Short Film Programme

Director Shorts Programme
Year 2022
Genre Action/Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Experimental, Family, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller
In addition to the feature films in this catalogue, we also offer a wealth of Canadian short films suitable for various grade levels. They cover a variety of themes and topics, and encompass fiction and documentary, live action and animation. For the full list, check out our Short Film Programme page, and use the filters at the top to find something that meets your needs. 

If you’d like to show several short films together as a programme, please feel free to get in touch for advice and tips on selecting the perfect combination for your needs. 

Director

Shorts Programme

Genres

Action/Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Experimental, Family, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller

Interests

Arts and Culture, Biography, BIPOC Stories, Bullying, Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Discrimination, Environment, ESL, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+, Literary Adaptation, Newcomer Stories, Social Justice & Politics, Sports, Strong Female Leads

Original Languages

English, French

Maman est chez le coiffeur (Mommy Is at the Hairdresser’s)

Director Léa Pool
Year 2008
Run Time 97min
Genre Drama

It's the summer of 1966. The sun is shining and the world is full of possibilities. But for 15-year-old Élise (Fortier), there are issues simmering beneath the surface of her happy family life.

When a shocking discovery drives her mother to leave the family, everyone is stunned. Amid the chaos, Élise decides it's up to her to take matters into her own hands and solve the problems. While her father and two brothers withdraw into their inner world, Élise is not discouraged. Trying to keep her family's troubles a secret, she discovers that no one around her has a life as perfect as it seems at first glance.

A tender and touching story of coming of age in difficult circumstances, Mommy's at the Hairdresser's is a film full of rich, vivid colors that are wonderfully evocative of hot summer days. It's not exactly the summer Élise was expecting, but it will be a summer unlike any other.

Director

Léa Pool

A Member of the Order of Canada, Pool has earned three Genie Award nominations for Best Direction. Her films include Emporte Moi, Mouvements du désir, Lost and Delirious, La dernière fugue, Et au pire, on se mariera and Hôtel Silence, as well as the documentaries Pink Ribbons, Inc and Double peine. La passion d'Augustine won 15 awards, among them six Prix Iris, including Best Film and Best Director.

Writer

Isabelle Hébert

Cast

Marianne Fortier, Élie Dupuis, Hugo St-Onge-Paquin

Producers

Lyse Lafontaine, Michael Mosca

Genre

Drama

Interests

Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French

Babine

Director Luc Picard
Year 2008
Run Time 112min
Genre Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

In the small village of Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, whenever something bad happens, the villagers blame Babine, the son of the village witch. Babine was born an outsider, and has spent his life being teased. When the local church burns down, the new priest becomes determined to find the culprit, and puts the blame on Babine, deciding he must be punished once and for all.

Babine is an offbeat comedy and a charming fairy tale filled with eccentric characters and has a strong message of acceptance that will resonate with audiences of all ages.

Director

Luc Picard

Luc Picard is a celebrated actor with over 50 film and television credits and two Jutra Awards to his name. He has directed Audition, Babine, Ésimésac, and a segment in the anthology film 9. Les rois mongols earned six Canadian Screen Award nominations. His latest film is Confessions and he recently starred in Arsenault & Fils and French Girl.

Writer

Fred Pellerin

Cast

Vincent-Guillaume Otis, Luc Picard, Alexis Martin, Isabel Richer, René Richard Cyr

Producer

Lorraine Richard

Genres

Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interest

Bullying

Original Language

French

Le journal d’Aurélie Laflamme (The Journal of Aurélie Laflamme)

Director Christian Laurence
Year 2010
Run Time 108min
Genre Comedy, Drama, Family
She's shy, she's misunderstood — wait, hold that thought. Who’s that cute boy behind the counter at the pet store? Fourteen-year-old Aurélie Laflamme (Verville) feels a little alien on this strange planet of ours, so when she makes a new friend, things begin to look up… to the stars, perhaps, where Aurélie imagines she's from.

Based on the first novel of Québecois author India Desjardins, this quirky and endearing coming-of-age story about a girl lost in her own world is sure to delight.

Director

Christian Laurence

Montreal director Laurence has been working in film and TV for more than 15 years, focusing primarily on short films, including L’astronaute and Songs We Sing. Le journal d'Aurélie Laflamme, his first feature film, was nominated for three Jutra awards. He recently directed the TV mini-series La Derape, Manuel de la vie sauvage, and Haute démolition.

