Colin is a gentle soft-spoken Australian whose life is tainted by regret, Mitch is a lewd American loudmouth who lives in the now. These two aging buddies set off to Iceland in an attempt to reclaim their youth on a tour of Reykjavik nightclubs, trendy spas and rugged campsites. Their seemingly uneventful journey is rich with good conversation and subtle insights. Beautifully shot in dazzling landscapes, this unassuming road movie is a witty throwback to ‘80s buddy comedies and a rumination on friendship and what makes life worth living.

An expertly constructed ensemble drama in the vein of Magnolia or Lantana, Miraculum hops backwards and forwards in time, shifting its focus across the interlocking lives of eight Montreal residents on the cusp of life-changing decisions. At its centre is a spectacular and tragic plane crash whose narrative ripples are not fully understood until the final frames. The colourful characters – including a Jehova’s Witness, a lustful bartender and a drug runner – come alive with great performances from a cast which includes acclaimed Quebec actors Xavier Dolan, Marilyn Castonguay and Julien Poulin.

Movie geeks and best friends Matt and Owen are constant targets for a group of high school bullies they call “The Dirties”. Assigned a class project, they set out to shoot a hilarious film, sending up their oppressors. Soon the high-school comedy turns into a revenge movie as tensions build and the line between fiction and reality blurs. Original and brutally honest, The Dirties is a complex and gripping story of friendship, obsession and violence. It injects raw energy, gut-wrenching chills and the blackest of humour into an increasingly stale and preachy genre.