The Alabama Solution-Inside the Prison system

 

THE ALABAMA SOLUTION

The Alabama Solution
Directed & Produced by Andrew Jarecki & Charlotte Kaufman

Academy Award® Nominee
Documentary Feature Film

Trailer: https://youtu.be/xRNND_uve8I?si=KgskxOpwkaTxmKyy

Website: Film - The Alabama Solution

Watch on HBO Max

2025 - 1hr 57 min.

The Alabama Solution is an upsetting but necessary documentary that you need to watch. What begins as a routine 2019 visit to an Alabama prison by filmmakers Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman turns into something far more pressing. Off camera, incarcerated men pull them aside and tell them terrible things are happening here, and no one on the outside is supposed to know. The secret warning turns into a six‑year investigation into one of the most horrifying and neglected prison systems in the United States.

The film’s strength comes from its unprecedented access and the raw footage captured on contraband cell phones. Through these recordings, the filmmakers uncover a suspicious and brutal death. This death is not the exception, as they soon find out. As they investigate, what emerges is a picture of a system of brutality, corruption, and institutional collapse.

The violence isn't sensationalized; instead, it reveals the everyday reality of people trapped inside a structure that doesn't care about them. The contrast between the state’s PR statements and the inmates’ lived experiences is striking.

What makes this film compelling is that, beyond the exposé, it centers the people who refuse to be ignored or erased. Despite the risks, incarcerated men organize, document, and speak out, building a grassroots campaign for survival and accountability. Their courage becomes the emotional core of the film, shifting it from a story of suffering to one of resistance.

This is not just a film about a broken prison system—it’s a film about the cost of indifference. It forces viewers to take a hard look at the human consequences of neglect and corruption, and it challenges the idea that what happens behind prison walls is somehow separate from the rest of society.

The Alabama Solution is a difficult watch, but an essential one. It exposes a hidden crisis with clarity, compassion, and urgency, giving voice to people who have been systematically silenced and forcing viewers to confront a reality that can no longer be ignored.

Participants:  Melvin Ray, Robert Earl Council, Ricardo Poole and Sandy Ray

ANDRE IS AN IDIOT or is he?

ANDRE IS AN IDIOT

Directed by Tony Benna

Produced by André Ricciardi
Tory Tunnell
Stelio Kitrilakis
Joshua Altman
Ben Cotner

Runtime: 88 minutes    Language: English

Instagram: @andreisanidiotfilm

Website: https://andre.ajointventure.com/

How do you make Cancer look funny?  You view it through Andre Ricciardi's eyes.

This is Andre Ricciardi's story, beginning after he received a Cancer diagnosis and looking back to the choices he made that led him to this life-altering news.

Andre’s career was in advertising, so he built a life around looking at things from odd angles to sell products. This time, though, he’s turning that lens on himself.

Andre’s best friend, Lee, suggested they get partner colonoscopies—an idea Andre immediately dismissed as weird. Lee went ahead on his own and got the all‑clear. Cut to a year later: Andre finally books his colonoscopy, expecting it to be routine so he can get on with his life. But life has a way of redirecting everything. He receives a colon cancer diagnosis and realizes that if he had listened to his friend a year earlier, he might have caught it at a much earlier stage. That’s when it hits him: he’d been an idiot.

Andre is eccentric, darkly funny, and a little warped in the best way. He collects random objects, reads voraciously, and is constantly filled with creative ideas. When he’s faced with his diagnosis, he decides to document his own decline—with Lee joining him on every ridiculous, heartfelt, and chaotic adventure along the way.

Andre's hair is almost a character in this story as you witness it go from crazy to normal to wtf?

This is the best film I’ve seen about what it’s actually like to go through terminal cancer because it’s both painfully real and genuinely hilarious. Andre is brutally honest and somehow manages to hold onto hope, even in the hardest moments.

He’s an oddball paired with a wonderfully normal, deeply supportive wife and family. His wife originally married him as a joke to get citizenship, but she stayed—and together they built a life that’s as unconventional as it is loving.

Cancer is everywhere these days, and stories like this matter. This film shows that even in the midst of treatment, fear, and uncertainty, it’s still possible to live fully, love deeply, and keep your relationships strong.

Release Date: March 6th in Theatres

Threshold-Resilience and Fragility

 THRESHOLD

Directed by: Lars Brinkema and Torsten Brinkema
Featuring: Olympic Gold medalist cross-country skier Jessie Diggins

Executive Producer: Torsten Brinkema, Patrick Dempsey
Producer: Mark Steele, Samantha Taylor

Music by: Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore

THRESHOLD follows Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins—the most decorated American cross‑country skier in history—as she confronts the struggle behind her perfect smile: an invisible eating disorder that begins to take over her life at the height of her career.

