Interest: Cult & Offbeat Cinema
After hitting Dr. Helen Remington (Hunter)’s vehicle in a critical car accident, film producer James Ballard (Spader), a man in an open marriage, and Remington, whose husband died in the crash, begin an unlikely affair that seems to take place exclusively in and around automobiles. While he is recovering, Ballard meets Vaughan (Koteas), a man who leads a bizarre subculture of people who fetishize car crashes, car safety tests and traffic accidents in general. As Vaughan’s unusual cult meetings intersect with their lives, Ballard finds deeper meaning not just in his marriage, but in mankind’s increasingly intertwined and disturbing relationship to technology.
Director
David Cronenberg
Writer
David Cronenberg
Cast
James Spader, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas, Deborah Unger
Producers
David Cronenberg, Robert Lantos, Jeremy Thomas
Genres
Drama, Horror, Romance, Thriller
Interest
Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
Outfitted in a homemade costume, Defendor may not have special powers, but he is nonetheless dedicated to protecting the streets and fighting crime. He battles a corrupt cop (Koteas), befriends the tough and streetwise Kat (Dennings) and schemes to bring down a local mob boss, all while a court-appointed psychiatrist (Oh) tries to get to the bottom of his conviction that he is, in fact, a superhero.
Turning the superhero genre on its head, Defendor is a bittersweet and emotionally affecting take on our comic book–obsessed culture.
Director
Peter Stebbings
Stebbings’ directorial debut was Defendor, and his second film, Empire of Dirt, was nominated for five CSAs. As an actor, his numerous credits include Citizen Duane, The Borgias, Bates Motel, Counting for Thunder and his newest film Percy Vs Goliath. He recently directed The Disappearance, which garnered four CSAs, and episodes of Frankie Drake Mysteries, The Sounds, and Killjoys. He is currently writing and directing the feature Running with Monsters.
Writer
Peter Stebbings
Cast
Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Sandra Oh, Elias Koteas
Producer
Nicholas Tabarrok
Genres
Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
Fubar
These two mullet-sporting, beer-chugging Alberta-based headbangers are the subject of a fictional documentary by Ferral Mitchner (Skilling), a filmmaker who follows Terry and Dean as they explore the depths of their friendship through a series of unexpected twists and turns. A fun, hilarious, and unforgettable trip into the minds of two of Canada’s most beloved comic rogues.
Director
Michael Dowse
Dowse’s credits include the cult classics Fubar, Fubar II and It’s All Gone Pete Tong. His film Goon was a huge critical and box-office success. The F Word won the CSA for Best Adapted Screenplay. Dowse also directed episodes of Man Seeking Woman, starring Jay Baruchel, the feature film Stuber, 8 Bit Christmas, and Coffee and Kareem. He is currently set to direct the film adaptation of the video game Just Cause and is developing a series about the late Toronto mayor Rob Ford.
Writers
Michael Dowse, David Lawrence, Paul Spence
Cast
Paul Spence, David Lawrence
Producers
Michael Dowse, Bryan Gliserman, David Lawrence, Mark Slone, Paul Spence
Genre
Comedy
Interest
Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
Highway 61
When naïve barber Pokey Jones (McKellar) meets Jackie Bangs (Buhagiar), a flamboyant roadie on the run, it doesn’t take her long to persuade him to leave Thunder Bay for New Orleans. Jones f inds himself taking not only Jackie, but also a frozen corpse he found in his backyard, which she claims is her brother. Meanwhile, in hot pursuit of the fleeing couple is Mr. Skin (Pastko), a bizarre and deluded character who thinks of himself as the Devil. As the three travel south, sparks fly and romance blooms between Pokey and Jackie.
“The triumphant return of two talents firing on all cylinders.” — Festival of Festivals
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.
Writers
Allan Magee, Bruce McDonald, Don McKellar
Cast
Valerie Buhagiar, Earl Pastko, Don McKellar
Producers
Colin Brunton, Bruce McDonald
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Last Night
Last Night received 13 Genie nominations, winning Best Actress (Oh), Best Supporting Actor (Rennie) and the Claude Jutra Award for the direction of a first feature film (McKellar). The film also won the Prix de la jeunesse at the Cannes film festival.
Director
Don McKellar
McKellar is a prolific filmmaker and actor whose work has garnered numerous awards. He wrote Highway 61, The Red Violin and Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, and wrote, directed and starred in Last Night (which won the Prix de la jeunesse at the Cannes film festival), and Childstar, and has directed several other films. He recently starred in Meditation Park, Crimes of the Future, and directed Sensitive Skin. Currently, he is writing episodes for Park Chan-wook’s The Sympathizer, which he is also executive producing.
Writer
Don McKellar
Cast
Don McKellar, Sandra Oh, David Cronenberg, Callum Keith Rennie, Sarah Polley
Producers
Caroline Benjo, Carole Scotta, Niv Fichman, Daniel Iron
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
The Bitter Ash
Director
Larry Kent
Writer
Larry Kent
Cast
Alan Scarfe, Lynn Stewart, Philip Brown
Producer
Larry Kent
Genre
Drama
Interests
Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Family Relationships
Original Language
English
The Delicate Art of Parking
Director
Trent Carlson
Writers
Ross Ferguson, Blake Corbet, Bridget Hill
Cast
Andrew McNee
Genre
Comedy
Interest
Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
Weirdsville
A pair of slackers get in way over their heads when they try to dump a body in the basement of a drive-in movie theatre where a satanic cult performs ritual sacrifices. Starring Scott Speedman.
Director
Allan Moyle
Director, screenwriter and actor Moyle wrote the seminal Canadian films Montreal Main and The Rubber Gun, and directed the latter. His film credits also include Times Square, Pump Up the Volume, Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story and Weirdsville. He most recently directed the documentary How Sweet It Is.
Writer
Willem Wennekers
Cast
Scott Speedman
Producer
Nicholas Tabarrok
Genre
Comedy
Interest
Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
Un zoo la nuit (Night Zoo)
Director
Jean-Claude Lauzon
Cast
Corrado Mastropasqua, Lorne Brass, Gilles Maheu, Roger Lebel
Producers
Roger Frappier, Pierre Gendron
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Interests
Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Family Relationships, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
French
The Wild Hunt
A medieval re-enactment game turns into a Shakespearean tragedy when a non-player crashes the event in order to win back his girlfriend.
Director
Alexandre Franchi
Writers
Mark Antony Krupa, Alexandre Franchi
Cast
Kaniehtiio Horn
Producers
Karen Murphy, Alexandre Franchi
Genre
Horror
Interest
Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English