PERSPECTIVE FILM SERIES

Perspective is a monthly film series that reflects on the ways in which the political is articulated through cinema and moving image practices. The selected films, which range from feature-length films to documentary films, attempt to dismantle dominant narratives and frameworks, looking at how independent cinema has historically addressed (and continues to address) the enduring legacies of colonial violence. By bringing in local speakers for some of the screenings, we hope to nurture a broader engagement with the various communities of Calgary, exploring the ways in which the global and the hyperlocal are intertwined.

Curated by associate curator Muriel N. Kahwagi, the 2026 edition of Perspective is conceived as a sustained meditation on disaster in its broadest and most resonant terms. While ecological catastrophe remains a central point of reference, the series extends beyond literal scenarios of environmental collapse or speculative visions of planetary ruin, approaching disaster as a condition that permeates both collective structures and private lives, unfolding across social, political, and emotional terrains. In this sense, disaster is understood not only as a single event, but as an ongoing state – slow, uneven, and often normalized through systems of power, habit, and belief. The films in this series examine how moments of crisis reshape perception and behaviour, revealing fractures in meaning, and reflecting on the ways in which hope may persist long after the moment of rupture has passed.