6 p.m., Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Princess Twin in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Panel discussion followed by the screening of Spotlight (2015)
88th Academy Award Best Picture WINNER! The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
This year we've partnered with Midtown Radio and the Waterloo Region Community Foundation to present our third Journalism Film Festival.
The evening kicks off with a panel discussion exploring the topic of local media as social infrastructure, followed by a screening of the critically acclaimed 2015 drama Spotlight.
Nominated for six Academy Awards and winner of two, Spotlight illustrates how tenacious reporters serve the public by checking powerful forces in our communities.
In the vein of journo-movie classics All the President’s Men and Good Night and Good Luck, Spotlight reminds us that quality journalism is a community resource worth supporting.
Early Bird General admission: $11.75 (first 31 tickets) General Admission: $15.75
Also partners to date (stay tuned for more):
Waterloo, Ontario | Sydney, Australia
Because the theme for UN World Press Freedom Day 2024 was "A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the Environmental Crisis," we screened films focused on environmental reporting that also carried elements of press freedom.
In Waterloo we screened the documentary Killer Water: The toxic legacy of Canada's oil sands industry for Indigenous communities. Followed by media panel discussion. Read the advance news story in the Waterloo Region Record or listen to the radio interview with Craig Norris on CBC-KW or the radio interview on the Mike Farwell Show (segment starts at 51:04).
The film is a documentary by Brandi Morin and Geordie Day produced in partnership with The Real News Network, IndigiNews and Ricochet Media. Morin, an award-winning Indigenous journalist, was recently arrested by police and charged (later dropped) while covering the eviction of an encampment of people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton, Alberta.
In SYDNEY, students at Macquarie University will be screening Under the Dome. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion.
The 2015 documentary film, by former television journalist Chai Jing, explores air pollution in China. The film has been banned by authorities in China.
Guests will have the opportunity to have a meaningful conversation on the difficulties and significance of press freedom in the modern world.
During the 2023 Journalism Film Festival in Kitchener, Ont., Canada, we screened four great films: Writing with Fire ; Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ; All the President's Men ; and Network.
- Martin Baron, Collision of Power.