Spotlight: Cinéfest Sudbury 2025

Violence is a ferocious, neon-drenched punk thriller set in an alternate 1980s. Henry Violence, a reformed junkie, returns to his hometown determined to help the love of this life escape and get clean. Instead, his arrival sparks a night of blood, betrayal and shifting loyalties. As he navigates rival gangs, corrupt kingpins and the city’s rotting underbelly, Henry is pulled into a brutal choice between vengeance, revolution and the violent path that has defined him. Violence was filmed in Greater Sudbury, Ontario.

Features: Greg Bryk, Joris Jarsky, Jasmin Kar, David Lewis, Asher Rose, Tomaso Sanelli; Stunt Coordinators: Blair Johannes, Don Stockford

Premieres Friday, September 19 at 9:15 p.m.

A fateful encounter with the police propels two estranged friends to reevaluate their relationship, in Eva Thomas’ thoughtful and urgent debut.

Featuring: Star Slade, Ellyn Jade, Amanda Brugel, Shawn Doyle, Billy Merasty, Gail Maurice, David Reale, Thomas-Dylan Cook, Jennifer Podemski

Premieres Sunday, September 14 at 12:30 p.m.

Standing just 4’ 5” from a genetic bone condition, Will (Moniz) could never compete in the sport he always loved: racewalking. After struggling to find his place as a coach, Will’s fortunes finally change when he meets Matt Mackenzie (Claydon), a burnout MLB pitcher with the most impeccable racewalking stride he’s ever seen.

Featuring: Robbie Amell, Ryan Blakely, Greg Bryk, Kevin Claydon, Rebekah Miskin, Phil Moniz, Jessica Salguiero; Stunt Coordinator: Don Stockford

Premieres Sunday, September 14 at 2:30 p.m.

There’s no business like show business — for Buddy and Macy Smart that means an unpredictable life in regional theatre while trying to raise their radically different sons, Lester and Derrick. Through it all, Buddy pursues his unstoppable dreams, and Macy is left to pull it all together and keep the family afloat. As the family grapples with identity and belonging, they share a humorous and heartfelt journey of self-discovery, learning the power of owning your spotlight, no matter what stage of life you’re in. Everything’s Going to Be Great was filmed in North Bay, Ontario.

Featuring: Jessica Clement, Colton Gobbo, Lindsay Leese, Doug Murray, Carolyn Joan Scott, Chick Reid; Stunt Coordinators: Mattea Kennedy, Alicia Turner, Joel Labelle

Premieres Tuesday, September 16 at 8:30 p.m.

Storyteller and store clerk Beatrice (Solomon) is completely taken by a new woman, Chani (Lafrance) who arrives in her Métis community looking to find her biological family. Beatrice decides to help Chani to spend more time with her. Meanwhile, a chorus of older women, collectively referred to as “The Grannies,” try to get Beatrice to mend things with her mom, Léonore (Maurice). Léonore’s past drinking problem had soured their relationship and Beatrice is reluctant to repair it, no matter how many years her mom has been sober. Blood Lines was filmed in North Bay.

Featuring: Dana Solomon, Derica Lafrance, Melanie Bray, Maggie Maurice, Gail Maurice, Tamara Podemski, Richard Parker

Premieres Wednesday, September 17 at 6 p.m.

When hockey prodigy Dean Youngblood joins the Hamilton Mustangs, he must face off against toxic behaviour on the ice, and within himself, to fulfill his promise and seize a shot at being drafted into the National Hockey League.

Featuring: Oluniké Adeliyi, Evan Buliung, Shawn Doyle, Allan Hawco, Dylan Hawco, Ashton James, Joris Jarsky, Emidio Lopes, Donald MacLean Jr. Alexandra McDonald, Ty Neckar, Henri Picard, Tamara Podemski, Matt Wells

Premieres Wednesday, September 17 at 7 p.m.

When Diana (Glowicki) wakes from a coma with memory loss, she and her husband seek experimental treatments at a remote facility. As the procedures intensify, their marriage is put to the test and Diana begins to question her husband’s true motives.

Featuring: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Julian Richings; Stunt Coordinators: Carl Fortin, Chris Mark

Premieres Thursday, September 18 at 4:30 p.m.

After her father is brutally murdered by a gang of assassins, a young warrior and her guardian set out through a violent dystopian future on a quest for revenge and a reckoning with her surviving family. Nobel & the Kid was filmed in North Bay, Ontario.

Featuring: Joshua Bainbridge, Lora Jayne Burke, Athena Park

Premieres Friday, September 19 at 6:30 p.m.

A mother who works for an ammunition manufacturing company is devastated when her son serving in Afghanistan is killed. Despair gives way to rage and a desire for revenge when she discovers it was a bullet from her factory that was responsible for her son’s death. Ballistic was filmed in Greater Sudbury, Ontario.

Featuring: Amanda Brugel, Enrico Colatoni, Jordan Kronis

Premieres Saturday, September 20 at 4:30 p.m.

The Kingdom of Abraxeon is under siege from The Dreadites, a mysterious horde of warriors, whose sudden appearance are rumoured to foretell the return of Nekromemnon, an ancient sorcerer long thought dead. Such times of chaos are times of fortune for men like Deathstalker, who, having broken ties with all guilds and banners, now ekes an existence from the spoils recovered in the wake of Dreadite attacks. Deathstalker was filmed in Greater Sudbury.

Featuring: Christina Orjalo, ; Stunt Coordinators: Tony Chung, Tyler James Williams

Premieres Saturday, September 20 at 9 p.m.

Fanny, a naive teenager, starts her journey to adulthood when Cécile, a mysterious refugee, is taken in by her charitable family. As the two girls develop an intense and obsessive bond, Fanny becomes captivated by Cécile’s way of navigating life, leading to an awakening of desire and jealousy. Gradually, both girls realize that the benevolent world they inhabit is not what it appears.

Featuring: Gloria Mampuya, Arnold E. Pinnock, Ronnie Rowe

Premieres Sunday, September 21 at 4 p.m.