Region: BC
The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
Two Indigenous women from vastly different backgrounds find their worlds colliding on an East Vancouver sidewalk when domestic violence forces one of them, a pregnant teen named Rosie (Violet Nelson), to flee her home.
Àila (Tailfeathers) swiftly offers her shelter, and as their intimate yet challenging encounter develops, the women weave a fragile bond, and must face their own unique struggles with the complexities of motherhood, class, race, and the ongoing legacy of colonialism.
Directors
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot/Sámi), Kathleen Hepburn
Writers
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot/Sámi), Kathleen Hepburn
Cast
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot/Sámi), Violet Nelson (Kwakwakaʼwakw), Charlie Hannah
Producers
Alan Milligan, Tyler Hagan, Lori Lozinski
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
My American Cousin
Sandy (Margaret Langrick) is a bored 12-year-old preparing for another long and uneventful summer in rural 1950s British Columbia, when her older cousin, Butch (John Wildman), arrives unexpectedly from California in a shiny red convertible.
Of course, the impressionable Sandy is immediately dazzled by Butch’s cool, rock’n’roll swagger, whose appearance seems to promise all the excitement that Sandy has been longing for.
Based on writer-director Sandy Wilson’s own memories, My American Cousin won six Genie Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Wilson), Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Wildman), Best Actress (Langrick), and Best Film Editing. It remains one of Canada’s best loved coming-of-age films.
“The film works a gentle spell around its viewer, and ends up leaving an unexpected lasting impression.” – Dustin Putman, The Film File
Director
Sandy Wilson
Writer
Sandy Wilson
Cast
Margaret Langrick, John Wildman, Richard Donat
Producers
Sandy Wilson, Peter O'Brian
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Biography, Classics, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker
Original Language
English
A fellow student (Peter Outerbridge) develops feelings for Sandra, but struggles to cope with her unusual and disturbing sexual desires. Kissed is a rare film about sexual awakening that manages to be both profoundly subversive and extremely tender.
“Stopkewich has managed the unlikely feat of making a film about necrophilia that is neither a black comedy nor a horror outing. Rather, she has crafted a poetic, provocative love story about sex, romance and death that is surprisingly endearing.” – Brendan Kelly, Variety
Director
Lynne Stopkewich
Writers
Angus Fraser, Lynne Stopkewich
Cast
Molly Parker, Peter Outerbridge, Jay Brazeau
Genre
Drama
Interest
Female Filmmaker
Original Language
English
Meditation Park
Meditation Park opens with Maria (Cheng Pei Pei), the matriarch of a Chinese-Canadian family, hosting a birthday celebration for her workaholic husband, Bing, (Tzi Ma), along with her similarly overworked daughter (Sandra Oh in a brilliant performance) and her own family.
Maria clearly reveres Bing and the sacrifices he has made for their family – so when she discovers another woman’s panties in his pocket, she's forced to confront the harsh reality that her world may not be what it seemed.
As Maria wrestles with what to do about her discovery, she befriends a group of local eccentrics and a grumpy neighbour (Don McKellar). Maria’s journey of self-discovery soon teaches her everyone’s lives are more complicated than she has been led to believe.
“Shum mines her favourite theme – immigrant experience in Canada – in what seems at first to be a gentle slice of life but eventually develops a powerful emotional force.” – Susan G. Cole, NOW MagazineDirector
Mina Shum
Vancouver-based Shum is best known for her feature films Double Happiness and Meditation Park, both starring Sandra Oh. Her documentary Ninth Floor was on TIFF’s 2015 list of Canada’s top ten films. Other features include Long Life; Happiness and Prosperity; Drive She Said; and One (Nine). She has also directed episodes of Frankie Drake Mysteries, Murdoch Mysteries, The Good Doctor, and October Faction.
Writer
Mina Shum
Cast
Tzi Ma, Pei-Pei Cheng, Sandra Oh
Producers
Raymond Massey II, Mina Shum, Stephen Hegyes
Genre
Drama
Interests
Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, ESL, Female Filmmaker, Newcomer Stories, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
In 2016, scientists declared that the Earth has entered a new geological era, one that is entirely the consequence of humanity’s abuse of the planet. This documentary goes around the world illustrating the variety of ways that humanity has affected its environment.
In Kenya, authorities set fire to mounds of elephant tusks to protest the illegal ivory trade, resulting in a devastating display of the impact of poaching. In Russia and Germany, mining operations transform the land into an otherworldly wasteland. The unfathomable scale of the images created by these moments are equal parts beautiful and disturbing.
