The Gazette Reviews: AIFF Films Based on True Stories

111 Echoes From Halifax (2026)

By: Mia Phillips, arts and culture editor

Often, in cases of tragedy such as a plane crash, more attention is given to the series of events that led to it. Public records will more easily recall the details of the accident rather than the lives it claimed and the human impact it caused. 111 Echoes from Halifax is not that kind of story. During this film’s 92-minute run-time, audiences follow the lives of three passengers who boarded flight 111 from New York to Geneva and the void their losses left behind.

In this poignant depiction of grief, audiences watch as a community comes together to support each other in the wake of a tragic plane crash off the coast of Nova Scotia. In accounts of mass human loss, the individual stories can be lost as we zoom out to show the larger scope of the incident. The individual lives impacted begin to look like ants from an overhead perspective. However, this film reminds us that each loss involves a complicated, aspirational and loved human being.

Ceremony (2026)

By: Lola Drewery, social media manager

Ceremony is a powerful documentary that follows community members in Nuxalk Nation over 12 years. It follows the fight to restore the endangered Ooligan — a fish central to their culture and survival — and the rebuilding of the Nuxalk Nation. The film was made both with and for the community, powerfully weaving Indigenous sovereignty, ceremony and storytelling. What I enjoyed most about this story is that it’s ultimately empowering. Rather than focusing only on loss, it centres innovation, resistance and community members actively working to reclaim control over their land, culture and future.

I learned a great deal about the disappearance of the ooligan from the Bella Coola River and the ecological and cultural loss that followed. Still, I wanted a clearer explanation of the ooligan’s contextual significance. What are scientists and community members doing to restore it? How does that work connect to the film’s parallel focus on housing? Both storylines relate to the struggle for Nuxalk sovereignty, but the relationship is not always clear. Still, Ceremony shows Indigenous resistance not only through what has been lost, but through what a community is actively rebuilding, protecting and reclaiming.

I PLAY ROCKY (2026)

By: Alex Josevski

I Play Rocky depicts the incredible true story of how a then-unknown Sylvester Stallone (Anthony Ippolito)—broke and struggling to the point of selling his dog to stay afloat—fought to star in his own screenplay. It shows how the studio kept raising its offers to buy the script while insisting on an A-list actor for the lead, but Stallone refused to budge from his one non-negotiable demand: “I play Rocky,” and the rest was history. It’s one of the great underdog stories, about one of the great underdog stories! It’s an undeniable crowd-pleaser about betting on one’s dream and going the distance that hits every emotional and nostalgic beat you’d want. While it may lean a bit too heavily on recreating iconic moments from Rocky (1976) rather than dive deeper into Stallone’s personal history, Ippolito’s extraordinary lead performance grounds it, transcending mere impersonation to fully embody Stallone.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney (2026)

By Alex Josevski

The latest from Canadian filmmaker Matthew Rankin, Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney takes the director’s fascination with Canadian history in a strange direction with this psychedelic portrait of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Tracing his rise from Baie-Comeau to the highest office in the country through a dizzying mix of archival footage, animation and experimental imagery, the film is far more interested in the image of a politician that gets built up and endlessly repeated through the media than a traditional dissection of the man himself. Rankin brings this fever dream of 20th-century Canadian history to life with hilarious absurdist flourishes, like Mulroney consulting Diefenbaker’s brain in a jar or Pierre Trudeau ruling Canada as a floating head like the Master Control Program from Tron. This is sure to be one of the most distinctly Canadian cinematic experiences of the year.

The Delivery Line: Midwives on the Frontlines (2026)

By: Ellie Gary-Jones

Hope is special for women during pregnancy. But how can one remain hopeful while bringing a child into a world where crisis is omnipresent? Amidst poverty, crime, climate change, war and migration, midwives report for duty on some of the world’s toughest frontlines — armed with little more than their hands, their knowledge, and however much of a hospital they can carry on their backs. Documentarian Nance Ackerman brings viewers into the lives of five midwives working across vastly distinct territories, cultures, and experiences. From Colombia and Afghanistan to Nigeria, Canada and the US-Mexico border, different challenges plague the field for midwives trying to restore a sense of dignity, safety, and possibility to mothers navigating childbirth in places where those things are far from guaranteed.

Through an intimate lens, The Delivery Line puts faces to the unappreciated heroes fighting the borderless battle for maternal care with tenacity, resilience and humour for arms. In what feels like a gentle hug from your own mother, Ackerman pays homage to the selfless profession of midwifery, with exceptional delivery.

The Stunt Driver (2026)

By: Jonas May, editor-in-chief

What I anticipated to be a funny, thrilling biopic of Ken “The Mad Canadian” Carter (Jay Baruchel) turned into an emotional comedic tragedy about a man who just wanted everyone around him to like him. Themes of struggling internal confidence and a want to be wanted flood this film, exploring anxiety in the hunt for adrenaline. At his highest, Carter is a cocky, hilarious, Evel Knievel-hating stunt driver who disdains the term daredevil that he is consistently labelled as. At his lowest, he’s an anxious, grounded human being who is scared to die and leave his loved ones behind.

The film explores a man who uses humour to suppress his emotions as he encounters life-or-death situations, financial struggles and issues in both his family and love life. Fantastic acting across the board and a strong emotional backbone keep your eyes peeled for this Canadian comedy that will have rewatch value for years to come.