Avril et le monde truqué (April and the Extraordinary World)

Directors Christian Desmares, Franck Ekinci
Year 2016
Run Time 105min
Genre Action/Adventure, Animation, Family, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
It’s 1941 in an alternative history of Europe, where pollution has ravaged the world and technology has not progressed since the steam engine. A brilliant teenage girl named April (voiced by Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard), who lives on the streets of Paris, has been trying to find her parents, scientists who disappeared while working on a top secret project. Her search lands her deep in a sinister criminal plot. Luckily, she is joined on her adventure by her grandfather, her talking cat Darwin and a mysterious boy named Julius. Together, this band of unlikely heroes might just save the world.

Crafted in stunning animation, this imaginative adventure story will thrill audiences of all ages.

“The movie so teems with delightful detail and has such an exuberant sense of play that it feels entirely fresh” – Glenn Kenny, The New York Times

Directors

Christian Desmares, Franck Ekinci

Writers

Franck Ekinci, Benjamin Legrand

Cast

Marion Cotillard

Producers

Franck Ekinci, Michel Dutheil, Marc Jousset

Genres

Action/Adventure, Animation, Family, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

Family Relationships, Global Experiences, Strong Female Leads

Original Languages

English, French

Begone Dull Care

Directors Norman McLaren, Evelyn Lambart
Year 1949
Run Time 8min
Genre Animation, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
In this extraordinary short animation, Evelyn Lambart and Norman McLaren painted colours, shapes, and transformations directly on to their filmstrip. The result is a vivid interpretation, in fluid lines and colour, of jazz music played by the Oscar Peterson Trio.

Directors

Norman McLaren, Evelyn Lambart

Producer

Norman McLaren

Genres

Animation, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interest

Arts and Culture

Original Languages

English, French, Other Language

The Drop In

Director Naledi Jackson
Year 2017
Run Time 13min
Genre Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
A drop in at a hair salon takes a sudden and violent turn when truths come to light. Content Note: Violence

Director

Naledi Jackson

Writer

Naledi Jackson

Cast

Mouna Traoré, Oluniké Adeliyi

Producer

Priscilla Galvez

Genres

Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences

Original Language

English

Ryan

Director Chris Landreth
Year 2004
Run Time 14min
Genre Animation, Documentary, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
This Oscar-winning animated short from Chris Landreth is based on the life of Ryan Larkin, a Canadian animator who produced some of the most influential animated films of his time. Ryan is living every artist's worst nightmare - succumbing to addiction, panhandling on the streets to make ends meet. Through computer-generated characters, Landreth interviews his friend to shed light on his downward spiral. 

Director

Chris Landreth

Cast

Ryan Larkin

Producers

Steven Hoban, Marcy Page, Mark Smith, Jed DeCory, Jeremy Edwardes

Genres

Animation, Documentary, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interest

Arts and Culture

Original Languages

English, French

Frost

Director Jeremy Ball
Year 2012
Run Time 14min
Genre Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Young Arctic hunter Naya embarks on a search for food outside her ancestral hunting grounds. There she discovers an unfamiliar new world and a dangerous predator.

Director

Jeremy Ball

Writer

Jeremy Ball

Cast

Emily Piggford, Lara Daans, Oscar Hsu

Producer

Lauren Grant

Genres

Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

BIPOC Stories, History

Original Language

English

My Winnipeg

Director Guy Maddin
Year 2007
Run Time 80min
Genre Comedy, Documentary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
The geographical centre of North America and the birthplace of director Guy Maddin, Winnipeg is the frosty and mysterious star of this (self-described) “docu-fantasia.” A hypnotic love letter to his hometown, My Winnipeg is equal parts historical chronicle and personal portrait, seamlessly weaving real facts with wild fiction.

What is real and what is fantasy is left up to the viewer to sort out, but don’t be fooled by Maddin’s fantastical approach — some of the most shocking stories in My Winnipeg are the true ones! Shot in Maddin’s signature black-and-white style and narrated by the director, the film is funny, touching and mesmerizing.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of watching a Guy Maddin film, this delightfully strange ode to a surprisingly fascinating Canadian city is a great place to start.

My Winnipeg won the Toronto International Film Festival’s award for Best Canadian Feature and the Toronto Film Critics’ Association Award for Best Canadian Film.

Director

Guy Maddin

Writers

Guy Maddin, George Toles

Cast

Darcy Fehr, Ann Savage, Louis Negin

Producers

Michael Burns, Phyllis Laing, Guy Maddin, Jody Shapiro

Genres

Comedy, Documentary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

Arts and Culture, Biography, Cult & Offbeat Cinema

Original Language

English

Scanners

Director David Cronenberg
Year 1981
Run Time 103min
Genre Action/Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
After 10 seconds, the pain begins. 15 seconds, you can’t breathe. 20 seconds, you explode.

Scanners are social outcasts, the by-product of a failed experimental drug given to their mothers during pregnancy, and possess the unusual ability to read and control minds.

Security firm ConSec wants to harness these telekinetics and turn them into a powerful new weapon; however, Revok (Ironside) is hellbent on destroying ConSec and taking over the world. The only man who may be able to stop him is the stoic but equally powerful Vale (Lack).

Chaos reigns as the duo face off in a series of dramatic duels featuring some of cinema’s most jaw-dropping practical effects.

Busting heads and box-office numbers when it opened in 1981, Scanners demonstrates Cronenberg’s talent for accessible, fun and truly awesome science fiction.

Director

David Cronenberg

Writer

David Cronenberg

Cast

Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Michael Ironside, Patrick McGoohan

Producers

Pierre David, Claude Héroux, Victor Solnicki

Genres

Action/Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema

Original Language

English

You Are Here

Director Daniel Cockburn
Year 2010
Run Time 78min
Genre Drama, Experimental, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Comprised of interconnected mini-narratives, this smartly- crafted commentary features characters trapped in their own bizarre social experiments. Featuring Tracy Wright and Nadia Litz.

Director

Daniel Cockburn

Writer

Daniel Cockburn

Cast

Tracy Wright, Shannon Beckner, Richard Clarkin, Jenni Burke, Robert Kennedy

Producer

Daniel Bekerman

Genres

Drama, Experimental, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

Arts and Culture, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Splice

Director Vincenzo Natali
Year 2009
Run Time 104min
Genre Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Elsa (Sarah Polley) and Clive (Adrien Brody) are married scientists who defy legal and ethical boundaries by splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism. 

Director

Vincenzo Natali

Writers

Vincenzo Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant, Doug Taylor

Cast

Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac

Producer

Steven Hoban

Genres

Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Original Languages

English, French

A World of Our Own

Director Morningstar Derosier (Anishinaabe)
Year 2018
Run Time 9min
Genre Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
In a twist on futuristic sci-fi, a young woman becomes infatuated with a woman who removes a ubiquitous computer implant that has replaced most forms of communication.

Director

Morningstar Derosier (Anishinaabe)

Writer

Morningstar Derosier (Anishinaabe)

Cast

Curtis Carriere, Rebekah Manella, Kaitlyn Stewart

Producer

Morningstar Derosier (Anishinaabe)

Genres

Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English