Don’t Tell Santa You’re Jewish!

Director Jody Kramer
Year 2010
Run Time 4min
Genre Animation
A young Jewish girl is worried that Santa will treat her differently from the other kids.

Director

Jody Kramer

Writer

Jody Kramer

Producer

Jody Kramer

Genre

Animation

Interests

Arts and Culture, Female Filmmaker

Original Language

English

The Energy Carol

Director Les Drew
Year 1975
Run Time 10min
Genre Animation
In a playful spin on the Charles Dickens classic, the CEO of a power company must confront the impact his wasteful ways will have on the future of the planet.

Director

Les Drew

Genre

Animation

Interest

Environment

Original Language

English

The Great Toy Robbery

Director Jeff Hale
Year 1963
Run Time 6min
Genre Animation
On his annual Christmas journey, Santa Claus is stopped in the wild west by robbers looking to keep the toys for themselves.

Director

Jeff Hale

Genre

Animation

Interest

Classics

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

Fido

Director Andrew Currie
Year 2006
Run Time 91min
Genre Comedy, Horror
Welcome to Willard, an idyllic town in a 1950s parallel universe where the sun shines every day, everybody knows their neighbour and zombies carry the mail.

Visually captivating, sly and clever, Fido follows the Robinson family, who have been hesitant to get a zombie of their own even though everyone on the block has one. All that changes when Mom (Moss) buys Fido (Connolly), and the loveable brute becomes young Timmy’s best friend. Fido is a funny, satirical and refreshing movie with an all-star cast and a standout performance by Billy Connolly as Fido.

“Currie’s zombie comedy is in a class by itself.”
— Lori Fireman, NOW Magazine

Director

Andrew Currie

Currie attended Simon Fraser University and the CFC. His feature films Mile Zero and Fido garnered international acclaim and awards. He recently directed The Steps and produced the feature Indian Road Trip and the short film Cloud Striker. He is currently writing and directing the feature The Invisibles.

Writers

Robert Chomiak, Andrew Currie, Dennis Heaton

Cast

Carrie-Anne Moss, Billy Connolly, Dylan Baker, Henry Czerny

Producers

Blake Corbet, Mary Anne Waterhouse

Genres

Comedy, Horror

Interests

Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Iron Road

Director David Wu
Year 2009
Run Time 99min
Genre Drama
A tale of forbidden love set against the building of the Canadian railway in the 1880s, Iron Road tells the story of a Chinese woman (Li) who disguises herself as a man and persuades the son of a railroad tycoon (Macfarlane) to hire her onto the explosives crew.

Soon, though, she finds herself falling in love with him, and as the physical terrain becomes more dangerous, so does the landscape of the heart. Beautifully shot and featuring screen legend Peter O’Toole in one of his last roles, Iron Road revisits an important and controversial time in Canadian history.

Originally broadcast as a CBC miniseries, REEL CANADA is proud to present the feature version of this epic tale that spans two continents.

Director

David Wu

Wu is a master editor who has worked with many legendary Hong Kong filmmakers. His directorial credits include the films The Snow Queen with Bridget Fonda, Plague City: SARS in Toronto (for which he earned the DGC Best Director nomination), See You Tomorrow, and the TV show Once a Thief. He recently edited the films You Are In My Heart and Bai du ren.

Writers

Barry Pearson, Raymond Storey

Cast

Sun Li, Luke Macfarlane, Sam Neill, Peter O’Toole

Producers

Zhao Haicheng, Anne Tait, Raymond Massey II

Genre

Drama

Interests

Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, ESL, History, Newcomer Stories, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

Other Language

The Man Who Invented Christmas

Director Bharat Nalluri
Year 2017
Run Time 104min
Genre Drama

After a string of flops, Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey) finds inspiration from his own life to write his most famous work, A Christmas Carol. With a tight deadline and doubt over how successful a Christmas book can be, Dickens must work around the clock and ends up living out the novel’s most famous scenes in his own study, in order to find the story that would come to be beloved by millions.

Also featuring screen legend Christopher Plummer as Ebenezer Scrooge, The Man Who Invented Christmas is a fascinating look behind the scenes of the creation of a classic and beloved novel, and a charming portrait of one of the most famous authors of all time.

“A surprisingly fresh movie about a story we all know very well.” - Peter Howell, The Toronto Star

Director

Bharat Nalluri

Writers

Susan Coyne, Les Standiford, Charles Dickens

Cast

Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce

Producers

Niv Fichman, Robert Mickelson, Vadim Jean, Ian Sharples, Susan Mullen

Genre

Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Asian Filmmaker, Biography, History

Original Language

English

La mystérieuse mademoiselle C. (The Mysterious Miss C.)

Director Richard Ciupka
Year 2002
Run Time 108min
Genre Comedy, Drama, Family, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
The newest supply teacher at St-Cécile Elementary School, known only as Miss C, is undeniably unusual. This was apparent from the moment she arrives at the school, soaked from head to toe while speaking to a small rock. With her boundless spirit and unparalleled imagination, Miss C. reinvigorates her class of students, and the school as a whole, by encouraging every child to embrace what makes them unique.

Based on the popular children’s book series, The Mysterious Miss C. is a fun and heartwarming story that encourages kids to be positive, to use their imagination and to discover the joy of reading.

Director

Richard Ciupka

Writer

Dominique Demers

Cast

Marie-Chantal Perron, Gildor Roy, Eve Lemieux, Benoît Brière

Producers

Jacques Bonin, Claude Veillet

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Family, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interest

Literary Adaptation

Original Language

French

Maq and the Spirit of the Woods

Director Phyllis Grant
Year 2006
Run Time 8min
Genre Animation
This animated short tells the story of Maq, a Mi'kmaq boy who realizes his potential with the help of inconspicuous mentors. 

Director

Phyllis Grant

Genre

Animation

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

The Whale

Directors Michael Parfit, Suzanne Chisholm
Year 2010
Run Time 85min
Genre Documentary, Family
This touching documentary, narrated by Ryan Reynolds, tells the story of a young killer whale, Luna, who gets separated from his family on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. As rambunctious and surprising as a visitor from another planet, Luna endears himself to the community with his determination to make contact, leading to many unexpected consequences.

The Whale charts the community’s struggle to deal with Luna, since whales who are separated from their pods rarely survive in the wild. Raising more questions than it can answer, the film is a truly compelling exploration of our relationship with animals.

“The issues surrounding the emotional lives of animals — and the often presumptuous assumption of humans that they comprehend them — are explored in The Whale with a quiet dignity and gorgeous images.” — Andy Webster, New York Times

Directors

Michael Parfit

Parfit co-founded the BC-based Mountainside Films with Suzanne Chisholm, which Realscreen once named among the world’s 100 most influential production companies. Their work has aired on CBC, CNN, PBS, BBC and National Geographic. Their latest film is Call of the Baby Beluga and they recently executive produced the doc Doeville.

Suzanne Chisholm

Chisholm co-founded the BC-based Mountainside Films with Michael Parfit, which Realscreen once named among the world’s 100 most influential production companies. Their work has aired on CBC, CNN, PBS, BBC and National Geographic. Their latest film is Call of the Baby Beluga and they recently executive produced the doc Doeville.

Cast

Ryan Reynolds

Producer

Suzanne Chisholm

Genres

Documentary, Family

Interests

Environment, ESL, Female Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English