Riot Girls

Director Jovanka Vuckovic
Year 2019
Run Time 81min
Genre Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

In this spirited, punky post-apocalyptic adventure film, all the adults are wiped out by a mysterious plague, leaving kids and teens to fend for themselves. In the town of Potter’s Bluff, there is a sharp divide between two groups: the have-not Eastsiders vs. the tyrannical Westside Titans. 

 

When one of their own is captured by the Titans, it's up to female punk rockers and best friends Nat (Iseman) and Scratch (Kwiatkowski) to lead the East side teens on a dangerous, high-octane mission that forever alters the future of their community.

 

Riot Girls is a punchy, poppy tribute to girlhood that raises a studded middle finger against classism and conformist culture. Packed with punk rock anthems and comic-book undertones, this film is a love letter to teenaged misfits everywhere.

 

Riot Girls confidently and entertainingly sets itself apart from the pack rather nicely thanks to a well rounded script, playful direction, and a whole lotta swagger.” - Andrew Parker, The Gate

Director

Jovanka Vuckovic

Writer

Katherine Collins

Cast

Madison Iseman, Paloma Kwiatkowski, Munro Chambers

Producer

Lauren Grant

Genres

Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

Female Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

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

Aboriginality

Directors Dominique Keller, Tom Jackson (Cree)
Year 2007
Run Time 5min
Genre Action/Adventure, Animation
A young boy is transported through his television set to the scene of a traditional Indigenous hoop dance, encountering his family's cultural heritage in a new way. Includes spoken word rap in English and in Cree.

Directors

Dominique Keller, Tom Jackson (Cree)

Writer

Dominique Keller

Cast

Dallas Arcand (Kipohtakaw)

Producers

Dominique Keller, Bonnie Thompson

Genres

Action/Adventure, Animation

Interests

Arts and Culture, BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Four Faces of the Moon

Director Amanda Strong (Michif)
Year 2016
Run Time 13min
Genre Action/Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Family
This intricate stop-motion animation interlaces Canada’s colonial past with writer-director Amanda Strong’s personal family history — and illuminates Cree, Métis, and Anishinaabe reclamation of culture, language, and Nationhood.

Director

Amanda Strong (Michif)

Writers

Amanda Strong (Michif), Bracken Hanuse Corlett (Wuikinuxv-Klahoose)

Cast

Gail Maurice (Cree/Métis)

Producer

Bracken Hanuse Corlett (Wuikinuxv-Klahoose)

Genres

Action/Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Family

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Family Relationships, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

Other Language

Hyena Road

Director Paul Gross
Year 2015
Run Time 120min
Genre Action/Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Barren landscapes. Unseen enemies. Hyena Road depicts the recent war in Afghanistan, where peaceful peoples trying to live their lives find themselves caught in cross-fire.

Under the command of Captain Pete Mitchell (Gross), ace sniper Ryan Sanders (Sutherland) has caught wind of a dangerous insurgency. Stopping it will take the cooperation of Afghan locals and the dogged efforts of Canadian troops. Showing how forces on either side can work together to prevent senseless tragedy, Hyena Road goes down a dusty, dirty, thunderous path.

Hyena Road won three Canadian Screen Awards.

“The goal of the movie is truth-telling rather than flag-waving, but it also succeeds as impactful storytelling.”
— Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Director

Paul Gross

Gross starred in the hit TV series Due South and Slings & Arrows. He directed, wrote and starred in Men With Brooms, which won a Canadian Comedy Award, as well as Hyena Road and Passchendaele, which won a Genie for best film. Gross also starred in the mini-series Alias Grace and Caught, the series Tales of the City and Y: The Last Man, and the films Falling and The Middle Man.

Writer

Paul Gross

Cast

Allan Hawco, Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross, Christine Horne

Producers

Paul Gross, Niv Fichman

Genres

Action/Adventure, Drama, Thriller

Interests

Global Experiences, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Oliver Bump’s Birthday

Director Jordan Canning
Year 2011
Run Time 16min
Genre Action/Adventure, Comedy
On the eve of his birthday, 12-year-old child prodigy Oliver Bump is pretty sure he's about to die. Spurred by their demanding parents, his three brothers and sisters lived lives of endless intellectual toil until their inexplicable deaths at the exact moment they turn thirteen. Oliver is fated to be next. He spends his final hours with his parents in rigid preparations for his funeral. But with his new friend Sally at his side, the mysterious solution Oliver’s been working on might help him to escape his impending demise.