This feature documentary is not a traditional sports film. It’s an intimate, behind‑the‑scenes look at the pressure to be the best, the stigma surrounding eating disorders, and the long, nonlinear road to recovery. The access is so personal that you feel as though you’re standing inside her support circle, witnessing the emotional weight carried by Jessie and the people who care for her. The film exposes the complexity of a disorder that hides behind a polished façade yet remains widely misunderstood and underrepresented on screen.

Set over the course of a single peak season, THRESHOLD moves fluidly between past and present to uncover the roots of Jessie’s struggle. Present‑day footage with Jessie and the U.S. Ski Team is interwoven with formative moments from her early career, tracing her relentless pursuit of perfection—and the belief that controlling her body was essential to success.

As the season intensifies, the harder she pushes, the sicker she becomes. A serious injury forces Jessie to confront the ways she has been trying to control her life, and she must fight to regain her health if she hopes to continue competing in the sport she loves.

This is ultimately a story about the pursuit of perfection and the sacrifices made along the way. By revealing her vulnerability, Jessie offers a lifeline to others who face the same daily battle. Many people with this disorder suffer in silence; her story shows that relapse is not failure and that asking for help is an act of strength. Through the difficult work of recovery, she reclaims her health and her dreams, continuing in the sport she loves while advocating for mental health, athlete well‑being, and a more holistic culture within elite athletics.

Where to watch:  Peacock, Prime Video and Apple TV

The Voice of Hind Rajab- A race to save a child in real time

THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB

Website: https://www.thevoiceofhindrajabfilm.com/home/.

Tunisia, France | 2025 | 89m | Arabic, English

Directed by: Kaouther Ben Hania

Starring:

• Saja Kilani
• Motaz Malhees
• Amer Hlehel
• Clara Khoury

On January 29, 2024, the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of a Gaza neighbourhood. A family got into their car to flee their nearby home, but they didn’t make it far before their vehicle was riddled with military gunfire.

This docu‑drama tells the true story of a 6‑year‑old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, who became trapped in that car after the attack that killed every family member with her. She called first responders for help, and the film follows the real‑time sequence of events as the Palestine Red Crescent Society tried everything they could to reach her while she remained on the phone, surrounded by ongoing military fire. Hind tells the responders that her family is “sleeping” and that her mother isn’t with them.

What gives the film its extraordinary emotional force is its grounding in real events and real audio. Every call we hear comes directly from the Palestine Red Crescent Society—and the small, trembling voice on the line belongs to Hind herself.

While Hind is on the phone, three responders at the Red Crescent office—Motaz Malhees, Toronto’s own Saja Kilani, and Clara Khoury—take turns speaking to the terrified child. Their collective fear grows with every passing minute. They struggle to contain emotions that swing from anger to helplessness to heartbreak as she pleads to be rescued. Meanwhile, their supervisor (Amer Hlehel) battles layers of bureaucracy, trying to secure permission to dispatch paramedics safely. An ambulance is only eight minutes away, yet faces an insurmountable series of obstacles on the way.

The responders try everything, clinging to hope that they can reach her in time. But tragically, they never do—and the entire team is devastated by the system’s failure to save her.

Notably, during filming, the actors repeated nearly every line spoken by their real‑life counterparts. In their earpieces, they heard Hind’s actual voice—just as the audience does. Hind herself is only seen in a single smiling photograph and brief archival footage of her playing in the Gaza sand.

Accolades:

• Premiered at Venice 2025 and received a 23‑minute standing ovation
• Won the Silver Lion and six parallel awards
• Official Selection at TIFF50 The Voice of Hind Rajab
• Became a 2026 Golden Globe nominee for Best Motion Picture (Non‑English Language)
• Academy Award nominee for 2026 for Best International Feature Film representing Tunisia

Pike River- 29 families bonded forever

 PIKE RIVER

New Zealand // Drama // English // 138 minutes // 2:39:1  Not Rated  // US Release January 30, 2025 // Website: Brainstorm Media

Directed by: ROBERT SARKIES

November 19, 2010 at Pike River coal mine on New Zealand's West Coast, 29 families' lives were permanently changed.  29 Miners were trapped in the Pike River Mine explosion that could have been prevented if the people in charge had chosen people over profits.

This film is based on a true story and the trauma bond that was developed by Anna Osborne (Melanie Lynskey) and Sonya Rockhouse (Robyn Malcolm) after enduring a lengthy fight to get the mine opened so that they could get Anna's husband, Milt, and Sonya's youngest son, Ben.  A media frenzy developed as people watched the two women lead the fight to save their husbands or, inevitably, to get their relatives to honor them with proper burials.  The world watched in horror as the company fought to hide the truth and the women fought to uncover it.

After a very lengthy court and cancer battle for Anna, the truth was finally revealed, and they received a bittersweet ending to the fight of their lives.

