The Eternal Memory (dir. Maite Alberdi) – Shani Laskin, Managing Editor
From Chilean director-producer Maite Alberdi, The Eternal Memory follows life partners Paulina Urrutia and Augusto Góngora as they navigate the latter’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The film intertwines the couple’s day-to-day routines with home videos and archived footage of Góngora’s career as a broadcast journalist during the repressive Pinochet regime in Chile.
In the documentary, Urrutia—an actress, union leader, and politician—reckons with caring for her partner as his mobility and cognitive function increasingly deteriorate while acknowledging the reality that he is slowly forgetting who she is. Through this film, these two beloved figures of Chilean public life literally open the door to their most intimate moments, baring themselves to the world. Urrutia’s commitment to her husband and to ensuring that his legacy lives on is an act of tremendous selflessness. Clips of Urrutia leading Góngora on walks juxtaposed with moments of desperation when he fears his beloved books will be taken away from him emphasize the joy, peacefulness, and immense heartache in the act of loving through the loss of memory.
In addition to the remarkable love between the Urrutia and Góngora, what sets the documentary apart is the throughline of memory not just as a personal endeavour but as a political tool. Góngora’s career was defined by a commitment to truth-telling despite the threat of imprisonment, torture, and even death. Through his work and activism, Góngora stressed the importance of documentary to fuel action and reconstruction. In a way, The Eternal Memory can be viewed as his final attempt to do exactly that.
The Vegetarian (Han Kang) – Kellie Elrick, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Content warning: Eating disorders, self-harm, sexual violence.
When the novel begins, Yeong-hye is having violent dreams—murder, barn floors soaked with blood, frothing mouths, cuts, faces. She stops eating meat, and eventually stops eating altogether. She gives up sex. She dreams of transforming into a plant.
The Vegetarian is written in three parts, each with one voice: Yeong-hye’s husband, her brother-in-law, and her sister. The novel begins in the first person and eventually moves into the third, becoming estranged from itself as Yeong-hye becomes estranged from her own body. She desires to escape the body in order to rid herself of the thing that eats, hurts, the thing men look at, and violate.
Yeong-hye stands on her hands, imagining them as roots in the earth, wills flowers to bloom between her legs, bares her body to the sun, wanting to leave the woman behind and become the tree. The story is a much older one: In an ancient myth, Apollo, god of the Sun, music, poetry, and—most relevant to Kang’s story—healing and illness, falls in love with the nymph Daphne. She tries to flee, but Apollo chases after her. Daphne, terrified, cries out to her father, a river god, who transforms her into a laurel tree.
But in Kang’s story, there’s no god to save Yeong-hye.
Swan Song (dir. Chelsea McMullan) – Charlotte Hayes, Arts & Entertainment Editor
“Ballet is punk rock as fuck,” says newly promoted corps de ballet member Shaelynn Estrada in the closing moments of Swan Song—and after watching Chelsea McMullan’s docu-series, it’s easy to see why. The series offers an intimate look at the National Ballet of Canada as they take on the ambitious task of mounting an all-new version of the beloved Swan Lake, complete with fresh choreography by their long-time artistic director, Karen Kain.
Over its four-episode run, the series follows Estrada alongside fellow cast members Jurgita Dronina and Siphesihle November as each navigates pivotal “breakthrough” moments in their careers during rehearsals. Swan Song brilliantly showcases the extraordinary mental fortitude demanded of professional ballet dancers, matching their physical endurance and artistic talent. From grappling with mental health challenges to the struggles of immigration and adjusting to life in a new country, the series thoughtfully explores how ballet intersects—both positively and negatively—with the dancers’ personal milestones.
From casting to opening night, Swan Song delivers a comprehensive and unfiltered portrayal of what it truly means to give everything to your art. Blending the intrigue of a gossip-fuelled reality show with the stakes of a high-stakes sporting event, it immerses the audience in the joy and drama that drive one of the world’s most celebrated ballet companies.
