Interest: ESL
Sabah
Sabah is frustrated at home with no means of escape. That is, until she meets non-Muslim Stephen (Doyle), who awakens her long-lost desire for independence and romance. Soon, Sabah is having a whirlwind cross-cultural affair that she must hide from her family.
Ruba Nadda’s witty and timely love story breathes new life into a classic tale of family, tradition, cultural difference and love.
Director
Ruba Nadda
Nadda is an internationally acclaimed writer and filmmaker whose credits include the features Inescapable and October Gale and television shows such as Killjoys; Frankie Drake Mysteries; Arrow; Roswell, Riverdale and many others. Her feature Cairo Time won the Best Canadian Feature at TIFF. She is currently producing the series Gray, and next she will direct the films Lifetime and Elizabeth.
Writer
Ruba Nadda
Cast
Arsinée Khanjian, Fadia Nada, Jeff Seymour, Shawn Doyle
Producers
Tracey Boulton, Atom Egoyan
Genres
Drama, Romance
Interests
BIPOC Stories, ESL, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Newcomer Stories, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Remember
A riveting journey that will keep you guessing until the very end, Remember’s engrossing twists and incredible performances are simply unforgettable.
“This is one of those rare mainstream releases that gets everything right, right down to its knockout ending.”
— Scott Marks, San Diego Reader
Director
Atom Egoyan
Egoyan is a Companion of the Order of Canada, and received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 2015 for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. He has produced a significant body of work in film, television, and theatre. He has won over 60 awards, and was nominated for 80 others, including two Academy Award nominations for The Sweet Hereafter. His films have screened at festivals and in major retrospectives around the world, and a number of books have been written about his work. His films include Exotica, Ararat, The Captive, and Seven Veils, among many others.
Writer
Benjamin August
Cast
Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Henry Czerny, Bruno Ganz
Producers
Ari Lantos, Robert Lantos
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Interests
Discrimination, ESL, Family Relationships, History
Original Language
English
Nurse.Fighter.Boy
As Jude’s illness becomes more serious, Ciel learns to trust Silence, a new source of strength in their small, tight-knit family. Beautifully acted, shot in vibrant colour, and featuring an unforgettable soundtrack, Nurse.Fighter.Boy is sure to cast its spell on you.
“Nurse.Fighter.Boy is a … gem of a movie.” — Liz Braun, Sun Media
Director
Charles Officer
Actor, writer and filmmaker Officer’s first feature, Nurse.Fighter.Boy, was nominated for 10 Genies, winning one. Officer also directed the docs Mighty Jerome, The Skin We're In, Unarmed Verses, and Invisible Essence: The Little Prince, as well as the feature Akilla's Escape, which won five CSAs. He directed episodes of Coroner, and executive produced and co-directed The Porter, which was nominated for an Emmy. Officer passed away in 2023. He changed the Canadian film and television landscape with his fierce dedication to portraying Black perspectives and experiences, and is greatly missed.
Writers
Charles Officer, Ingrid Veninger
Cast
Clark Johnson, Karen LeBlanc, Daniel J. Gordon
Producers
Ingrid Veninger, Justine Whyte
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Black Filmmaker, ESL, Family Relationships, Sports, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Breakaway
A cross-cultural story of self-discovery, Breakaway is a heartwarming, action-filled comedy, bringing a dash of Bollywood to Canada’s favourite sport. With a hilarious supporting cast including comedian Russell Peters, and a special appearance from Drake, Breakaway will have you cheering for its unlikely heroes.
Director
Robert Lieberman
Lieberman’s directing credits include the feature films D3: The Mighty Ducks, Fire in the Sky and Table for Five. He has won 29 Clio Awards for his work in advertising and has directed such hit TV shows as Lost Girl, Republic of Doyle, Houdini & Doyle, Haven, The Expanse, Rogue, and Criminal Minds. Most recently, he directed the features Christmas in Tahoe, Love Stories in Sunflower Valley and Love on the Road.
Writers
Noel S. Baker, Jeffrey Alan Schechter, Matt Simmons, Vinay Virmani
Cast
Vinay Virmani, Russell Peters, Rob Lowe, Camilla Belle
Producers
Ajay Virmani, Don Carmody, Frank Siracusa
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Bullying, Discrimination, ESL, Family Relationships, Newcomer Stories, Sports
Original Language
English
Passchendaele
While recovering, Dunne meets Sarah (Dhavernas) and becomes determined to win her heart. When Sarah’s asthmatic younger brother David (Dinicol) enlists to fight in the war, Michael returns to the battlefield in order to protect him. The two men are sent to fight against impossible odds in the battle of Passchendaele.
The film won six Genies, including Best Picture and Best Actor, for Paul Gross.
Director
Paul Gross
Gross starred in the hit TV series Due South and Slings & Arrows. He directed, wrote and starred in Men With Brooms, which won a Canadian Comedy Award, as well as Hyena Road and Passchendaele, which won a Genie for best film. Gross also starred in the mini-series Alias Grace and Caught, the series Tales of the City and Y: The Last Man, and the films Falling and The Middle Man.
