Interest: Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Videodrome is one of David Cronenberg’s most original and provocative works, and is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential and mind-bending sci-fi/horror films of the 1980s. “Long live the new flesh” goes this movie’s most famous quote — and long live crazy Canadian body horror!
Director
David Cronenberg
Writer
David Cronenberg
Cast
James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits, Les Carlson, Peter Dvorsky
Producer
Claude Héroux
Genres
Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Interest
Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
Dark, engaging and with a brilliant ensemble performance from its many players, Exotica is one of Egoyan’s most engaging and alluring films. A hypnotic thriller about desire, obsession and loneliness, it won eight Genie Awards.
Director
Atom Egoyan
Egoyan received the Governor General’s award in 2015 for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. He was the first-ever Canadian director to earn two Oscar nominations (for The Sweet Hereafter). His award-winning films include Exotica, Ararat and The Captive. His most recent film, Guest of Honour, premiered at TIFF 2019.
Writer
Atom Egoyan
Cast
Bruce Greenwood, Elias Koteas, Don McKellar, Arsinée Kahnian, Mia Kirshner
Producers
Atom Egoyan, Camelia Frieberg
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Interests
Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
Psycho Goreman
Two children accidentally resurrect an evil alien overlord, who they name Psycho Goreman (or PG for short). While a magical amulet allows the kids to control him into doing their bidding, PG still wants to destroy the universe - and soon their activities draw the attention of a Planetary Alliance that sends an elite assassin named Pandora to stop PG from carrying out his evil will. In this battle of good vs. evil, it’s anyone’s guess who will come out on top.
From Steven Kostanski, the creator of the cult-hit Manborg, Psycho Goreman is a fantastical ride that is as bizarre as it is hilarious.
Director
Steven Kostanski
Writer
Steven Kostanski
Cast
Nita-Josée Hanna, Owen Myre, Matthew Ninaber
Producers
Stuart F. Andrews, Shannon Hanmer, Steven Kostanski
Genres
Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Interest
Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
Fido
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
Project Grizzly
The most hilarious scenes in the film feature Hurtubise as a kind of Japanese robot, willingly testing himself and his suit. The journey takes him to the Rockies…and to some scenes of self-awareness.
“One of the most provocatively entertaining and loopily Canadian documentaries of the decade.” — Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
“It’s fantastic.” — Quentin Tarantino
Director
Peter Lynch
Lynch earned international success with his wildly popular and critically-acclaimed Project Grizzly. His features include The Herd, Cyberman, A Whale of a Tale and Dem Bones. Lynch won a Genie for his short film Arrowhead. His most recent feature film, Birdland, was released in 2018.
Cast
Troy Hurtubise
Producers
Michael Allder, Gerry Flahive, Louise Lore
Genres
Action/Adventure, Documentary
Interests
Biography, Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
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
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
waydowntown
But when the pals decide to make a bet about who can stay indoors the longest, they each start reaching their breaking points in increasingly funny and unexpected ways.
As the bet unravels, the desire for a breath of fresh air brings loyalties, values and relationships under highly comic scrutiny.
Waydowntown won Best Canadian Film at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival and was nominated for four Canadian Comedy Awards.
“A smart, sardonic satire.” – Stephen Holden, The New York Times
Director
Gary Burns
Calgary-born writer and director Burns’ film credits include Kitchen Party, featuring Scott Speedman in his first starring role, The Suburbanators and Radiant City, which won the Genie Award for Best Documentary. Burns co-directed The Future is Now!, and most recently wrote and directed Man Running, and produced Circle of Steel.
Writers
Gary Burns, James Martin
Cast
Fab Filippo, Don McKellar, Marya Delver, Gordon Currie
Producers
Gary Burns, Shirley Vercruysse
Genre
Comedy
Interest
Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
Beautifully shot and featuring a killer '70s soundtrack, the new film from Canadian master Bruce McDonald and playwright and screenwriter Daniel MacIvor shakes up the coming-of-age road-movie concept with wit, charm and a lot of heart.
"What's not to love about Canuck hipster Bruce McDonald's return to a genre he's a master of – the indie road movie with a distinctly Canadian flavour and endearingly peculiar characters." – Michelle Reid, Victoria Times Colonist
Director
Bruce McDonald
McDonald directed the cult hits Highway 61, Roadkill, Hard Core Logo, The Tracey Fragments, starring Elliot Page, Pontypool, and the award-winning series Twitch City, episodes of Degrassi and Heartland. His recent films include Trigger, The Husband, Hellions, Weirdos and Dreamland. He recently directed the series Creeped Out and Malory Towers and is currently working on the films Switched at Death and I Have a Bad Feeling About This.
Writer
Daniel MacIvor
Cast
Dylan Authors, Rhys Bevan-John
Producers
Marc Almon, Mike MacMillan
Genre
Drama
Interests
Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Family Relationships, LGBTQ2S+, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Everyone, including Tripper, is sick and tired of perennially losing the Camp Olympics. It’s only by encouraging all campers to try their hardest — including young Rudy (Makepeace), who has self-esteem issues — that Tripper and his troops can hope to emerge triumphant. Full of wacky pranks, lively high jinks and a lot of touching moments, Meatballs is sure to entertain audiences of all ages.
Meatballs won the Genie Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actress (Lynch), as well as the Golden Reel Award, given to the film with the biggest box office gross of the year.
Director
Ivan Reitman
Writers
Len Blum, Dan Goldberg, Janis Allen, Harold Ramis
Cast
Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Chris Makepeace, Jack Blum
Producers
John Dunning, Dan Goldberg, André Link
Genre
Comedy
Interests
Bullying, Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema, ESL
Original Language
English