New Waterford Girl

Director Allan Moyle
Year 2000
Run Time 97min
Genre Comedy, Drama
Moonie Pottie (Balaban) is a 15-year-old misfit who will do anything to get out of dreary New Waterford, Nova Scotia. Lou Benzoa (Spencer-Nairn) is a tough girl from the Bronx who couldn’t be happier to be moving to the seaside hamlet.

Lou is as extroverted and impulsive as Moonie is shy and withdrawn, and soon their unlikely friendship starts turning the town upside down. Lou wins over the local girls by punishing their two-timing boyfriends, while Moonie plans a new life in NYC. Hilarious and exuberant, New Waterford Girl paints a touching picture of coming of age in a small town.

The film was nominated for seven Genie Awards.

Director

Allan Moyle

Director, screenwriter and actor Moyle wrote the seminal Canadian films Montreal Main and The Rubber Gun, and directed the latter. His film credits also include Times Square, Pump Up the Volume, Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story and Weirdsville. He most recently directed the documentary How Sweet It Is.

Writer

Tricia Fish

Cast

Liane Balaban, Andrew McCarthy, Tara Spencer-Nairn, Nicholas Campbell, Mary Walsh

Producers

Jennifer Kawaja, Julia Sereny

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interests

ESL, Family Relationships, Sports, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

The F Word

Director Michael Dowse
Year 2013
Run Time 102min
Genre Comedy, Drama
Wallace (Radcliffe) is a medical school dropout who’s been burned by bad relationships. Just when all his friends, and even his goofy roommate Allan (Driver), seem to be finding love, Wallace decides to put romance on hold.

Of course, that’s when he meets Chantry (Kazan), an animator who lives with her longtime boyfriend, Ben (Spall). The dreaded “F word” in this contemporary and hilarious romantic comedy is “friendship.” Wallace and Chantry form an instant connection, but are both committed to keeping things platonic, which might prove to be more difficult than either one of them imagined.

The F Word has charm to spare, and Radcliffe and Kazan are irresistible.” — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Director

Michael Dowse

Dowse’s credits include the cult classics Fubar, Fubar II and It’s All Gone Pete Tong. His film Goon was a huge critical and box-office success. The F Word won the CSA for Best Adapted Screenplay. Dowse also directed episodes of Man Seeking Woman, starring Jay Baruchel, the feature film Stuber, 8 Bit Christmas, and Coffee and Kareem. He is currently set to direct the film adaptation of the video game Just Cause and is developing a series about the late Toronto mayor Rob Ford.

Writers

Elan Mastai, T.J. Dawe, Michael Rinaldi

Cast

Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Adam Driver, Rafe Spall

Producers

David Gross, Macdara Kelleher, André Rouleau

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interest

Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

Director Ted Kotcheff
Year 1974
Run Time 120min
Genre Comedy, Drama
Based on Mordecai Richler’s beloved novel, the film charts the rise of young Duddy Kravitz (Dreyfuss), a brash, working-class Jewish kid from Montreal, determined to make a name for himself — no matter what it takes. Taking to heart his grandfather’s advice that “a man without land is nothing,” Duddy gets involved in a series of get-rich-quick schemes in order to purchase a lakeshore property in the Laurentian mountains.

As his business ventures backfire in different ways, Duddy must come to terms with the fact that he’s attaining his goals at the expense of something more important — friendship and love. Both funny and touching, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is a true Canadian classic.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and won Film of the Year at the Canadian Film Awards.

Director

Ted Kotcheff

Toronto-born Kotcheff has produced and directed films in Australia, the UK, the US and Canada, including Fun with Dick and Jane, Joshua Then and Now, First Blood, and Weekend at Bernie’s. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. He has won Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Directors Guild of Canada and the CSAs.

 

Writers

Lionel Chetwynd, Mordecai Richler

Cast

Richard Dreyfuss, Micheline Lanctôt, Jack Warden, Randy Quaid

Producer

John Kemeny

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interests

Classics, ESL, Family Relationships, Literary Adaptation

Original Language

English

As his girlfriend announces her pregnancy, David Wozniak (Huard), a forty-something slacker, receives other life-changing news: 142 people, all of them the result of artificial insemination from sperm he donated 21 years earlier, have filed a class action lawsuit against the mysterious “Starbuck,” their biological father.

David’s life is fast falling apart — he’s in trouble with local thugs and owes a lot of money – but his unwitting support network of children, none of whom know who David really is, give him hope to carry on as he visits them in their daily lives.

Full of heart and with tons of laughs, this French Canadian contemporary classic was remade two years later in America under the title of Delivery Man — but with its blockbusting original release, we’d argue you shouldn’t mess with perfect!

Director

Ken Scott

Writers

Ken Scott, Martin Petit

Cast

Patrick Huard, Julie LeBreton, Antoine Bertrand

Producer

André Rouleau

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interest

Family Relationships

Original Language

French

Trailer Park Boys: The Movie

Director Mike Clattenburg
Year 2006
Run Time 95min
Genre Action/Adventure, Comedy
When pot-smoking petty criminals Julian (Tremblay) and Ricky (Wells) get caught breaking into an ATM, they’re both quickly sent to prison. Eighteen months later, the boys are released back into society, but the transition isn’t easy.

