Girard and McKellar’s The Red Violin tells the tale of a very special instrument — a perfectly crafted 17th-century violin finished with a mysterious red glaze. The final masterpiece of a virtuoso craftsman, the violin sits in a Montreal auction house waiting to be sold.

As the auction proceeds, the violin’s history is revealed through four interconnected tales spanning 300 years. And as it passes through the hands of musicians in Italy, Vienna, London and Shanghai, the violin fills its owners’ lives with romance, adventure, intrigue and tragedy. At the centre of the story is the instrument’s dark secret, which is revealed only at the film’s suspenseful finale.

“In a time of timid projects and easy formulas, The Red Violin has the kind of sweep and vision that we identify with elegant features from decades ago.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A life in Canada, a secret past in Jordan. A dying mother (Azabal) in Montreal leaves separate letters to her twin children to be read once she passes away. Jeanne (Désormeaux-Poulin) is to deliver hers to the father the twins never knew, and Simon (Gaudette) is to give his to the brother they didn’t know they had. The siblings travel to the Middle East separately, where they uncover a startling and painful family history.

Incendies is the kind of film you’ll want to watch more than once. With intricate timelines and a family drama spanning two very different continents, the twists and turns of Denis Villeneuve’s celebrated adaptation of Wajdi Mouawad’s award-winning play are explosive, frightening and emotionally intense.

Winner of eight Genie Awards and nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Based on a true story, Isabelle Fortier chronicles her experience as a sex worker in a semi-autobiographical novel under the pen name Nelly Arcan (Mylène MacKay). The book becomes a scandalous international bestseller, leading to unexpected and unwanted fame for Arcan, who must now deal with the pressure of increased scrutiny about the authenticity of her stories and the demand for an equally successful follow-up.

Anne Emond explores the author’s colourful and ultimately tragic life in a multi-layered and stylish mix of make-believe and memoir, revealing the person behind the shocking literary alter ego.

“Mylène MacKay delivers a towering performance” - T’Cha Dunlevy, The Montreal Gazette

Driven by a desire to spark change in her community, young activist Mani (Jacobs) returns to her reserve from the big city to promote the ending of alcohol prohibition on her reserve. When she runs into opposition from the local convenience store owner Nadine (Poupart), the two square off, forcing the divisive issue into the spotlight leading to unexpected consequences.  

This critically acclaimed first feature from Caroline Monnet is a thought-provoking and timely look at an ongoing debate that rarely gets the media attention it deserves. 

 

After spending most of her life working as an Innu language translator and transcriber, Joséphine Bacon rose to fame late in life in her second career as an award-winning poet. This moving profile frames her life and work in a new context, offering a deeply personal look at an important literary figure in Canada.

Je m'appele humain premiered at the Quebec City Film Festival to great acclaim, and went on to receive four Prix Iris nominations, including Best Documentary.

When Henry (Braff) makes a wrong turn and runs his car into Nathalie (Blais), he’s horrified by what he’s done. A drug dealer who’s terrified of being found by the police, Henry takes off, leaving Nathalie — eight months pregnant and unconscious — lying in the street.

In the days to come, Henry is overcome by guilt and sets out to find the woman he hit. Her life nearly destroyed by the accident, Nathalie needs a friend, and ends up finding one in the compassionate and charming Henry. Slowly, Nathalie comes out of her shell and starts to rebuild her life.

As their unlikely relationship develops, Henry must work hard to conceal his real identity and keep the truth from ruining his new friendship.

Andrea Richler (Baillargeon) is a well-known director who returns to her hometown of Montreal to film a big-budget musical. At her hotel, she has an unsettling encounter with an elderly woman (Marleau). This encounter is forgotten until later, when we begin to realize that the events in this mysterious stranger’s life are somehow mirroring the fictional events of Andrea’s film.

Truth may indeed be stranger than fiction in this intriguing drama by one of Canada’s best female filmmakers. Winner of two Genies and the Toronto International Film Festival’s Best Canadian Feature Film award, this intimate and emotional film is sure to captivate.

Quebec filmmaker Catherine Martin made her feature debut with this film about a 19th century woman struggling against oppressive Victorian social norms. 20-year-old Yvonne (Marie-Ève Bertrand) is a free spirit whose prudish, strict older sister Héleène (Guylaine Tremblay) struggles to contain her.

Helene intends to send her sister to a convent, and when Yvonne falls in love with the rakish Charles (David Boutin), Hélène concocts a scheme to keep them apart by arranging for him to marry her own teenage daughter. Unwilling to give up her passionate desires, Yvonne heads to the woods to find her own solution.

This finely crafted historical drama was awarded Best Feature by the Quebec Association of Film Critics in 2001.

Sarah (Sophie Desmarais) is a gifted young runner whose life changes when she’s offered a spot at McGill – far from her suburban life near Quebec City. But when her fearful mother refuses to give her financial support, Sarah marries her best friend Antoine (Jean-Sébastien Courchesne) in an attempt to qualify for the best scholarships, and they set out for Montreal on their own.

Antoine has feelings for Sarah, but it soon becomes clear that the only thing she truly loves is running. This assured feature-length debut from Robichaud is an unusual coming of age story and a heartfelt and subtle drama about an introverted protagonist’s late-blossoming sexuality.

After its premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, the film won the Women in Film & Television Artistic Merit Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

“What makes Sarah Prefers to Run so touching is that we're not quite sure what the resolution will be for Sarah. She isn't, either. But she just keeps running.” – Tim Grierson, Paste Magazine

Céline Bonnier stars as Mother Augustine, a passionate and resilient Catholic nun who teaches music to children of all backgrounds in a convent school in rural Quebec in the 1960s. When her rebellious but musically gifted niece (Lysandre Ménard) joins the convent, Mother Augustine must confront a past that she strives to forget.

With the looming changes brought by Vatican II and Quebec's Quiet Revolution, the local government threatens to shut down the school in favour of public education, and Mother Augustine must search her soul for a solution – or perhaps a new calling. She and her fellow nuns are forced to confront the waves of modernity, but can Augustine move forward, or will she perish with tradition?

The film was nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards including Best Actress for Bonnier, and Best Original Score.