Across genres ranging from heartfelt drama to biting satire, the longing for acceptance, and the weight of class struggles, these local shorts continue to prove that QCinema is a lighthouse for talent and razor-sharp reflections of the national condition.

Outside of a likable cast and its sincere intentions, ‘Maple Leaf Dreams’ fails to dramatize familiar material in a compelling manner. Its best parts have little to do with its story, but rather with the real-life Canadian OFW stories.

‘The Hearing’ builds upon the easy ironies and parallels of its premise to create an immersive legal drama that prioritizes victims of abuse and sexual assault above everything else.