Ricky’s girlfriend, Lucy (Lucy Decoutere), has run off, and in between his efforts to win her back, he’s also planning the boys’ biggest heist yet: a haphazard plot that finds him enlisting the help of his nerdy friend Bubbles (Smith).

Following a television series beloved by millions on both sides of the border, Trailer Park Boys: The Movie dishes up more hilarity for fans and newcomers to Dartmouth alike.

Director

Mike Clattenburg

Writers

Mike Clattenburg, Robb Wells

Cast

Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay, Mike Smith, Hugh Dilllon, Lucy DeCoutere

Producers

Mike Clattenburg, Barrie Dunn, Michael Volpe, Ivan Reitman, Tom Pollock

Genres

Action/Adventure, Comedy

Original Language

English

Roadkill

Director Bruce McDonald
Year 1989
Run Time 80min
Genre Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Bruce McDonald's debut feature is a rock 'n' roll road movie that concerns the adventures of a Toronto rock promoter's assistant, Ramona (Valerie Buhagiar), sent to track down a band called the Children of Paradise that has gone missing in northern Ontario. Ramona doesn't drive so she recruits a pot-smoking cab driver (Larry Hudson) to take her the full 400+ km across the province.

Along the way, they meet a film director (Bruce McDonald) with big dreams whose film's subject matter is dead animals on the highway, and an aspiring serial killer who just doesn't know how to get started (Don McKellar). Ramona may find the band in the end, but ultimately what she discovers about herself is far more important! 

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.

Writers

Bruce McDonald, Don McKellar

Cast

Valerie Buhagiar, Gerry Quigley, Don McKellar, Bruce McDonald

Producers

Bruce McDonald, Colin Brunton

Genres

Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Interests

Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema

Original Language

English

Maudie is based on the true story of Nova Scotia painter Maud Lewis, who overcame the physical challenge of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis to become one of Canada's best known and most loved folk artists.

The fragile but determined Maudie (Sally Hawkins) yearns for independence from her over-protective family and dreams of creating art. When she answers an ad for a housekeeper placed by a reclusive fish seller (Ethan Hawke), she gains more than just the freedom she wanted, as the unlikely pair develops a relationship that is intensely intimate and just as challenging.

A touching and inspiring story about following one's dreams in spite of life's obstacles, Maudie is an absolute charmer.

"Maudie breaks your heart with its infectious positivity." - Tomris Laffly, Time Out

Director

Aisling Walsh

Walsh's previous projects include feature films The Daisy Chain and Song for a Raggy Boy, as well as directing over a dozen TV movies and shows, including Room at the Top, which won a BAFTA for Best Miniseries, and the TV movies A Poet in New York and An Inspector Calls. She most recently made the TV movie Elizabeth Is Missing. Next she will be directing Ethel's Orchestra and producing The Ballroom.

Writer

Sherry White

Cast

Sally Hawkins, Ethan Hawke

Producers

Mary Young Leckie, Sally Hawkins, Ethan Hawke

Genres

Drama, Romance

Interests

Arts and Culture, Biography, ESL, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, History, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

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 Magazine
 
 

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; and Drive, She Said. Most recently, she has directed episodes of Frankie Drake Mysteries, Murdoch Mysteries and October Faction. She is currently directing the feature One (Nine).

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

Breakfast with Scot

Director Laurie Lynd
Year 2007
Run Time 95min
Genre Comedy

When gay couple Eric (Cavanagh) and Sam (Shenkman) become the sudden guardians of Scot, a precocious and effeminate young boy, the two professionals must rise to the call of fatherhood and confront the compromises they’ve made in their own lives as gay men working in the world of sports.


Adapted from the novel by Michael Downing, Breakfast with Scot is a heart-warmingly hilarious meditation on the true meaning of family. Scot’s zany antics and disarming self-confidence will inspire audiences young and old to embrace their own — and others’ — unique quirks and differences. This family comedy is a refreshing combination of wry humour and genuine sweetness.


Winner of the Directors Guild of Canada’s Family Feature Film award.

Director

Laurie Lynd

Writer

Sean Reycraft

Cast

Noah Bernett, Tom Cavanagh, Ben Shenkman

Producer

Paul Brown

Genre

Comedy

Interests

Family Relationships, LGBTQ2S+, Literary Adaptation, Sports

Original Language

English

Hockey Night

Director Paul Shapiro
Year 1984
Run Time 74min
Genre Drama, Family
Cathy (Follows), an avid youth hockey player, moves with her mother to Parry Sound and finds no leagues for girls her age. After securing a spot in the lineup of an all-boys team, she finds that regardless of how well she plays on the ice, she continues to face opposition from a major sponsor who insists he doesn’t want her on the team. As the team nears a major final, she has to rely on the support of her teammates, and particularly its star player (Bisson) to let her achieve her hockey dreams.

A Canadian sports classic, Hockey Night features the on-screen debut of Yannick Bisson (Murdoch Mysteries) and memorable performances from Rick Moranis and Megan Follows (Anne of Green Gables).

Director

Paul Shapiro

Writers

Jack Blum, Paul Shapiro

Cast

Megan Follows, Rick Moranis, Gail Youngs

Producer

Martin Harbury

Genres

Drama, Family

Interests

Classics, Discrimination, Sports, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English