Tomson Highway: kipimâtisinaw tapâhpeyahk

Director Barry Bilinsky (Métis/Cree)
Year 2022
Run Time 5min
Genre Documentary
Legendary Cree playwright Tomson Highway finds that his purpose in life always comes back to music, storytelling and laughter.
 

Director

Barry Bilinsky (Métis/Cree)

Writer

Barry Bilinsky (Métis/Cree)

Cast

Tompson Highway (Cree)

Producer

Chehala Leonard (Aseniwuche Winewak)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, Biography, BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

Cree

Les chambres rouges (Red Rooms)

Director Pascal Plante
Year 2023
Run Time 118min
Genre Horror, Thriller

Director

Pascal Plante

Montreal-based Plante is a screenwriter and director whose short film credits include Drum de marde!, Blue-Eyed Blonde, and Nonna, among others. His features include Les faux tatouages, which premiered at the Berlinale, Nadia, Butterfly, which was selected for the Cannes Film Festival, and Les chambres rouges, which has garnered 15 awards and 34 nominations internationally. 

Writer

Pascal Plante

Cast

Laurie Babin, Sasha Samar, Juliette Gariépy

Producer

Dominique Dussault

Genres

Horror, Thriller

Interest

Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French

Maria Chapdelaine

Director Sébastien Pilote
Year 2021
Run Time 158min
Genre Drama

Director

Sébastien Pilote

Writers

Louis Hémon, Sébastien Pilote

Cast

Sebastien Ricard, Sara Montpetit, Hélène Florent

Producers

Sylvain Proulx, Pierre Even

Genre

Drama

Interests

History, Literary Adaptation, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French

La petite et le vieux (Blue Sky Jo)

Director Patrice Sauvé
Year 2024
Run Time 105min
Genre Comedy, Drama
In 1980s Limoilou, a young girl with a vivid imagination befriends her new neighbor, a gruff old man.

Director

Patrice Sauvé

Writers

Sébastien Girard, Marie-Renée Lavoie

Cast

Juliette Bharucha, Gabrielle B. Thuot, Gildor Roy

Producers

Sonia Despars, Marc Biron

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interests

Family Relationships, Literary Adaptation

Original Language

French

Dounia et la princesse d’Alep (Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo)

Directors André Kadi, Marya Zarif
Year 2022
Run Time 72min
Genre Animation, Family
In this stunning animated adventure, six-year-old Dounia is forced to leave her life in Syria because of the war, and relies on the magical appearance of the mythical Princess of Aleppo to help her maintain her courage throughout a difficult journey to Canada.

Directors

André Kadi, Marya Zarif

Writer

Marya Zarif

Cast

Elza Mardirossian, Rahaf Ataya

Producer

Judith Beauregard

Genres

Animation, Family

Interests

Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French

Entre la mer et l’eau douce (Between Sweet and Salt Water)

Director Michel Brault
Year 1967
Run Time 85min
Genre Drama, Romance
Claude (Gauthier), an ambitious young singer, leaves his small town for the promise of a career in the big city. When he meets a charming young waitress named Geneviève (Bujold), he is instantly smitten. But when he gets a life-changing opportunity, he is  forced to choose between this blossoming romance and his lifelong dream.

Director

Michel Brault

Writers

Marcel Dubé, Michel Brault, Denys Arcand

Cast

Geneviève Bujold, Claude Gauthier

Producer

Pierre Patry

Genres

Drama, Romance

Interest

Arts and Culture

Original Language

French

Mlle Bottine (Miss Boots)

Director Yan Lanouette Turgeon
Year 2024
Run Time 111min
Genre Comedy, Family

An opera composer (Antoine Bertrand) suffering from writer’s block is unexpectedly entrusted with caring for his orphaned niece who he’s never met. While her rebellious and eccentric nature proves to be a challenge, she may be exactly the inspiration that he needs.
 

Director

Yan Lanouette Turgeon

Writer

Dominic James

Cast

Marguerite Laurence, Antoine Bertrand, Marilyn Castonguay

Producers

Brigitte Léveillé, Dominic James, Antonello Cozzolino

Genres

Comedy, Family

Interests

Arts and Culture, Family Relationships, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French

Universal Language (آواز بوقلمون)

Director Matthew Rankin
Year 2024
Run Time 89min
Genre Comedy, Drama
Set in an alternate universe where Canada’s official languages are French and Persian, this charming and surreal fable follows a triptych of seemingly unrelated stories of people navigating through a bleak Winnipeg winter. Behind layers of eclectic bizarreness lives a poignant message about the depth and importance of human connection and understanding. It’s also just genuinely hilarious.

A pitch-perfect follow up to his acclaimed debut feature The Twentieth Century, this similarly absurdist comedy won the Director’s Fortnight Audience Award at Cannes, and was Canada’s 2024 selection for Academy Award consideration.
 

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. 

Writers

Matthew Rankin, Pirouz Nemati

Cast

Saba Vahedyousefi, Pirouz Nemati, Matthew Rankin, Rojina Esmaeili

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interest

Cult & Offbeat Cinema

Original Language

Other Language

Bergers (Shepherds)

Director Sophie Deraspe
Year 2024
Run Time 113min
Genre Drama

Tired of city life, a Québecois man leaves everything behind to pursue his dream of becoming a shepherd in rural France, where he must work illegally at a craft he knows almost nothing about. While the work proves more difficult than he’d imagined, everything changes when he wins over the like-minded Élise with his dreams of a pastoral life together. The two commit to a summer-long journey together in the mountains – with 800 sheep, and all the challenges that come with them.

Featuring breathtaking cinematography and a deeply human story, this beautiful romantic drama won the award for Best Canadian Feature at TIFF 2024. 
 

Director

Sophie Deraspe

Deraspe has made several feature films, including Les loups (The Wolves), the critically acclaimed Les signes vitaux (Vital Signs), and Antigone,which won six Canadian Screen Awards. Her documentary work includes A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile, and the series La Vie nous arrive (Life Happens to Us). She has also directed episodes of Bête noire (Black Beast), and Motel Paradis. Bergers (Shepherds), premiered and won Best Canadian Feature at TIFF 2024.

 

Writer

Sophie Deraspe

Cast

Michel Benizri, David Ayala, Félix-Antoine Duval, Solène Rigot

Producers

Luc Déry, Élaine Hébert, Kim McCraw

Genre

Drama

Interests

Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences

Original Language

French

Johanne, tout simplement (Simply Johanne)

Director Nadine Valcin
Year 2024
Run Time 75min
Genre Documentary

A touching portrait of Johanne Harelle, a Canadian model who achieved international success as one of the first Black models in North America. Winner of the award for Outstanding Feature Film at the Reelworld Film Festival in 2024.

Director

Nadine Valcin

Writer

Nadine Valcin

Cast

Hamani Harrell, Alain Cadieux, Pauline Bernatchez

Producers

Ania Jamila, Josiane Blanc

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, Biography, BIPOC Stories, Black Filmmaker, Female Filmmaker, History, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French