Interest: Social Justice & Politics
Poor Boy’s Game
Racial tensions are reignited in working-class Halifax when a young white man (Rossif Sutherland) is released from prison and forced to face the family and community of his victim: a young Black man beaten so brutally he has been left handicapped for life. Also starring Danny Glover.
Director
Clement Virgo
Virgo rose to prominence with his first feature, Rude, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and garnered two Genie nominations. He has also directed the films Poor Boy’s Game and Lie With Me, and hit TV shows such as The Wire, Regenesis and The Listener. He recently produced the show Greenleaf and directed episodes of Empire and Billions. His film, Brother, premiered at TIFF 2022 and won 12 CSAs, including Best Motion Picture, Best Direction, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Writers
Marguerite Pigott, Chaz Thorne, Clement Virgo
Cast
Danny Glover, Rossif Sutherland
Producers
Clement Virgo, Damon D'Oliveira, Chaz Thorne
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Black Filmmaker, Discrimination, Social Justice & Politics, Sports
Original Language
English
There’s No Place Like This Place, Anyplace
Director
Lulu Wei
Producer
Ali Weinstein
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Female Filmmaker, History, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Billy Tipton, a 20th Century jazz musician became a trans icon after his death, and his legacy continues to be carried forward by trans artists to this day. Featuring a unique documentary structure, the film uses an audition session for a proposed biopic about Tipton as a jumping off point for a group of contemporary trans artists to explore what Tipton has meant to them, and to share stories about their own lives and experiences.
Also featuring interviews with Tipton’s family, Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt’s remarkable tribute to a misunderstood artist was named one of Canada’s Top 10 in 2020.
"Approaching Tipton’s story with the free hand of an improvised jazz set, No Ordinary Man is an elegant riff on a classic progression that arrives at something transcendent." - Jude Dry, Indiewire
Directors
Aisling Chin-Yee
Chin-Yee is an award-winning filmmaker who directed the shorts Sound Asleep and Synesthesia, and the mini-series Plan B. Her feature directorial debut was The Rest of Us, and she co-directed the documentary No Ordinary Man, both of which premiered at TIFF. She was on DOC NYC’s 40 under 40 list and was named a Rising Film Star by Now Magazine. She has numerous producing credits, including the features Last Woman Standing and Rhymes for Young Ghouls.
Chase Joynt
Joynt is an award-winning director and writer. His first book, You Only Live Twice, was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist. He recently directed Framing Agnes, which played at Sundance and Hot Docs, and he is starring in John Greyson’s upcoming film, Door Prize.
Writers
Aisling Chin-Yee, Amos Mac
Cast
Billy Tipton Jr.
Producer
Sarah Spring
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Arts and Culture, Asian Filmmaker, Biography, Female Filmmaker, History, LGBTQ2S+, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Maurice Richard (The Rocket)
But this is much more than a sports movie. Director Binamé frames the story in a cultural context: It isn’t until Richard, a man of few words, begins to speak his mind about the inequalities and prejudice directed toward French Canadians that he finds his voice.
Many feel that the riots caused by Richard’s suspension in 1955 were the spark that fuelled the Quiet Revolution in Quebec. This hockey blockbuster is chock-full of heart and history.
The Rocket was nominated for 13 Genie Awards and won nine.
Director
Charles Binamé
Binamé has directed numerous films, including Eldorado (which screened at the prestigious Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes), Séraphin: Heart of Stone, Maurice Richard (The Rocket), which won nine Genies, including Best Direction, and Elephant Song, which won three awards, including a CSA for Adapted Screenplay. Has also directed episodes of hit TV shows such as Flashpoint, Rookie Blue, Republic of Doyle and Reign, among others.
Writer
Ken Scott
Cast
Roy Dupuis, Julie Le Breton, Stephen McHattie, Patrice Robitaille
Producers
Daniel Louis, Denise Robert
Genre
Drama
Interests
Biography, Discrimination, History, Social Justice & Politics, Sports
Original Languages
English, French
The Twentieth Century
Winner of TIFF’s 2019 award for Best Canadian Feature, and nominated for 8 Canadian Screen Awards including Best Picture.
“An exuberant feat of visual design, it’s meticulously weird and full of rambunctious humor.”
– Nicolas Rapold, The New York Times
Director
Matthew Rankin
Matthew Rankin is an experimental film director of 30 short films, which have been screened at festivals around the world, including Berlinale, Sundance, Cannes, and many others. His feature debut, the irreverent and surreal comedy, The Twentieth Century, received critical acclaim and three Canadian Screen Awards. His second feature, Universal Language, has won 16 awards, including the FIPRESCI prize in Venice, TIFF’s Best Canadian Discovery Award and the Cannes Directors' Fortnight Audience Award.
Writer
Matthew Rankin
Cast
Sarianne Cormier, Dan Beirne, Catherine St-Laurent
Producers
Ménaïc Raoul, Gabrielle Tougas-Fréchette
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Biography, Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Fighting Back
A story of the resilience and determination of a group of children in London, Ont., battling leukemia at a time when no child had survived the disease.
Director
John Kastner
Writer
John Kastner
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Classics, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Hadwin’s Judgement
Inspired by John Vaillant’s award-winning book The Golden Spruce, the film introduces us to the complex character of Grant Hadwin, a logging engineer and expert woodsman who lived and worked in British Columbia’s remote and ancient forests.
In 1997, Hadwin was driven to commit what some would say was an extraordinary and incomprehensible act, one that ran contrary to all he had come to value. To some, he became an environmental terrorist, and to others, a misunderstood activist — but what was he, really? Weaving together speculation and reality, Hadwin’s Judgement paints a complex portrait of the devastation and internal turmoil that led Hadwin to his decision.
Director
Sasha Snow
Writers
Sasha Snow, John Vaillant
Cast
Sasha Snow
Producers
David Allen, David Christensen, Yves J. Ma, Elizabeth Yake
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Biography, Environment, History, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
How to Change the World
Eco-organization Greenpeace has boots on the ground all over the world. But their origin story begins in 1971, when a group of activists sailed on an old fishing boat from Vancouver to Amchitka, Alaska for one goal — to stop then-President Nixon’s atomic bomb tests.
Based on memoirs by eco-activist and Greenpeace co-founder Bob Hunter, this inspiring film won two Canadian Screen Awards and the documentary editing award at the Sundance Film Festival, for its skillfully layered storytelling.
Director
Jerry Rothwell
Writer
Jerry Rothwell
Producers
Bous De Jong, Al Morrow
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Environment, History, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the 70s Generation
Director
Catherine Annau
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Female Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Fix: The Story of an Addicted City
Director
Nettie Wild
Writer
Nettie Wild
Cast
Phillip Owen, Ann Livingston, Dean Wilson
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Female Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English