By John Corrado

The 2024 Canadian Film Fest runs from March 18th to 23rd, with films screening in-person at Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto.

Named after the beloved Trinidadian street food, the Canadian drama Doubles follows Dhani (Sanjiv Boodhu), a humble street vendor living with his mother (Leela Sitahal) in Trinidad, who is growing tired of operating their food cart selling doubles and barely making ends meet.

Dhani travels to Toronto to seek help from his estranged father Ragbir (Errol Sitahal), who himself left the family years earlier in search of a better life, but ended up working as a dishwasher in someone else’s restaurant. Despite seeking more opportunities in Canada, Dhani is worried that he will end up down the same path as his father, and harbours some resentment towards him for leaving. But the discovery that his father is critically ill adds a further wrinkle to their reunion.

Expanding his 2011 short Doubles with Slight Pepper to feature length, writer-director Ian Harnarine succeeds at crafting a low-key film that becomes more compelling and nuanced as it goes along. Set predominantly in the suburbs of Toronto, Doubles tells a simple but impactful immigrant story about coming here and trying to seek a better life than your parents, only to be faced with a similar set of challenges.

Boodhu carries the film with an authentic performance, turning Dhani into a sympathetic lead trying to navigate a complicated father-son relationship, while Sitahal delivers tender and moving work in the complex role of the father. Rashaana Cumberbatch also offers nice supporting work as a Caribbean woman who worked at the restaurant with his dad, and becomes friends with Dhani.

The story is set over Christmas, which adds a melancholy feeling to the film, and puts it in the canon of scrappy, independent Christmas movies about regular people just trying to get by over the holidays (think Tangerine, Christmas, Again). It’s a touching human interest story populated by well-drawn characters, that becomes something quite lovely and poignant by the end.

Film Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)

Doubles screens as the opening night film of the Canadian Film Fest on Monday, March 18th at 7:00pm at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto. Tickets and more information can be found right here.