Bon Cop Bad Cop

Director Érik Canuel
Year 2006
Run Time 116min
Genre Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Thriller
A box-office smash, Bon Cop, Bad Cop is an action-packed comedy about two policemen who are thrown together to solve a crime committed on the border between Quebec and Ontario.

Ward (Feore) and Boucher (Huard) couldn’t be more different: one is an English-speaker from Toronto, the other is a French-speaker from Montreal; one never deviates from established procedure, the other is a rebel who refuses to play by the rules. The detectives soon learn that if they are to solve this lurid crime, which is linked to the world of hockey, they need to stop bickering and work together.

With uproarious performances from both leads, Bon Cop, Bad Cop is a genuinely clever take on the buddy-cop genre that will keep you captivated throughout.

Director

Érik Canuel

Canuel made music videos and TV commercials before turning to film. His features include Nez rouge and Le dernier tunnel, Barrymore, starring Christopher Plummer, and the recent Undercover Grandpa. Bon Cop Bad Cop won a Genie for Best Motion Picture and the Golden Reel Award. Next, Canuel will direct the feature film The Burning Man.

Writers

Leila Basen, Alex Epstein, Patrick Huard, Kevin Tierney

Cast

Colm Feore, Patrick Huard

Producer

Kevin Tierney

Genres

Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Thriller

Interest

Family Relationships

Original Languages

English, French

Based on an ancient Inuit legend, Atanarjuat is an epic tale of love, betrayal and revenge. The beautiful Atuat (Ivalu) has been promised to the short-fused Oki (Arnatsiaq), the son of the tribe’s leader. However, she loves the good-natured Atanarjuat (Ungalaaq), a fast runner and excellent hunter. When Atanarjuat is forced to battle the jealous Oki for Atuat’s hand, the events that follow determine not only his fate, but that of his people. Atanarjuat won 20 awards, including eight Genies and the Caméra d’Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.

“I am not surprised that The Fast Runner has been a box office hit in its opening engagements. It is unlike anything most audiences will have ever seen, and yet it tells a universal story.”
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Director

Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)

In 2015, Atanarjuat was selected as TIFF’s number one Canadian film of all time. Kunuk has directed shorts such as Exile and Home and features such as Maliglutit, which was nominated for two CSAs. He recently directed the series Hunting With My Ancestors and executive produced SGaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife). His latest feature, One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, premiered at TIFF 2019. Most recently, he directed the short The Shaman’s Apprentice, which won the CSA for Best Animated Short among other awards at festivals worldwide.

Writer

Paul Apak Angilirq (Inuk)

Cast

Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq (Inuk), Lucy Tulugarjuk (Inuk), Natar Ungalaaq (Inuk), Sylvia Ivalu (Inuk)

Producers

Paul Apak Angilirq (Inuk), Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk), Germaine Ying Gee Wong

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Classics, Family Relationships, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

Inuktitut

In Patricia Rozema’s fanciful character study, aspiring photographer Polly (McCarthy) lands a job at a Toronto art gallery run by Gabrielle (Baillargeon), who is also a painter. Polly is impressed with Gabrielle’s paintings, but as Polly gets to know her lover Mary (MacDonald) and becomes entangled in their lives, she realizes Gabrielle isn’t exactly who she appears to be.

Though timid on the outside, Polly’s inner life is rich and full of charming fantasies which Rozema brings to life in black & white sequences that punctuate the film with humour and whimsy.

The film won the award for Best First Feature at the Cannes Film Festival, and in 1993 was ranked as one of TIFF’s Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time.

Director

Patricia Rozema

Writer

Patricia Rozema

Cast

Sheila McCarthy, Paule Baillargeon, Ann-Marie MacDonald

Producers

Don Haig, Alexandra Raffe, Patricia Rozema

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+

Original Language

English

Menteur (Compulsive Liar)

Director Émile Gaudreault
Year 2019
Run Time 111min
Genre Comedy

Simon’s friends and family have had enough of his compulsive lying. They try to stage an intervention for him but he refuses to accept that he has a problem. All of that changes when he wakes up to a bizarre reality where all of his lies and excuses have become true. His boss is a raving drunk, his sister-in-law is in love with him and basically everything that could go wrong does.

