Spotlight Sublist: 2020 - Immune Boosting
New Waterford Girl
Lou is as extroverted and impulsive as Moonie is shy and withdrawn, and soon their unlikely friendship starts turning the town upside down.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
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
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
Starbuck
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
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
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
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
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; 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
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
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