Genre: Action/Adventure
N.U.N.S. with Nunchucks
Director
Lorenzo Gutiérrez
Writers
Vincenzo Nappi, Lorenzo Gutiérrez
Cast
Alejandra Jiménez, Natasha Perry-Fagant, Jasmine Winter
Producers
Lorenzo Gutiérrez, Vincenzo Nappi
Genres
Action/Adventure, Comedy
Interests
Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Machotaildrop
Directors
Corey Adams, Alex Craig
Writers
Glen Bolland, Alex Craig, Corey Adams
Cast
Anthony Amedori
Producers
Alex Craig, Oliver Linsley, Jared Valentine
Genres
Action/Adventure, Comedy
Interest
Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
The Great Salish Heist
Director
Darrell Dennis
Writers
Leslie D. Bland, Harold Joe, Darrell Dennis
Cast
Graham Greene, Darrell Dennis, Tricia Helfer
Producers
Leslie D. Bland, Harold Joe
Genre
Action/Adventure
Interest
Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
English
Enter the Drag Dragon
An amateur detective Drag Queen finds herself heading off with gangsters, zombies, and other bad guys.
Director
Lee Demarbre
Writer
Mark Pollesel
Cast
Jade London
Producer
Lee Demarbre
Genres
Action/Adventure, Comedy
Interest
LGBTQ2S+
Original Language
English
Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster
Eddie gets his start by recruiting a gang of small-time crooks and slowly turns them into a crack team of professional thieves. He launches a series of spectacular bank robberies, gaining notoriety and quickly becoming both a beloved national celebrity and public enemy number one. Part action-packed crime caper, part romance, this vibrant film brings an incredible true story to life.
Director
Nathan Morlando
Morlando’s first film, Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster, won Best Canadian First Feature at TIFF. He also directed Mean Dreams, which debuted in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival. He recently produced Giant Little Ones and directed episodes of the show Cardinal.
Writer
Nathan Morlando
Cast
Scott Speedman, Kelly Reilly, Kevin Durand, Brian Cox, Charlotte Sullivan
Producer
Allison Black
Genres
Action/Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Interests
Biography, History
Original Language
English
De père en flic (Father and Guns)
The pair infiltrates an outdoor camp for fathers and sons to snag Charles Bérubé (Girard), the biker gang's lawyer. As Jacques and Marc try to locate their missing colleague, they find the camp's bonding activities are having an emotional and hilarious impact on their own relationship.
De père en flic is the highest-grossing French-language film in Canadian history.
"A can't-miss buddy comedy about a pair of dysfunctional father-son cops who are forced to go undercover at a touchy-feely bonding retreat...a genuinely amusing hybrid." — Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter
Director
Émile Gaudreault
Gaudreault co-wrote Louis 19, le roi des ondes, which Ron Howard adapted into EDtv. Gaudreault both co-wrote and directed De pere en flic (the highest-grossing French-language film in Canadian history), Le vrai du faux, Le sens de l'humour and Mambo Italiano, which earned six Canadian Comedy Award nominations. He also wrote and directed De père en flic 2, and most recently, the comedy Menteur. He also co-wrote the upcoming Lignes de fuite, and is producing the English-language remake of De père en flic, Fathers and Guns.
Writers
Émile Gaudreault, Ian Lauzon
Cast
Michel Côté, Louis-José Houde, Rémy Girard, Patrick Drolet, Caroline Dhavernas
Producers
Denise Robert, Daniel Louise
Genres
Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Interest
Family Relationships
Original Language
French
SG̲aawaay Ḵ’uuna (Edge of the Knife)
Set in the Haida Gwaii region in the 19th century, Edge of the Knife (SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna in Haida) adapts a classic Haida folk tale of a man left for dead in the forest who becomes the Gaagiid/Gaagiixiid, or “the Wildman”. After an accident where he is separated from his family, Adiits'ii (York) wanders through the forest becoming driven mad by both natural and supernatural forces. As his loved ones, including best friend Kwa (Russ), set out to capture and cure him, Adiits’ii grows increasingly feral.
The first feature film made entirely in the critically endangered Haida language - fluently spoken by fewer than 20 people - the film is a spellbinding and mythical tale of pride, tragedy and love, set against the stunning backdrop of Canada’s Pacific northwest.
Made with a Haida cast and in collaboration with the Haida Council, this compelling film proves that cinema can be at once a powerful vessel for storytelling and a profound act of Indigenous language and culture revitalization.
Directors
Gwaai Edenshaw (Haida), Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot'in)
Writers
Gwaai Edenshaw (Haida), Jaalen Edenshaw (Haida), Graham Richard, Leonie Sandercock
Cast
Curtis Brown, Diane Brown, Greg Brown, Tyler York (Haida), Sphenia Jones (Haida)
Producer
Jonathan Frantz
Genres
Action/Adventure, Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
Other Language
The Snow Walker
Everything changes when Charlie’s plane goes down in the wilderness, leaving him alone with the young girl. Forced to rely on each other, the two form a bond of friendship as the summer months quickly end and winter’s harsh conditions begin to take hold. Based on a story by acclaimed Canadian author Farley Mowat, this is a beautifully rendered tale, set in the gorgeous but desolate Arctic. Director Smith played a key role in an earlier Mowat adaptation, Never Cry Wolf.
“The Snow Walker is a powerful, poignant and transcendent film.” — Bruce Kirkland, Jam! Movies
Director
Charles Martin Smith
Actor/director Smith is known for roles in the 1973 classic American Graffiti and The Untouchables. He has directed episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Da Vinci’s Inquest, and his films include Stone of Destiny and Dolphin Tale. He directed A Dog’s Way Home, and most recently A Christmas Gift From Bob. He is currently completing the film Maybe This Time.
Writer
Charles Martin Smith
Cast
Barry Pepper, Annabella Piugattuk, James Cromwell
Producers
Rob Merilees, William Vince
Genres
Action/Adventure, Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, ESL, Literary Adaptation, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Les triplettes de Belleville (The Triplets of Belleville)
Features an original jazz musical score by Benoît Charest.
Director
Sylvain Chomet
Writer
Sylvain Chomet
Cast
Michèle Caucheteux, Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin, Béatrice Bonifassi, Lina Boudreau
Producers
Viviane Vanfleteren, Didier Brunner, Paul Cadieux
Genres
Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Interests
Family Relationships, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
French
Maliglutit (Searchers)
Like Ford’s film, Kunuk's Maliglutit (Searchers) explores the repercussions of violence, asking whether these hunters have begun to act like those who have torn apart their family. Very unlike Ford, Kunuk questions not only the colonial ideology inherent to the western genre, but also the possibility of justice in a seemingly unjust world. With a tale as timeless as the landscape in which it is set, Canada’s foremost Inuk filmmaker has provided us with another classic.
Directors
Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
In 2015, Atanarjuat was selected as TIFF’s number one Canadian film of all time. Kunuk has directed shorts such as Exile and Home and features such as Maliglutit, which was nominated for two CSAs. He recently directed the series Hunting With My Ancestors and executive produced SGaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife). His latest feature, One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, premiered at TIFF 2019. Most recently, he directed the short The Shaman’s Apprentice, which won the CSA for Best Animated Short among other awards at festivals worldwide.
Writers
Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk), Norman Cohn
Cast
Benjamin Kunuk (Inuk), Karen Ivalu (Inuk), Jonah Qunaq
Producers
Cara Di Staulo, Jonathan Frantz, Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
Genres
Action/Adventure, Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
Inuktitut