Big Drive

Director Anita Lebeau
Year 2011
Run Time 9min
Genre Animation, Family

Stuck in a seemingly endless car ride with nothing to do, four sisters use their imagination to create something amazing together.

Director

Anita Lebeau

Writer

Anita Lebeau

Cast

Nathalie Daudet, Emma Collins, Annie Rose Daudet, Maggie Collins, Anita Lebeau

Producer

Derek Mazur

Genres

Animation, Family

Interests

Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker

Original Language

English

The Girl Who Hated Books

Director Jo Meuris
Year 2006
Run Time 7min
Genre Family
This animated short about literacy introduces us to Meena, a young girl who hates books even though her parents love to read. Books are everywhere in Meena's house, in cupboards, drawers and even piled up on the stairs. Still, she refuses to even open one up. But when her cat Max accidentally knocks down a huge stack, pandemonium ensues and nothing is ever the same again. 
 

Director

Jo Meuris

Writer

Sugith Varughese

Cast

Michael Rudder, Elizabeth Lofranco, Harry Standjofski, Thor Bishopric

Producer

Tamara Lynch

Genre

Family

Interests

Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads

Original Languages

English, French

Unloved: Huronia’s Forgotten Children

Director Barri Cohen
Year 2022
Run Time 90min
Genre Documentary
In researching the fates of her two half-brothers, filmmaker Barri Cohen uncovers the tragic history of neglect and abuse of institutionalized patients at the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia.

Director

Barri Cohen

Writer

Barri Cohen

Producers

Craig Baines, Peter Raymont

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Discrimination, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin

Director Janet Perlman
Year 1981
Run Time 10min
Genre Animation, Comedy

The classic Cinderella fairytale is given an endearing twist, presented by a cast of penguins!

Director

Janet Perlman

Genres

Animation, Comedy

Interests

Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker

Original Language

No Dialogue

No Crying at the Dinner Table

Director Carol Nguyen
Year 2019
Run Time 16min
Genre Documentary
Director Carol Nguyen reflects on a family tragedy through a series of interviews, exposing how trauma and grief can remain in the shadows for too long.
 

Director

Carol Nguyen

Producers

Carol Nguyen, Aziz Zoromba

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Biography, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker

Original Languages

English, Other Language

When Morning Comes

Director Kelly Fyffe-Marshall
Year 2022
Run Time 87min
Genre Drama
The highly anticipated feature debut from award-winning filmmaker Kelly Fyffe-Marshall, When Morning Comes follows Jamal, a young Jamaican boy, as he says goodbye to his friends and family and prepares to leave his home behind. Though the decision of Jamal’s newly-widowed mother to send him to live with his grandmother in Canada comes out of concern for her son’s safety and his future after he gets in trouble at school, the prospect unsettles Jamal and exacerbates the friction in their relationship. 

With a languid, poetic visual style and psychologically complex depiction of relationships, When Morning Comes is a love letter to the strength and sacrifice of immigrant mothers.

(Note: not available for screenings in Canada on CanFilmDay 2023)
 

Director

Kelly Fyffe-Marshall

Writer

Kelly Fyffe-Marshall

Cast

Shaquana Wilson, Djamari Roberts

Producers

Tamar Bird, Iva Golubovic, Sasha Leigh Henry

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Black Filmmaker, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Newcomer Stories

Original Language

English

Paul à Québec

Director François Bouvier
Year 2015
Run Time 98min
Genre Comedy, Drama
Paul is a cartoonist who lives with his girlfriend and their little daughter. His in-laws are a large, joyful clan with a much loved patriarch, whose health is failing. Based on a graphic novel of the same name, Paul à Québec is the touching story of a family coping with life’s troubles with courage, tenderness and lots of love.

Director

François Bouvier

Film and TV director Bouvier was nominated for the Best Director Genie in 1990 for his film Les matins infidèles. Since then, he has directed numerous television shows and films, including Histoires d'hiver and Maman Last Call, starring Patrick Huard. He recently directed the TV series Ruptures and the film La Bolduc. Currently he is completing work on the film La Cordonnière.