Great performances by Lynskey and Rockhouse.  This film really demonstrates how lifelong friendships develop when people are fighting for the same righteous outcomes.  It's also sad to see how a company's bottom line has consequences for the people who risk their lives every day to put food on their families' tables.

These films are a reminder to be careful about your choices in life and to appreciate the people in your life while you can, because anything can change in an instant.

This is a slow-paced but building film that feels like a documentary and has that tense feel that comes across the screen from the hearts of the families in the film.

Also of note, Lucy Lawless plays Helen, who was the president of the Federation of Trade Unions from 2007 to 2015. 

30 Families have been fighting for justice for over 14 years. 

I hope their fight spares other mining‑town families from enduring the same hardships. Mining remains one of the most dangerous professions, and workers deserve every safety measure available to protect them.

Here is the link to the Trailer: 

https://youtu.be/0Wk4lTU8vKk?si=HHVrpZ-n-trE9FLP

Dead Man's Wire-who is the victim or criminal?

 

    DEAD MAN'S Wire

Directed by Gus Van Sant

Run time: 1hr 45 min.  Rated: R

Cast:

Bill Skarsgard

Dacre Montgomery

Al Pacino

Colman Domingo

Trailer: https://youtu.be/tklpX2Ba8NQ?si=S2zmbKwCl6bh2sdk

Canadian Release date: January 16, 2026

 Based on real events, the 1977 abduction of a high‑profile banker ignites national attention and unexpectedly transforms the kidnapper into a rebellious folk hero. As the media frenzy intensifies, the unfolding standoff morphs into a gripping display of desperation, defiance, and morality—an unsettling portrait of the justice system and the media that makes you question who the victim really is in the situation, and one that still echoes in the current times.

On February 8, 1977, Tony Kiritsis (Skarsgård) storms into Meridian Mortgage, convinced that the company ruined his chance at his American Dream. With the owner, M.L. Hall (Pacino), vacationing in Florida, Tony snaps and takes Hall’s son Richard (Montgomery) hostage, wiring him to a shotgun (dead man’s wire) in a desperation to get justice and his money.

The next 63 hours explode into a media spectacle, a charged police standoff, and a shocking wave of public support for Tony, who becomes an unlikely working‑class hero. Along the way, a laid‑back radio DJ (Domingo), an eager young TV reporter (Myha’la), and a calm cop (Cary Elwes) get dragged into the chaos.

Packed with ’70s flair—from Roberta Flack’s “Compared to What” to Yes’s “I’ve Seen All Good People”—the film feels both retro and eerily relevant.  The film transports you back to the 70's with the look and sounds.

*The real standoff is still taught in media ethics classes today as a warning about how easily journalists can escalate a volatile situation.

The performances were fantastic and chilling.  The brink of insanity by Skarsgård, the cold, intense performance by Pacino, who is only in the film for a short time, but is crucial to Tony's mental health.  Also, the outwardly calm but inwardly terrified performance of Montgomery is a demonstration of character.

What worries me about this film, even though it's based on real events, is the fact that it's been seen in current times, where you see people snap on a dime and are inspired by extreme events.  I hope that this doesn't inspire copycats to do the same thing.

This film screened at TIFF50 and was one of the films I had noted on my blog picks, but I didn't have a chance to see it during the festival.

A Private Life- A psychological murder mystery in Paris

 A PRIVATE LIFE

Director Rebecca Zlotowski

Writers Anne Berest, Rebecca Zlotowski, Gaelle Mace

Starring Jodie Foster, Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira

A Private Life (Vie privée), is an unexpected psychological murder-mystery thriller set in Paris.

The film debuted at Cannes in 2025 and was a Gala film at TIFF 2025.

An American in Paris… but not the way you expect

There’s a familiar ring to the phrase “an American in Paris,” but this film refuses to follow the romantic, whimsical path that cliché usually promises. Instead, it drops us into a psychological labyrinth led by Jodie Foster, who delivers a psychological, layered performance as Lilian Steiner, an American psychiatrist living in Paris whose world begins to unravel.

Lilian’s life is shocked out of complacency when she learns that her longtime patient Paula (Virginie Efira) has died by suicide. The news doesn’t sit right with her. Paula had never expressed suicidal thoughts, and Lilian’s clinical instincts—along with something more personal—tell her that something is off. What begins as a professional concern quickly spirals into obsession.

Her suspicions first land on Paula’s husband, and Lilian plunges into an increasingly risky investigation. She even ropes in her ex-husband, Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil), turning their strained, unresolved relationship into an unlikely detective partnership. Their dynamic becomes one of the film’s most compelling threads: two people with a messy history trying to decode someone else’s secrets while stumbling over their own.

When Lilian’s office is broken into and confidential files are stolen, her paranoia sharpens. She becomes convinced the intruder is Paula’s ex-husband, and the former couple begins tailing him through Paris, piecing together clues that only raise more questions.

