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Nelson Civic Theatre


Vote now for who you think will win big at the Oscars! The winners win free tickets and concessions! Voting closes 5pm March 27th and prizes will be awarded at the Oscars Live Stream

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International, documentary, shorts and Canadian films are often overlooked by cinema exhibition; especially if you only have 1-screen in town that primarily caters to the latest from the dream machine down south. But The Civic Theatre is committed to diverse programming, and this upcoming week, as well as last’s, proves this. From films from Bhutan, India, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Afghanistan, Japan, Finland, UK and US, and Nova Scotia to Quebec, The Civic Theatre is bringing the world to our little mountain community. 

It is no easy feat in a city of our size and on a single-screen that is held to the screening restrictions around major motion pictures from the big studios to program these smaller jewels of cinema, and this is why we go all-in when a window presents itself.  So I urge you, pull back the curtain and look out of it while it’s still here.  Starting in April, a string of three consecutive on release blockbusters will lock down our screen for single weekly titles for the bulk of the month, but for this week at least, you will not be disappointed as The Civic continues its adventure with a pair of International Women’s Month selections, the amazing Nova Scotia film, Dawn, Her Dad and the Tractor. A story that revolves around Dawn, a young trans woman who returns to the family farm in the Maritimes after her mother dies, meeting her father and sister for the first time since she transitioned. The film is a first directorial debut from Shelly Thompson, who moved from in front of the camera with her role Barbara Lahey in the hit series Trailer Park Boys, to behind it with this touching story that was inspired by her own experience as a mother to a trans son. The second women’s month film is a phenomenal documentary that garnered a best feature documentary Oscar nomination.  Writing with Fire tells the story of Khabar Lahariya, the only news agency in India run by Dalit (oppressed-caste) women. Armed with smartphones, these women journalists report from some of the most difficult regions of the country, risking everything to speak truth to power. Led by Chief Reporter Meera and her feisty understudy, crime reporter Suneeta, the film bears witness to the wit, intelligence and compassion of these journalists in confronting the most urgent stories of our times. 100% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes!

And on the topic of Oscar nominations, complete your nominations viewing with the Oscar nominated shorts programs, live action, documentary and animated.  The Oscar shorts categories have always been the random guess on the Oscar ballot entries at the previous Civic live-streams of the Academy Awards, but with great prizes in store for the highest scored ballots, don’t take the chance; get the advantage by putting your discerning eyes on these amazing stories and make your picks confidently. The Oscars live-stream is on Sunday, Mar. 27th at 5pm.  You can find a ballot in person at the theatre or look for a link on our Facebook and website pages leading up to the event.  

Learn about the rest of the week’s great titles, Drive My Car, Compartment No. 6 and Une Révision, offered this week at here