Writer
Paul Gross
Cast
Paul Gross, Caroline Dhavernas, Gil Bellows, Joe Dinicol
Producers
Frank Siracusa, Paul Gross, Francis Damberger, Niv Fichman
Genres
Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance
Interests
ESL, History
Original Language
English
One Week
A classic road trip movie featuring lots of Canadian icons (like Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip), One Week follows Ben’s journey from Toronto to Tofino. Along the way, Ben makes new friends and re-evaluates his life, his job and his upcoming marriage. As his fiancée and family back home struggle to understand his decision, Ben rediscovers himself, reawakens his old passion for writing and ultimately learns to appreciate life.
Director
Michael McGowan
McGowan made his film debut as a writer, director and producer with My Dog Vincent, and directed Saint Ralph, One Week, Score: A Hockey Musical and Still Mine, which was named by TIFF as one of Canada’s Top 10 films in 2012. He recently directed TV shows Reign and Between and wrote the film The Etruscan Smile. His most recent film, All My Puny Sorrows, premiered at TIFF 2021.
Writer
Michael McGowan
Cast
Joshua Jackson, Liane Balaban, Campbell Scott, Fiona Reid
Producers
Nicholas de Pencier, Jane Tattersall, Michael McGowan
Genre
Drama
Interests
ESL, Family Relationships
Original Language
English
Meatballs
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, Daniel Goldberg, Janis Allen, Harold Ramis
Cast
Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Chris Makepeace, Jack Blum
Producers
John Dunning, Daniel Goldberg, André Link
Genre
Comedy
Interests
Bullying, Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema, ESL
Original Language
English
Window Horses
When she receives an invitation to a poetry festival in Shiraz, Iran, Rosie embarks on a journey that unravels a personal mystery and brings her closer to her Persian roots.
Voiced by an all-star cast including Sandra Oh, Elliot Page and Don McKellar, Window Horses is a beautiful and poignant story about family, imagination, culture and finding your own voice.
"This is not just a visual treat, it's a rewarding and unexpectedly engrossing piece of female-led storytelling." - Wendy Ide, Screen International
Director
Ann Marie Fleming
Fleming is a visual artist, filmmaker and writer who has animated over 20 films, including the shorts Stories Sarah Tells, Big Trees, A Short Film About Tegan & Sara, Question Period, and Old Dog. Her features include New Shoes, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, The French Guy, and Can I Get a Witness, which premiered at TIFF 2024. Fleming has won nearly 20 awards and nominations for her films, including 15 for Window Horses.
Writer
Ann Marie Fleming
Cast
Elliot Page, Don McKellar, Nancy Kwan, Sandra Oh, Shohreh Aghdashloo
Producers
Sandra Oh, Ann Marie Fleming, Shirley Vercruysse, Michael Fukushima
Genres
Action/Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family
Interests
Arts and Culture, Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, ESL, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, Literary Adaptation, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Strange Brew
When her father dies suddenly, Pam (Griffin) is orphaned, and control of her family’s brewery threatens to fall into the hands of the conniving Brewmeister Smith (von Sydow). In stumble Bob and Doug, who land jobs as beer inspectors when their scheme involving a mouse in a bottle impresses the brewery brass.
Hilarity ensues as the boys attempt to foil the Brewmeister’s sinister plot to take over the world. Though the film appears at first glance to be a bonehead comedy, it is a deceptively clever farce based on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Long before Wayne and Garth or Beavis and Butt-Head, there was Bob and Doug. Canada is proud to call them our own.
Directors
Rick Moranis
Moranis and Dave Thomas’s work on the Emmy Award–winning SCTV series earned them a place among the greatest comedians this country has ever produced. The duo came together again in 2018 for the live SCTV reunion, which was directed by Martin Scorcese and was released as a Netflix special.
Dave Thomas
Rick Moranis and Thomas’s work on the Emmy Award–winning SCTV series earned them a place among the greatest comedians this country has ever produced. The duo came together again in 2018 for the live SCTV reunion, which was directed by Martin Scorcese and was released as a Netflix special.
Writers
Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Steve De Jarnatt
Cast
Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Max von Sydow, Lynne Griffin
Producer
Louis M. Silverstein
Genre
Comedy
Interests
Classics, ESL
Original Language
English
The Snow Walker
Everything changes when Charlie’s plane goes down in the wilderness, leaving him alone with the young girl. Forced to rely on each other, the two form a bond of friendship as the summer months quickly end and winter’s harsh conditions begin to take hold. Based on a story by acclaimed Canadian author Farley Mowat, this is a beautifully rendered tale, set in the gorgeous but desolate Arctic. Director Smith played a key role in an earlier Mowat adaptation, Never Cry Wolf.
“The Snow Walker is a powerful, poignant and transcendent film.” — Bruce Kirkland, Jam! Movies
Director
Charles Martin Smith
Actor/director Smith is known for roles in the 1973 classic American Graffiti and The Untouchables. He has directed episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Da Vinci’s Inquest, and his films include Stone of Destiny and Dolphin Tale. He directed A Dog’s Way Home, and most recently A Christmas Gift From Bob. He is currently completing the film Maybe This Time.
Writer
Charles Martin Smith
Cast
Barry Pepper, Annabella Piugattuk, James Cromwell
Producers
Rob Merilees, William Vince
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, ESL, Literary Adaptation, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English