Director

Jordan Canning

Writer

Simon McNabb

Cast

Jason Spevack, Reiya Downs, Steve Cumyn

Producers

Mark Purdy, Jessica Cheung

Genres

Action/Adventure, Comedy

Interest

Family Relationships

Original Language

English

Shoot Your Shot

Directors Madison Thomas (Ojibwe/Saulteax), Meegwun Fairbrother (Ojibway)
Year 2021
Run Time 7min
Genre Action/Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

A sci-fi/action comedy that follows Tover, a teenager on the frontlines battling a future alien invasion. However, it’s not the aliens that terrify Tover, it’s the idea of asking out his crush, fellow soldier Savoy!

Directors

Madison Thomas (Ojibwe/Saulteax), Meegwun Fairbrother (Ojibway)

Cast

Victoria Turko (Métis), Stephanie Sy, Skye Pelletier, Meegwun Fairbrother (Ojibway)

Producer

Stephen Ground

Genres

Action/Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

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

Writer/director Briand’s other features include 2 secondes and the TV movie Heart: The Marilyn Bell Story. For her feature La turbulence des fluides, Briand earned a Jutra Award and many other nominations. Her first short film, Les sauf-conduits, won Best Canadian Short Film at TIFF.

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

Maïna

Director Michel Poulette
Year 2013
Run Time 102min
Genre Action/Adventure, Drama
An adventure story that is both epic and intimate, Maïna is set in the Far North, in the time before the arrival of the Europeans. During a bloody battle between the Innu and Inuit tribes, an 11-year-old boy, Nipki, is captured by the Inuit. Maïna (Supernault), the daughter of the Innu Grand Chief (Greene), promises her dying friend Matsii that she will rescue the boy, embarking on a dangerous mission that will forever change the course of her life.

Venturing north into enemy territory, Maïna is herself captured by Natak, the Inuit clan’s leader, and must navigate the perilous journey with him, to the “Land of Ice.”

Based on the novel by award-winning author Dominique Demers, this gripping and visually stunning film was nominated for six Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Picture.

Director

Michel Poulette

Montreal writer/director Poulette’s film Louis 19, le roi des ondes earned the Canadian Screen Award for Best First Feature as well as the Golden Reel Award. His feature Maïna was nominated for six Canadian Screen Awards and three Jutras. He directed Agent of Influence starring Oscar winner Christopher Plummer, several recent TV movies and the series Real Detective.

Writer

Pierre Billon

Cast

Uapeshkuss Thernish, Tantoo Cardinal (Cree/Métis), Graham Greene (Oneida), Roseanne Supernault (Cree/Métis)

Producers

Yves Fortin, Karine Martin

Genres

Action/Adventure, Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Literary Adaptation

Original Languages

English, Inuktitut

Night Raiders

Director Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis)
Year 2021
Run Time 101min
Genre Action/Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

A compelling and propulsive dystopian thriller grounded in an allegory for the residential school system, Night Raiders is the story of Niska (Tailfeathers), a Cree mother in an impossible situation. As she travels across a war-torn Turtle Island (North America), she is caught in a desperate attempt to save her daughter from a state-run forced re-education camp. With the world against her, Niska joins forces with a group of underground resistance fighters seeking to free their children and save their future.

Anchored by an incredible lead performance from Tailfeathers along with a stellar supporting cast, this powerful and heartfelt debut feature from Danis Goulet premiered at TIFF in 2021 and was nominated for eleven Canadian Screen Awards, winning six, including Best Original Screenplay.

Night Raiders should become the most talked-about Canadian film of the year. And for good reason.” – Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail

Director

Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis)

Danis Goulet is an award-winning Cree/Métis filmmaker from La Ronge, SK, now based in Toronto. Her films have screened at festivals worldwide including Sundance, Berlinale, TIFF, and MoMA. She is a former programmer and current board member for TIFF, and was the former Director of the imagineNATIVE Film+Media Arts Festival. Her latest projects include the TV series Reservation Dogs, and the upcoming feature film Ivy

Writer

Danis Goulet (Cree/Métis)

Cast

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot/Sámi), Brooklyn Letexier-Hart (Cree/Métis), Alex Tarrant (Māori-Niuean-Samoan), Shaun Sipos, Amanda Plummer

Producers

Taika Waititi (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), Paul Barkin, Tara Woodbury, Ainsley Gardiner (Ngāti Awa/Te Whānau-a-Apanui/Ngāti  Pikiao/Whakatōhea), Georgina Allison Conder

Genres

Action/Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads

Original Languages

English, Other Language