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.

The 2025 edition of Perspective is curated by Muriel N. Kahwagi, associate curator at Contemporary Calgary. Drawing on Calgary's proximity to the Bow and Elbow rivers and the role that each of them plays in the city, the series considers the ways in which bodies of water are used and weaponized as markers of land, becoming sites through which power is negotiated, practiced, and enacted. Featuring filmic works from a wide range of geographies and genres – including ethnographic films and artists' films – this year's edition reflects on water as a site of refuge; as a means to an escape; and as a character in and of itself.