Film Choice for Nov. 1

The day after Halloween, French filmmaker, Cédric Klapisch’s Un air de famille (Family Resemblances) is onscreen at the Back Lane Film Club.

The film features a French family birthday gathering in a restaurant. Over the course of the evening and meal, family history, tensions, and grudges, both collective and separate are on the menu. Un Air de Famille is a study of dysfunctional family. But Klapisch’s approach is vastly different.

There’s no overwrought melodrama. Un Air de Famille offers discovery through dialogue, and gradually as the film unfolds, the carefully-erected disguises are shed and characters allow their true selves to show. The film offers one brilliantly-constructed conversation after another.

Members, please reserve your spot by midnight on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026 by clicking on the link below. I hope you have been thinking of overlooked and underappreciated film gems to nominate for 2027. I will be sending out the email later next week.

2026 Sunday screening dates

With the exception of the Easter weekend the BLFC meets on the first Sunday of each month. Here’s a list of the 2026 screenings.

Jan. 4, 2026: Murder by Death
Feb 1, 2026: Cloud Atlas
March 1, 2026 Ladies in Lavender
April 12 (weekend following Easter) — Latcho From
May 3 — The Adjustment Bureau
June 7 — Orlando
July/August off
Sept 6 — Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Oct 4 —Talk to Her
Nov 1 — Un Air de Famille
Dec 6–Proof

2026 Membership

Thanks to the generosity of the Back Lane Studios, we are keeping Back Lane Film Club memberships to $25 annual fee, either with cash or etransfer to our host Ellen Moorhouse at ellen@backlanestudios.ca. There’s still room to join! After our June screening, it is $5 per film for newcomers if space allows. The studio has a capacity of about 30 people per film.

Screening details – Cloud Atlas

Sunday, March 1: Ladies in Lavender: Please arrive between. 1:30 and 1:45 pm to settle in before the screening.

Back Lane Studios, 9 Neepawa Ave., Toronto – side door in the laneway

2026 BLFC nominated films

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the list of more than 65 films nominated for screening for 2026. Below in no particular order, are the films that people voted on to see – not as big a mix as last year of old and new or English and foreign language. These will be programmed through 2025 in order of availability and variety:

Interested in our monthly Film Club?

We’re now well into 2026 and the selections the film club have chosen for our monthly get-together at Back Lane Studios.

Thanks to Kirsten Gunter for coming up with the idea and organizing our club.

Members pick a film that’s been forgotten or overlooked and deserves to be seen. Whoever chooses the film gives a short introduction, we watch, and there’s a discussion after the screening.

Our screenings usually take place on the first Sunday of the month at the studio. Space is limited. We can comfortably accommodate around 30 people for a screening. We set up online seat reservations on Eventbrite for members to book their seat! If a screening appears to be sold-out on Eventbrite, there may be a few seats still available. Email us at info@backlanestudios.ca to find out.

Here are some club details:

Annual fee: $25 (for refreshments, film rentals, etc.) Screenings will thereafter be free for members. E-transfer your membership fee to ellen@backlanestudios.ca or pay in cash or by credit card at the studio.
Guests: Non-members can attend if space is available for a fee of $5 per film screening.
When: Usually the first Sunday of each month with the possible exceptions of July and August.
Where: At Back Lane Studios, 9 Neepawa Ave., Toronto, ON M6R 1V1.
The Films: Under-appreciated gems that deserve to be seen. We will be assembling a list of overlooked films that are available for screening on DVD, through streaming or on hard drives. The selected film for each screening will be given a five-minute introduction by the film’s nominee, including background, interesting trivia, information about the actors, etc.

If you are interested in joining, please email us at info@backlanestudios.ca. It will be a great opportunity to meet fellow cinephiles and to see and discuss some interesting feature films.

Film club members are invited to gather at 1:30 pm at Back Lane Studios, 9 Neepawa Ave., ahead of the 2 pm film start time

Last Year’s Screenings:

Here’s the list of films we showed in 2025:

Sunday Jan. 5, 2025: Camille Claudel
Sunday, Feb. 2, 2005: Viridiana
Sunday, March 9, 2025: The Automat
Sunday, April 6, 2025: Travels With My Aunt
Sunday, May 4, 2025: Diva
Sunday, June 8, 2025 (Please note the date change!): Burning
Sunday, Sept 7, 2025: Black Butterflies
Sunday, Oct 5, 2025: Kolya
Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025: The Fugitive Kind
Sunday, Dec. 6, 2025: The Servant