Writers

François Bouvier, Michel Rabagliati

Cast

François Létourneau, Julie LeBreton, Gilbert Sicotte, Louise Portal

Producers

Nathalie Brigitte Bustos, Valérie d'Auteuil, André Rouleau, Karine Vanasse

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Family Relationships, Literary Adaptation

Original Language

French

Barney’s Version

Director Richard J. Lewis
Year 2010
Run Time 134min
Genre Comedy, Drama
Barney’s Version tells the story of Barney Panofsky, played by Paul Giamatti in a Golden Globe–winning performance. As he progresses from young adulthood to old age, Barney ricochets from one romantic entanglement to another, trying to keep his outrageous father (Hoffman) under control while being pursued by a cop who suspects him of murdering his best friend, Boogie (Speedman).

Based on Mordecai Richler’s Giller Prize–winning bestseller of the same name, this rich and hilarious film won seven Genie Awards and was nominated for an Oscar.

“The impeccably cast confessional, with a pitch-perfect Paul Giamatti leading the way, nimbly traverses the four decades in its lead character’s eventual life with considerable exuberance, visual flair and, ultimately, grace." — Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter

Director

Richard J. Lewis

Lewis’s television credits include episodes of Due South, Power Play, Beggars and Choosers, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Person of Interest and many others. His critically acclaimed debut feature, Whale Music, won four Genie Awards. Recently, he has been directing for television, including episodes of Westworld and Penny Dreadful, and is currently producing the series Trigger Me.

Writer

Michael Konyves

Cast

Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Scott Speedman, Dustin Hoffman, Minnie Driver

Producer

Robert Lantos

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interests

Family Relationships, Literary Adaptation

Original Language

English

Les Plouffe (The Plouffe Family)

Director Gilles Carle
Year 1981
Run Time 169min
Genre Drama
Les Plouffe is an adaptation of Roger Lemelin’s WWII-set novel, chronicling seven years in the lives of a poor family living in the Basse-Ville area of Quebec City.

This is kitchen-sink drama at its most satirical, dramatizing an entire era in the quirks of this memorable clan. The lovable characters and unforgettable moments make Les Plouffe a simultaneously sad, funny and loving account of life in WWII-era Quebec.

This French Canadian classic won seven Genie Awards, including Best Achievement in Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Filiatrault).

Director

Gilles Carle

Writers

Gilles Carle, Roger Lemelin, Jacques Vigoureux

Cast

Gabriel Arcand, Pierre Curzi, Émile Genest, Juliette Huot, Denise Filiatraul

Producers

Denis Héroux, Justine Héroux, John Kemeny

Genre

Drama

Interests

Family Relationships, History, Literary Adaptation

Original Language

French

Nobody Waved Good-bye

Director Don Owen
Year 1964
Run Time 80min
Genre Drama
Shot in just three weeks in Toronto, Don Owen’s film — which was originally intended to be a short documentary — quickly evolved into a fictional coming-of-age story that has enraptured audiences for decades with its honesty and emotional integrity.

Peter (Kastner) is an 18-year-old growing up in 1960s suburban Toronto who is totally fed up with his parents’ middle-class lifestyle. He’s on the verge of finishing high school but the thought of a conventional life climbing the corporate ladder is unbearable.

Peter yearns to strike out on his own with his girlfriend Julie, but a life of petty crime and poor decisions looms. Told in stark black and white, this tale of teenage rebellion is timeless and relatable.

One of the National Film Board’s first narrative features, Nobody Waved Good-bye is a cinematic treasure and a true Canadian classic.

Director

Don Owen

Writer

Don Owen

Cast

Peter Kastner, Julie Biggs, Claude Rae, Charmion King

Producers

Tom Daly, Roman Kroitor, Don Owen

Genre

Drama

Interests

Classics, Family Relationships

Original Language

English