While everyone around him seems to think this reality is normal, his brother knows the truth and convinces him that the only way that everything can get back to normal is for him to kick his habit for good. The newest comedy from Émile Gaudrault (De Père en Flic), Menteur was a box office smash that is as funny as it is original.

Director

Émile Gaudreault

Gaudreault co-wrote Louis 19, le roi des ondes, which Ron Howard adapted into EDtv. Gaudreault both co-wrote and directed De pere en flic (the highest-grossing French-language film in Canadian history), Le vrai du faux, Le sens de l'humour and Mambo Italiano, which earned six Canadian Comedy Award nominations. He also wrote and directed De père en flic 2, and most recently, the comedy Menteur. He also co-wrote the upcoming Lignes de fuite, and is producing the English-language remake of De père en flic, Fathers and Guns.

Writers

Eric K. Boulianne, Émile Gaudreault, Sébastien Ravary

Cast

Louis-José Houde, Antoine Bertrand, Véronique Le Flaguais

Producer

Denise Robert

Genre

Comedy

Interest

Family Relationships

Original Language

French

Weirdos

Director Bruce McDonald
Year 2016
Run Time 84min
Genre Drama
In a small Nova Scotian town in 1976, 15-year-old Kit (Authors) and his girlfriend Alice (Stone) decide to shake up their go-nowhere existence by hitchhiking to the big city of Sydney to visit Kit's glamorous but unstable mother (Parker). It becomes a journey of self discovery that opens them up to new possibilities for their futures. 

Beautifully shot and featuring a killer '70s soundtrack, the new film from Canadian master Bruce McDonald and playwright and screenwriter Daniel MacIvor shakes up the coming-of-age road-movie concept with wit, charm and a lot of heart. 

"What's not to love about Canuck hipster Bruce McDonald's return to a genre he's a master of – the indie road movie with a distinctly Canadian flavour and endearingly peculiar characters." – Michelle Reid, Victoria Times Colonist
 

Director

Bruce McDonald

McDonald directed the cult hits Highway 61, Roadkill, Hard Core Logo, The Tracey Fragments, starring Elliot Page, Pontypool, and the award-winning series Twitch City, episodes of Degrassi and Heartland. His recent films include Trigger, The Husband, Hellions, Weirdos and Dreamland. He recently directed the series Creeped Out and Malory Towers and is currently working on the films Switched at Death and I Have a Bad Feeling About This.

Writer

Daniel MacIvor

Cast

Dylan Authors, Rhys Bevan-John

Producers

Marc Almon, Mike MacMillan

Genre

Drama

Interests

Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Family Relationships, LGBTQ2S+, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Bon Cop Bad Cop 2

Director Alain Desrochers
Year 2017
Run Time 126min
Genre Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Eight years after they met in Bon Cop Bad Cop (above), the comically mismatched duo of straightlaced Ontario cop Martin Ward (Feore) and scruffy Quebec cop David Bouchard (Huard) reunite to investigate yet another major crime in this long-awaited sequel. When their separate investigations unexpectedly cross paths, the pair must join forces to investigate a crime ring south of the border, giving the film plenty of hilarious opportunities to poke fun at the cultural differences between the two Canucks and their American counterparts.

Director

Alain Desrochers

Desrochers began his filmmaking career with over 100 music videos and commercials, winning numerous awards. His first feature, La Bouteille, earned him a Genie nomination for Best Direction. His credits include Nitro, Cabotins and Gerry. Most recently, he directed the miniseries Bad Blood and the feature Security starring Sir Ben Kingsley.

Writer

Patrick Huard

Cast

Colm Feore, Patrick Huard, Erik Knudsen, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse

Producers

Pierre Even, Patrick Huard, François Flamand

Genres

Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Interest

Family Relationships

Original Languages

English, French

Breakaway

Director Robert Lieberman
Year 2011
Run Time 101min
Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rajveer Singh (Virmani) is struggling to balance the wishes of his traditional Sikh family and his own true passion for hockey. Raj and his friends play only for fun, held back by the prejudice and mockery of other teams as their turban-clad crew steps onto the ice. Enter Coach Dan Winters (Lowe) and soon the Speedy Singhs are competing in a real tournament, while Raj is falling in love with the coach’s beautiful sister, Melissa (Belle).

