I’ve been a fan of Amma Asante ever since I saw her first film, A Way of Life, in TIFF’s Discovery program back in 2004. It’s been a pleasure to watch her emerge as a maker of British cinema that takes an interrogative view on the empire, both with last year’s A United Kingdom and 2013’s Belle, her breakout drama and a film I’m delighted to be screening tonight as this week’s Harbourfront’s Free Flicks feature.

It’s a complex, challenging film masquerading as a conventional costume drama, with terrific performances from Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sarah Gadon, Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson, among others. (Yeah, Tom Felton is a little sneery as the embodiment of aristocratic racism, but it’s a necessary evil.) And if you missed it in its theatrical run, as pretty much everyone did, now’s your chance to catch up.

Get down to the lake for about 8:45 pm so you don’t miss the pre-show — we have trivia! — and here’s my 2014 interview with Amma just in case you need more of a nudge.

And speaking of TIFF, I’ve got a rundown of today’s Canadian announcements going up later this morning. Will update with the link as soon as I have it.