#TIFF19 Review: Highway to Heaven: A Mosaic in One Mile (Short Cuts)

By John Corrado

★★★ (out of 4)

Directed by Sandra Ignagni, Highway to Heaven: A Mosaic in One Mile is a mix of visual essay and short documentary that takes us inside the twenty five faith-based spaces that exist along the old No. 5 road in Richmond, British Columbia, including a variety of Christian churches, mosques, synagogues, Buddhist and Hindu temples, a Sikh gurdwara, as well as Christian, Jewish and Islamic schools.

The film’s style is purely observational, with no interviews or interactions with the camera, and the context of these images is only given in the ending title card that tells us it was filmed along a one mile stretch of road. But as the sounds and images of these worshippers blend into each other, with mirroring elements and many commonalities shared between them, Highway to Heaven: A Mosaic in One Mile becomes a beautifully filmed portrait of Canada’s multiculturalism and the many different religions that exist alongside each other, not just along this road, but in the country as a whole.