A cross-cultural story of self-discovery, Breakaway is a heartwarming, action-filled comedy, bringing a dash of Bollywood to Canada’s favourite sport. With a hilarious supporting cast including comedian Russell Peters, and a special appearance from Drake, Breakaway will have you cheering for its unlikely heroes.

Director

Robert Lieberman

Lieberman’s directing credits include the feature films D3: The Mighty Ducks, Fire in the Sky and Table for Five. He has won 29 Clio Awards for his work in advertising and has directed such hit TV shows as Lost Girl, Republic of Doyle, Houdini & Doyle, Haven, The Expanse, Rogue, and Criminal Minds. Most recently, he directed the features Christmas in Tahoe, Love Stories in Sunflower Valley and Love on the Road.

Writers

Noel S. Baker, Jeffrey Alan Schechter, Matt Simmons, Vinay Virmani

Cast

Vinay Virmani, Russell Peters, Rob Lowe, Camilla Belle

Producers

Ajay Virmani, Don Carmody, Frank Siracusa

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Bullying, Discrimination, ESL, Family Relationships, Newcomer Stories, Sports

Original Language

English

Leon Bronstein (Baruchel) isn’t an average Montreal high school student. For one thing, he’s convinced that he is the reincarnation of early-20th-century Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. When Leon starts a hunger strike in his father’s (Rubinek’s) clothing factory, he is sent to public school as punishment.

Leon sets out to change the world, immediately butting heads with his new principal (Feore). Getting his apathetic peers to stand up to the school’s repressive administration proves more difficult than Leon first imagines, leading him to resort to some extreme and often hilarious tactics.

“The most genuine, authentic, legitimately funny teen movie since Heathers or John Hughes’ movies.” — Jane Stevenson, Sun Media

Director

Jacob Tierney

As an actor, Tierney has appeared in over 45 feature films and TV shows. His first feature was Twist, and he has also directed Good Neighbours, Preggoland and the hit series Letterkenny (in which he also starred). The Trotsky won three Genies. He wrote The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, which premiered at TIFF 2018, and is currently starring in Gran Turismo.

Writer

Jacob Tierney

Cast

Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Saul Rubinek, Colm Feore, Geneviève Bujold

Producer

Kevin Tierney

Genre

Comedy

Interests

Biography, Bullying, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Meatballs

Director Ivan Reitman
Year 1979
Run Time 93min
Genre Comedy
This ode to summer camp is a true Canadian classic and features Bill Murray in his first starring role. He plays Tripper, a prankster and a flirt who can’t help teasing his boss and the counsellors at the nearby rich kids’ camp.

Everyone, including Tripper, is sick and tired of perennially losing the Camp Olympics. It’s only by encouraging all campers to try their hardest — including young Rudy (Makepeace), who has self-esteem issues — that Tripper and his troops can hope to emerge triumphant. Full of wacky pranks, lively high jinks and a lot of touching moments, Meatballs is sure to entertain audiences of all ages.

Meatballs won the Genie Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actress (Lynch), as well as the Golden Reel Award, given to the film with the biggest box office gross of the year.

Director

Ivan Reitman

Writers

Len Blum, Dan Goldberg, Janis Allen, Harold Ramis

Cast

Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Chris Makepeace, Jack Blum

Producers

John Dunning, Dan Goldberg, André Link

Genre

Comedy

Interests

Bullying, Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema, ESL

Original Language

English

Double Happiness

Director Mina Shum
Year 1994
Run Time 87min
Genre Comedy, Drama
Jade Li (Oh), a vivacious Chinese Canadian, wants to become an actress without upsetting her extremely traditional parents. It’s a balancing act that Jade is finding difficult to achieve. Talking in English, wearing western clothes and going out with non-Asian guys, Jade leads a secret life when she leaves her stuffy-but-warm domestic scene each day. Things come to a head when Mark (Rennie), a white Canadian graduate student, insists on turning their casual fling into something more meaningful. It’s a relationship that Jade’s parents would hate. What should she do?

Sandra Oh won the Best Actress Genie for her performance. The film also won prizes in Vancouver, Berlin and Turin.

Director

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

Sandra Oh, Callum Keith Rennie

Producers

Stephen Hegyes, Rose Lam Waddell

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, ESL, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Newcomer Stories, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English