Writers

Christian Laurence, India Desjardins

Cast

Marianne Verville, Genevieve Chartrand, Aliocha Schneider

Producer

Claude Veillet

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Family

Interests

Literary Adaptation, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French

Bon Cop Bad Cop 2

Director Alain Desrochers
Year 2017
Run Time 126min
Genre Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Eight years after they met in Bon Cop Bad Cop (above), the comically mismatched duo of straightlaced Ontario cop Martin Ward (Feore) and scruffy Quebec cop David Bouchard (Huard) reunite to investigate yet another major crime in this long-awaited sequel. When their separate investigations unexpectedly cross paths, the pair must join forces to investigate a crime ring south of the border, giving the film plenty of hilarious opportunities to poke fun at the cultural differences between the two Canucks and their American counterparts.

Director

Alain Desrochers

Desrochers began his filmmaking career with over 100 music videos and commercials. His first feature, La Bouteille (The Bottle), earned him a Genie nomination for Best Direction. He has over 50 directing credits to his name, including the features Nitro, Cabotins (Has-Beens), Nitro Rush, Gerry, Security, and Bon Cop Bad Cop 2, as well as episodes of Les limiers, La marraine, Bad Blood, Transplant, and Le Bonheur, among many others.

 

Writer

Patrick Huard

Cast

Colm Feore, Patrick Huard, Erik Knudsen, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse

Producers

Pierre Even, Patrick Huard, François Flamand

Genres

Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Interest

Family Relationships

Original Languages

English, French

1991

Director Ricardo Trogi
Year 2018
Run Time 141min
Genre Comedy, Romance

Twenty-one-year-old Ricardo (Boucher) is a screenwriting student in Montreal, where he dreams about striking up a romance with his classmate Marie-Ève (Gosselin). When she announces that she’ll be going on an exchange trip to Italy, Ricardo can only see one option for himself: to follow her — and his heart — on the trip, and perhaps reconnect with his own Italian roots along the way. Of course, nothing on the trip goes as he expects, and connecting with Marie-Ève seems further away than before.

The charming and funny story is based on director Ricardo Trogi’s own coming-of-age experiences, and was a box office smash and winner of the Golden Screen Award (for biggest Canadian box office gross of the year). The film was nominated for 16 Prix Iris awards and won five, including those for best film and best director.

Director

Ricardo Trogi

Writer and director Trogi’s first film, Québec-Montréal, earned him a Jutra Award for Best Direction and Best Screenplay. His credits also include Horloge biologique, Le Mirage, and the coming-of-age trilogy 1981, 1987, and 1991. He recently co-wrote two seasons of La Maison-Bleue and directed the feature Le Guide de la famille parfaite.

Writer

Ricardo Trogi

Cast

Sandrine Bisson, Jean-Carl Boucher, Mamoudou Camara, Giuseppe Cantore, Juliette Gosselin

Producer

Nicole Robert

Genres

Comedy, Romance

Interest

Biography

Original Language

French

Gabrielle

Director Louise Archambault
Year 2013
Run Time 104min
Genre Drama
Canada’s foreign-language Oscar nominee for 2014, Gabrielle is a big-hearted drama about a young woman with Williams syndrome who has a genuine and infectious zest for life. Like most young adults, Gabrielle longs for independence, but when she falls in love with a young man in her choir, both the families and social workers worry that the two won’t be able to handle an adult relationship.

As the choir prepares for an important performance, Gabrielle must confront other people’s prejudices with courage and overcome her own limitations.

“On the surface, it’s a simple love story: girl meets boy, girl likes boy, girl kisses boy. But Louise Archambault’s Gabrielle is much more…a deeply affecting tale of difference, dignity and the healing power of song.”
— T’cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette

 

Director

Louise Archambault

Archambault’s first short film, Atomic Saké, won the Jutra Award for best short. Her first feature, Familia, won her the Genie for best debut feature, and her follow-up Gabrielle was nominated for six CSAs. Archambault also directed the TV series Catastrophe and wrote and directed Il pleuvait des oiseaux, which premiered at TIFF. She has also directed the films Merci pour tout, Le temps d’un été, and Irena’s Vow, which won the Audience Award at VIFF.

Writer

Louise Archambault

Cast

Gabrielle Marion-Rivard, Alexandre Landry, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Robert Charlebois

Producers

Luc Déry, Kim McCraw

Genre

Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Female Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French

C.R.A.Z.Y.