As the mystery deepens, so does the portrait of Lilian herself. Every relationship in her life seems frayed, distant, or unresolved. The investigation forces her to confront not only Paula’s past but her own—memories, failures, and emotional blind spots she’s spent years avoiding. It’s the classic warning journalists receive—don’t become the story—but Lilian crosses that line. After years of emotional detachment, she suddenly takes Paula’s death personally, clinging to every detail as if solving the case might also solve something inside her.

Her search for answers leads her to a hypnotist, played by Sophie Guillemin, whose unconventional methods intrigue Lilian enough to try therapy herself. She even seeks out her former mentor, played in a cameo by 96‑year‑old filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, hoping he can shed light on the person she used to be.

Foster, with decades of experience behind her, pushes herself in fascinating ways here—acting in both French and English, embodying a brilliant but deeply conflicted woman whose intellect can’t shield her from her own emotional fractures. It’s a performance that feels raw and sad.

This isn’t a whodunit so much as a did-he-do-it, and even that question becomes secondary to the psychological excavation happening beneath the plot. The film invites you to consider how little we truly know about the people around us—and how even less we sometimes understand about ourselves.

A psychological puzzle wrapped in a character study, set against the backdrop of Paris but stripped of the usual romantic gloss. Instead, it offers something far more interesting: a woman unraveling, searching, and ultimately confronting the shadows she’s avoided for far too long.

Released in Toronto and Vancouver January 23, 2026

The Choral-Conducting a Chorus through chaotic times

 

THE CHORAL

The film opens January 16 across Canada.

Directed by Nicholas Hytner

Written by Alan Bennett

The always spectacular Ralph Fiennes shines in this dramatic wartime film, The Choral.

The film premiered as a Gala at TIFF. https://www.tiff.net/

The film blends sharp humor with a moving portrait of a community holding onto music in the middle of World War I.

Set in 1916 Yorkshire, the story follows a struggling Choral Society that’s lost most of its men to the front. Dr. Henry Guthrie (Fiennes), a mysterious new Chorus Master, is recruited to be the Choral Master, and he is determined to stage Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius—a piece that normally requires 200 singers and a full orchestra. Instead, he’s working with a handful of townsfolk, a string trio, and a few extraordinary voices he discovers along the way. With his lead singer and piano accompanist, he re-envisions the piece to bring relevance to the times they were struggling to get through.

The town is picturesque, but its people carry grief, fear, and uncertainty. Still, they rally together for Guthrie’s impossible vision, even as his bold choices threaten to unravel everything.

The Choral is a warm, witty, and quietly powerful reminder of how art can hold a community together when the world is falling apart.

The cast is excellent—Fiennes leads a lineup of richly drawn characters and genuinely impressive vocal talent. I was also struck by the film’s lighting: naturalistic yet clearly crafted with intention, giving every scene a quiet, hopeful glow.

This film may have been overshadowed by the bigger TIFF titles, but it’s absolutely worth seeking out if you appreciate the craft of truly great acting.

Homegrown -inside the storm of the US nation's division

HOMEGROWN

Michael Premo  (Director / Producer / Cinematographer)

Award-winning documentary HOMEGROWN will be released on Homegrown.film powered by GATHR on January 6, the anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol.  

HOMEGROWN offers an unflinching, up-close look at the lives of three protagonists who became deeply involved in the Proud Boys movement in support of Donald Trump during the election, ultimately won by Joe Biden. Fueled by Trump’s rhetoric, which inflamed tensions across multiple communities, these individuals took to the streets, believing they were fighting for their rights and freedoms.

Convinced they were defending democracy, they joined the storming of the Capitol on January 6th to send a message to the Democrats: they believed the presidency had been stolen from Trump.

In doing so, they sacrificed their families, their freedom, and their futures for what they thought was a just cause. Was it worth it in the end? That’s for you to decide—once you’ve seen the film. I found the film horrifying to watch, the anger and hate spewed between various community groups of mostly men of the 18-60 year old crowd. With many veterans involved in these groups, believing they were fighting to save their Country.

This film is deeply sobering and thought‑provoking. The fact that Donald Trump pardoned everyone arrested after the January 6th storming of the Capitol on the first day of his second term raises serious questions about the direction the United States is heading. It leaves me reflecting on the old saying: Be careful what you wish for.

The people profiled in the film were: Thad Cisneros, Chris Quaglin, Randy Irelend, Enrique Tarrio, Jaccari Kelley

All I could think was—what if they had held an open Town Hall meeting to share their beliefs, listen to one another, and work toward mutual understanding? If they had come together to channel all that anger and energy into creating something positive, this story might have had an entirely different ending.

It has screened at nearly fifty top-tier film festivals worldwide.

HOMEGROWN- NEW TRAILER:
Embed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e59UpVz1QM4

the film’s official website