A pillar event in Regent Park since 2014, Regent Park Film Festival’s annual summer film series, Under the Stars (UTS) brings people of all ages, cultures and communities together for nights of free film, food and performances in the heart of our neighbourhood, the Big Park, every summer.
Take a look at our 2026 programming below:
July 8: The Tower
REGENT PARK (620 Dundas Street East)
directed by Mats Grorud
Animation | 1h 14m | 2018 | English, Arabic, French
Based on interviews that the filmmaker conducted with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, The Tower follows Wardi, an 11-year-old Palestinian girl, who lives with her family in a refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon. Through the oral histories shared by three generations of her family, Wardi learns about the 1948 Nakba and how it violently displaced her family from their ancestral lands, suppressed their cultural identity, and dispossessed them of their political rights. Motivated by her great-grandfather’s now waning hopes of one day returning to their family home in Galilee, Wardi traces the memories, losses, and resilience of those in her community.
July 22: My Father’s Shadow
REGENT PARK (620 Dundas Street East)
directed by Akinola Davies Jr.
Drama | 1h 35m | 2025 | Nigerian Pidgin, Yoruba, English
A deeply personal and semi-autobiographical story, My Father’s Shadow is set against the turbulence of 1993 Lagos during a pivotal national election promising a shift from military rule to democracy in Nigeria. When young brothers Remi and Akin unexpectedly accompany their oft-absent father, Folarin (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) to the city to collect his long-overdue wages, what unfolds is a rich meditation on grief, memory, and fatherhood set within a country on the cusp of fragile transformation. Winner of the Caméra d’Or Special Mention at Cannes (and the first Nigerian film ever to screen in Official Selection at the festival), My Father’s Shadow spans multiple terrains, weaving together memoir, fiction, and historical materials in its exploration of crises—both political and personal—as seen through a child’s eyes.
July 29: Fancy Dance
REGENT PARK (620 Dundas Street East)
directed by Erica Tremblay
Drama | 1h 30m | 2023 | English, Cayuga
Since her sister disappeared, Jax has been raising her niece, Roki, on the Seneca-Cayuga Reservation in Oklahoma, struggling to get by while tirelessly searching for clues about her missing sister as well as helping Roki prepare for an upcoming powwow. With the threat of custody being handed to Roki’s estranged father, the pair embark on a journey across rural backroads to find Roki’s mother before the event. A nuanced exploration of the violence of settler colonialism and the systemic abandonment of Indigenous communities (in particular, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls), Fancy Dance traces the resilience, resistance, and collective care that persist in its wake.
Volunteer with us!
We recruit volunteers for Under the Stars each year. This is a great opportunity to give back to your community, meet new people, enjoy our awesome selection of films, and gain a toolbox of new skills!
Thank you to our funders and supporters!