Director Jean-Marc Vallée
Year 2005
Run Time 127min
Genre Comedy, Drama
2026 spotlight contributor Atom Egoyan
A box office blockbuster and the winner of a whopping 11 Genies, C.R.A.Z.Y. is an infectious, entertaining coming-of-age drama. When Zac Beaulieu (Grondin) is born on December 25, 1960, it becomes clear that he is different from his four brothers. He vies desperately for attention and acceptance from both of his parents, but in particular from his loving and old-fashioned father, Gervais (Côté).

The film follows Zac as life takes him on an epic journey to come to grips with his sexual identity. Buoyed by a vibrant soundtrack, C.R.A.Z.Y. boasts countless moments of true movie magic. It is at once a crowd pleaser and a poignant auteur film.

Director

Jean-Marc Vallée

An Officer of the Order of Canada, Vallée garnered nine Genie nominations for his first feature, Liste noire. C.R.A.Z.Y. was a box office hit and was honoured at film festivals worldwide. He directed the Oscar-nominated films Dallas Buyers Club and Wild, as well as Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal, and the hit TV series Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects. He tragically passed away in December 2021.

Writers

François Boulay, Jean-Marc Vallée

Cast

Michel Côté, Marc-André Grondin, Danielle Proulx, Pierre-Luc Brillant

Producers

Jean-Marc Vallée, Pierre Even

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interests

Bullying, Family Relationships, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

French

La guerre des tuques (Snowtime!)

Directors Jean-François Pouliot, François Brisson
Year 2015
Run Time 82min
Genre Action/Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family
This remake of the 1984 French Canadian classic La guerre des tuques (The Dog Who Stopped the War) catapults the story of the most epic snowball fight ever into the realm of 3D animation.

The result is a family-friendly contemporary hit full of chilly thrills, snow-fort hills, and a rollicking energy that is unstoppably fun. Fortunately, there’s also a brilliant anti-war message packed in the ice that’s sure to melt hearts.

Snowtime! (La Guerre des tuques) 3D was a bilingual box-office smash, winning the Golden Screen Award for being the highest-grossing Canadian film in 2015.

Directors

Jean-François Pouliot

In addition to over 500 commercials, Montrealer Pouliot’s credits include feature films Guide de la petite vengeance and the 2015 box-office success Dr. Cabbie as well as the hit animated film Snowtime!. Recently, he directed the feature films Les 3 p’tits cochons 2, Votez Bougon and the Snowtime! sequel, Racetime.

François Brisson

Brisson is a visual artist, animation director, and comic book creator who was instrumental in the early development of Quebec's animation scene, directing the animated films Gene Fusion, La guerre des tuques (Snowtime!), and La course des tuques (Racetime),  as well as episodes of Arthur and The Lost World.

 

Writers

Paul Risacher, Normand Canac-Marquis, Roger Cantin, Danyèle Patenaude

Cast

André Sauvé, Nicholas Savard L'Herbier, Mariloup Wolfe, Sandra Oh, Ross Lynch

Producer

Marie-Claude Beauchamp

Genres

Action/Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family

Interest

Bullying

Original Languages

English, French

Liverpool

Director Manon Briand
Year 2012
Run Time 113min
Genre Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Émilie (Lapointe) is a shy coat-check girl at a club called Liverpool. When a patron overdoses in the club and Émilie attempts to return her jacket, this simple good deed lands her in the middle of a dark conspiracy.

Helping her on her journey through Montreal’s shady underworld is computer-whiz Thomas (Dubé), who has had his eye on her for some time. As the intrepid duo embark on a dangerous journey filled with secrets and intrigue, Thomas, an aspiring journalist, uses social media and technology to help them reveal the truth.

Equal parts thriller, comedy and romance, Liverpool is a charming and quirky film about an unlikely pair of would-be detectives who try to solve a mystery and might just end up falling in love in the process.

Director

Manon Briand

Briand is a filmmaker and writer whose first short film, Les sauf-conduits, won Best Canadian Short Film at TIFF. She also directed a segment of the anthology Cosmos. Her features include 2 secondes, La turbulence des fluides (Chaos and Desire, for which she won a Jutra Award), Liverpool and Tous Toqués !, all of which she wrote and directed.

Writer

Manon Briand

Cast

Stéphanie Lapointe, Charles-Alexandre Dubé, Louis Morissette, Gilles Renaud

Producers

Roger Frappier, Luc Vandal

Genres

Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Interests

Environment, Female Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French