Kingston Stories

• BUY TICKETS – $14 General Admission / $11 Members of The Screening Room

This program showcases four locally produced short documentaries that premiered at the 2025 Kingston Canadian Film Festival at sold-out screenings. The films include a newcomer love story, a portrait of an artist, an experimental view of downtown Kingston, and a nostalgic look back at S&R, Kingston’s favourite department store. Each film offers a thoughtful, often moving Kingston-based narrative you won’t soon forget.

The Films

FAMILY BUSINESS
Director: Alec Ross
An account of the life and death of S&R, a family-owned discount department store in Kingston, Ontario, whose closure in 2009 after 50 years in business led to an unusual outpouring of civic affection.

DUST IN THE GATE
Director: Alan Code
An experimental documentary about the sounds of Kingston’s urban spaces. Combining rapidly edited still images simulating movement and time lapse with binaural audio field recordings to create a soundscape of perspective, DUST IN THE GATE navigates the harmony and dissonance of what we hear, see, and feel.

FROM THE TIGRIS TO THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER
Director: Hanan Zeineldin
Iraqi refugee Hisham, a war survivor with life-altering injuries, discovers a passion for string art while navigating a new life in Kingston with his three children. Amidst cultural challenges, he finds unexpected love and support from Manal, a scholar from Saudi Arabia.

SPRAY THE CHANGE
Director: Juan Francisco Velasco
As division and hate rise, a Kingston street artist wields spray paint and simple words to light the world with love, inclusion, and unity.