Tremont‘s Hometown News Site

Valentyn Vasyanovych has built his reputation on quiet yet devastating portraits of Ukraine in crisis, from the haunting near-future visions of ATLANTIS to the clinical, unflinching gaze of REFLECTION. With TO THE VICTORY! he continues this trajectory, shifting from war itself to the space after it ends. The result is a film that resists pride, lingering instead on the emptiness that follows survival.

Directed by Anthony D’Ambrosio and shot on location in Poland, the film dramatizes the true story of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Catholic priest who volunteered to take the place of another man condemned to die in Auschwitz in 1941. While Kolbe’s sacrifice has long been told, the film expands the story, exploring the nine companions with whom he shared a cell and the fragile bonds forged in the most harrowing circumstances.

The 1980s were a fertile ground for detective shows on television. Yet amid the sea of trench coats and car chases, SPENSER: FOR HIRE distinguished itself with a mix of toughness and refinement. Based on Robert B. Parker’s novels, the series followed private investigator Spenser (Robert Urich), a former cop whose fists were as quick as his wit, and who navigated Boston’s underworld with intelligence, honor, and a surprising dose of introspection.

Weddings are often treated on screen as moments of release, filled with laughter, romance, and chaos that eventually resolve into a neat bow. Philippe Falardeau’s LOVELY DAY has no interest in indulging that fantasy. Instead, it asks what happens when the very rituals meant to unify become suffocating, when the perfect day amplifies every crack already running through a family. What emerges is a sharp and surprisingly deep dramedy that balances humor with a painful honesty, one that explores in a structure as fractured and restless as its protagonist’s mind.

Gianni Di Gregorio has built a career on capturing the overlooked moments of aging with humor and heart, and DAMNED IF YOU DO, DAMNED IF YOU DON’T may be one of his most direct reflections on how fragile stability can be. At 75, the director not only helms the film but stars in it as the retired professor whose days are disrupted by forces outside his control. What starts as a story of independence soon unravels into something messier, funnier, and far more affecting — a reminder that no matter how much we try to shield ourselves, family has a way of pulling us back into the mess of the real world.

TIFF often thrives on scale—gala premieres, sweeping epics, star-driven dramas. But every so often, it’s the smallest entry in the lineup that makes the strongest impact. With a runtime of just over three and a half minutes, MARRIAGINALIA holds the title of the festival’s shortest short, and yet it hardly feels like it. In fact, it plays like a concentrated dose of surreal comedy, twisting the rituals of marriage into something at once distorted and affectionate.

The late 1970s marked a turning point in Japanese cinema. “Movie mogul” Haruki Kadokawa, eager to redefine how movies were made and sold, pushed the idea of the homegrown blockbuster—spectacle, international stars, and a marketing blitz that rivaled Hollywood. PROOF OF THE MAN, directed by Jun’ya Satō and adapted from Seiichi Morimura’s best-selling novel, arrived in 1977 as one of those tentpoles. A murder mystery on its surface, the film also serves as an excavation of postwar trauma, posing uncomfortable questions about race, identity, and the lasting scars of occupation.

GOOD LUCK TO ME is a brief film, but its briefness doesn’t diminish its weight. Directed by Maya Ahmed and co-written by Heather Bayles and Timothy J. Cox, the short compresses the complexity of a 20-year marriage into 10 minutes. It doesn’t need dramatic fireworks or a sweeping score to make its point. Instead, it relies on awkward pauses, strained civility, and the lived-in weariness of two people who once promised forever but now can’t find common ground.

In a culture that constantly measures worth by appearance, Nicholas Goodwin’s BEAUTY QUEEN takes on the daunting task of unpacking that pressure through a coming-of-age lens. At its center is Christina, played with restraint by Christina Goursky, who represents a generation that feels torn between intellectual achievement and a gnawing hunger to be considered beautiful. The short film, despite its modest production budget, makes its case through authenticity, nuanced performances, and an exploration of how family can anchor us when the world tempts us into shallow waters. The film's release in 2018 still feels as relevant, if not more so, in 2025.

Greg Daniels and Michael Koman’s THE PAPER is not simply a spinoff of THE OFFICE; it’s a spiritual cousin that knows how to respect its roots while finding its own. The premise follows the same documentary crew that made Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch famous, now turning their cameras toward a historic but struggling Midwestern newspaper, the Toledo Truth Teller, and the publisher desperate to keep it alive. It’s a concept that plays perfectly into Daniels’ strengths: ordinary workplaces transformed into observed comedies of human behavior.

With BULLET TIME, Eddie Alcazar shifts his talents into hand-drawn animation, and the result is a chaotic, affectionate, and unashamedly bizarre tribute to both 90s cartoons and his late dog Bullet. Clocking in at just nine minutes, this pilot is packed with frenetic energy, surreal humor, and an emotional undercurrent that sneaks up on you amid the madness.

TEMPEST is a series designed to transcend borders. At first glance, it’s another entry in the sprawling world of espionage dramas. Yet, under the surface, it delivers more—an exploration of trust, loyalty, and fractured identities played out against a conspiracy that stretches from Seoul to Washington.

Set against the rise of Apple and the near-mythic figure of Steve Jobs, EVERYTHING TO ME unfolds as a clever, heartfelt look at ambition, failure, and the moments in between that actually shape who we become. Kayci Lacob, making her feature directorial debut, crafts a story that is both nostalgic and incisive, weaving Silicon Valley’s glossy allure with the awkward realities of growing up.

Short films thrive when they condense ambitious ideas into concise storytelling, and AS i BELIEVE THE WORLD TO BE does just that. Written and directed by Spooky Madison, the project was born from creative constraint: competitors were given a theme and a prop and had only a month to turn the concept into a finished film. The result is a thriller that blurs the line between reality and imagination, a compact story in which a writer tests the limits of chaos one mind can conjure before the world pushes back.

James Sweeney’s TWINLESS takes a premise ripe for intrigue — two men bonding in a bereavement support group for twins — and spins it into a darkly funny, emotionally layered story that defies expectations. Written, directed by, and co-starring Sweeney, this Sundance audience award-winner refuses to stay in a single lane. It’s hilarious and biting one moment, deeply moving the next, and even a little shocking when its secrets unravel. The result is one of the year’s most distinctive indie films, anchored by two phenomenal performances.