Interest: Arts and Culture
45 R.P.M.
This heartfelt and often funny coming-of-age drama takes a turn when a strange weather condition suddenly allows Parry to receive a radio broadcast from New York City, and he starts to believe that a contest the station is running might just be his ticket out of town.
Director
David Schultz
Winnipeg-born writer and director Schultz has worked in TV, shorts and feature films. He wrote and directed the features Jet Boy, Rufus, and Considering Love and Other Magic and wrote screen adaptations of Joy Fielding’s novels Don’t Cry Now, and The Other Woman, as well as the screenplay for The Humanity Bureau, starring Nicolas Cage. He’s currently writing the feature The Side of the Road.
Writer
David Schultz
Cast
Jordan Gavaris, Michael Madsen, Kim Coates, Justine Banszky, MacKenzie Porter
Producers
Anand Ramayya, Michael Frislev, Chad Oakes
Genre
Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, Family Relationships, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Le déclin de l’empire américain (The Decline of the American Empire)
While the story is set in the world of academia, there’s nothing bookish or stuffy about the stories that emerge! Satirical and witty, Le déclin evolves from a comedy of manners to a poignant and moving exploration of relationship and loss.
Ranking twice in the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time list (both the 1993 and 2004 lists), the film was nominated for an Academy Award and winner of nine Genie Awards.
Director
Denys Arcand
Writer
Denys Arcand
Cast
Pierre Curzi, Dorothée Berryman, Louise Portal, Rémy Girard, Gabriel Arcand
Producers
Roger Frappier, René Malo
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, Family Relationships, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
French
My Salinger Year
Director
Philippe Falardeau
Quebecois director and screenwriter Falardeau has won more than 32 international awards for his films, which include Monsieur Lazhar, La moitié gauche du frigo, C'est pas moi, je le jure!, The Good Lie, the political satire Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre, and the recent My Salinger Year as well as the TV show Le temps des framboises.
Writers
Philippe Falardeau, Joanna Rakoff
Cast
Margaret Qualley, Sigourney Weaver, Douglas Booth, Seana Kerslake
Producers
Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
Genre
Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, Literary Adaptation, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Les invasions barbares (The Barbarian Invasions)
An illuminating bittersweet-comedy that won Canada’s first Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The film also won the award for Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival and nearly 50 other awards.
Director
Denys Arcand
Writer
Denys Arcand
Cast
Rémy Girard, Dorothée Berryman, Stéphane Rousseau, Marie-Josée Croze
Producers
Daniel Louis, Denise Robert
Genre
Comedy
Interests
Arts and Culture, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
French
The Red Violin
As the auction proceeds, the violin’s history is revealed through four interconnected tales spanning 300 years. And as it passes through the hands of musicians in Italy, Vienna, London and Shanghai, the violin fills its owners’ lives with romance, adventure, intrigue and tragedy. At the centre of the story is the instrument’s dark secret, which is revealed only at the film’s suspenseful finale.
“In a time of timid projects and easy formulas, The Red Violin has the kind of sweep and vision that we identify with elegant features from decades ago.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Director
François Girard
Girard won a Grammy for Secret World Live, a Peter Gabriel concert film. Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould won four Genie Awards, including Best Picture. The Red Violin won eight Genies and an Oscar for Best Original Score. His recent films include Boychoir, starring Dustin Hoffman, and Hochelaga terre des âmes, which was nominated for eight CSAs, winning four. His latest, The Song of Names, premiered at TIFF 2019.
Writers
Don McKellar, François Girard
Cast
Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Flemyng, Colm Feore, Greta Sacchi, Sylvia Chang
Producer
Niv Fichman
Genre
Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, History
Original Language
English
Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
Featuring never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with some of rock’s greatest artists, this documentary explores the long career of these Canadian musical heroes.
Directors
Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen
Writers
Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn, Mike Munn
Producers
Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Arts and Culture, Biography, History
Original Language
English
Based on a true story, Isabelle Fortier chronicles her experience as a sex worker in a semi-autobiographical novel under the pen name Nelly Arcan (Mylène MacKay). The book becomes a scandalous international bestseller, leading to unexpected and unwanted fame for Arcan, who must now deal with the pressure of increased scrutiny about the authenticity of her stories and the demand for an equally successful follow-up.
Anne Emond explores the author’s colourful and ultimately tragic life in a multi-layered and stylish mix of make-believe and memoir, revealing the person behind the shocking literary alter ego.
“Mylène MacKay delivers a towering performance” - T’Cha Dunlevy, The Montreal Gazette
Director
Anne Émond
Émond's debut feature, Nuit #1, won the Claude Jutra Award for Best Feature by a first time filmmaker at the 2012 Genie Awards. Her other credits include the shorts La vie commence, Sophie Lavoie and Plus rien ne vouloir, and the features Nelly and Les êtres chers, which received seven Jutra Award nominations and won for Best Direction. Her most recent film is Manuel de la vie sauvage.
Writers
Anne Émond, Nelly Arcan
Cast
Mylène Mackay, Marie-Claude Guérin, Simon Alain
Producer
Nicole Robert
Genre
Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, Biography, Female Filmmaker
Original Language
French
Fabuleuses
Laurie (O’Farrell) desperately wants to become a social media influencer, much to the chagrin of her roommate Elizabeth (Zazham). When she befriends her idol, Clara (Gosselin), a prolific content creator who seems to have a perfect life, Laurie starts to gain a following herself, and finally gets a taste of the life she wants. But as their friendship continues, and the façade that Clara constructed starts to fall away, Laurie comes to see the dark side of internet celebrity, and that she may already be in too deep.
An insightful look at contemporary young female relationships, Mélanie Charbonneau’s debut feature Fabuleuses was nominated for 5 Prix Iris, including best film and best actress.
Director
Mélanie Charbonneau
Quebec-based director Charbonneau started her career with directing commercials. Her first short film, Seule played several international festivals including Cannes. Her short film Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous collected over 30 prizes at festivals internationally. Fabuleuses was her first feature. Most recently she directed episodes of Je ne suis pas un robot.
Writers
Mélanie Charbonneau, Geneviève Pettersen
Cast
Noémie O'Farrell, Alexandre Nachi, Juliette Gosselin, Genevieve Boivin Roussy, Mounia Zahzam
Producer
Nicole Robert
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, Female Filmmaker
Original Language
French
Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven
Archival film, letters, journals and photographs of the artists – some of which have never been seen in public – take the viewers back in time. This film weaves this history with a modern day adventure, up mountains, down canyon rivers and over portages with our trio as they try to achieve their own personal quest: to actually ‘walk in the Group of Seven’s footsteps’.
Director
Phyllis Ellis
Writer
Nancy Lang
Producers
Nancy Lang, Michael Burtch, Gary McGuffin, Joanie McGuffin
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Arts and Culture, Female Filmmaker, History
Original Language
English
Je m’appelle humain (Call Me Human)
After spending most of her life working as an Innu language translator and transcriber, Joséphine Bacon rose to fame late in life in her second career as an award-winning poet. This moving profile frames her life and work in a new context, offering a deeply personal look at an important literary figure in Canada.
Je m'appele humain premiered at the Quebec City Film Festival to great acclaim, and went on to receive four Prix Iris nominations, including Best Documentary.
Director
Kim O'Bomsawin (Abenaki)
Writers
Kim O'Bomsawin (Abenaki), Nathalie Gressin
Cast
Joséphine Bacon (Innu)
Producer
Andrée-Anne Frenette
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Arts and Culture, Biography, BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Languages
French, Other Language