Following Manufactured Landscapes and Watermark, photographer Edward Burtynsky and filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier conclude their award-winning trilogy with an urgent message to all the citizens of the world to see the consequences of our actions, before it’s too late.
Directors
Jennifer Baichwal
Baichwal is an award-winning director who frequently collaborates with her partner, producer and cinematographer Nicholas de Pencier, on documentaries such as the CSA-winning trilogy Manufactured Landscapes, Watermark and Anthropocene (with Edward Burtynsky). Their other credits include The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia, Act of God, and Into the Weeds, among others. She has won 12 awards, including two CSAs.
Nicholas de Pencier
De Pencier is an award-winning documentary cinematographer and producer known for his work with director Jennifer Baichwal. They made the CSA-winning Manufactured Landscapes, Watermark and Anthropocene in collaboration with Edward Burtynsky. Their other documentary credits include The Holier it Gets, Payback, and Long Time Running, which won the DGC award for Excellence in Documentary. De Pencier also directed Black Code, and was cinematographer on The Colour of Ink, for which he won a CSA.
Writer
Jennifer Baichwal
Cast
Alicia Vikander
Producer
Nicholas de Pencier
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Asian Filmmaker, Environment
Original Language
English
Because We Are Girls
Three Punjabi-Canadian sisters await the verdict from the trial of the cousin charged with abusing them as children. In this heavy-hitting documentary, the sisters confront the culture that allowed the abuse to happen, including parents who encouraged their silence.
Director
Baljit Sangra
Writer
Baljit Sangra
Producer
Selwyn Jacob
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Female Filmmaker
Original Language
English
Beeba Boys
Gang violence and a maelstrom of crime rock Vancouver in this flashy, dangerous thriller about the Indo-Canadian underworld. Starring Randeep Hooda and Ali Momen.
Director
Deepa Mehta
An Officer of the Order of Canada, Mehta gained acclaim for her trilogy, Fire, Earth and the Oscar-nominated Water. Her adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children was nominated for eight CSAs. She has also directed Bollywood/Hollywood, Beeba Boys, Anatomy of Violence, and many other films. Her film Funny Boy also won multiple awards, including the CSA for best direction. Her television credits include episodes of Leila, Yellowjackets, and Little America. She has numerous projects in development as a writer, director and producer.
Writer
Deepa Mehta
Cast
Randeep Hooda, Ali Momen
Producer
David Hamilton
Genre
Drama
Interests
Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, Discrimination
Original Language
English
The Grey Fox
After going in and out of prison for over 30 years after a career of stagecoach robbing, Bill Miner is released in 1901 to a completely new reality. Lost about what to do next, Miner finds his inspiration for his next great adventure from the film The Great Train Robbery. His plan to commit the first ever train robbery leads to a thrilling heist and an intriguing tale full of twists and turns.
Based on the true story of William Miner (nicknamed the Gentleman Bandit), The Grey Fox won 4 Genie Awards including Best Picture and has been included on TIFF’s top 10 list of the Best Canadian Films of All Time.
Director
Phillip Borsos
Borsos was a four-time Canadian Film Award and Genie Award winner, and an Oscar nominee for his short film Nails. His feature directorial debut, The Grey Fox, won 12 awards, including seven Genies, and was nominated for a Golden Globe. He also directed The Mean Season, One Magic Christmas, Bethune: The Making of a Hero and Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog, before his tragic death from leukemia in 1995.
Writer
John Hunter
Cast
Richard Farnsworth, Jackie Burroughs, Ken Pogue
Producers
David Brady, Peter O'Brian
Genres
Action/Adventure, Drama
Interests
Biography, Classics, History
Original Language
English
A Place Called Chiapas
Filmmaker Nettie Wild notes that in Canada, the North American Free Trade Agreement, which went into effect in 1994, was a matter for lively discussion and political debate. In Chiapas, one of the poorest states in Mexico, it provoked an actual revolution.
In this remarkably clear-eyed and vivid documentary, Wild follows the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) as they fight and evade the Mexican army. Wild takes viewers on a journey through fear and hope, telling a complex story of Indigenous rights and corporate interests in the wake of NAFTA.
The film won the Genie for Best Documentary, among several other awards.
Director
Nettie Wild
Writers
Manfred Becker, Nettie Wild
Cast
Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente, Samuel Ruiz García
Producers
Betsy Carson, Kirk Tougas, Nettie Wild
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Environment, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Eve and the Firehorse
Director
Julia Kwan
Writer
Julia Kwan
Genre
Drama
Interests
Asian Filmmaker, Female Filmmaker
Original Language
English
