Interest: Bullying
La soeur de Margot (Margot’s Sister)
A shy pre-teen struggles when her classmates begin to make fun of her sister’s disability, until she finds the courage within herself to stand up to them.
Director
Christine Doyon
Genre
Drama
Interests
Bullying, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
French
Language Version
EN Subtitles
- Own Voice
Before I Change My Mind
1987: While the other students wonder if new kid Robin is a boy or a girl, Robin forges a complicated bond with the school bully, making increasingly dangerous choices to fit in.
Director
Trevor Anderson
Writers
Trevor Anderson, Fish Griwkowsky, Katrina Beatty
Cast
Lacey Oake, Dominic Lippa, Vaughan Murrae, Matthew Rankin, Shannon Blanchet
Producers
Alyson Richards, Katrina Beatty
Genre
Drama
Interests
Bullying, LGBTQ2S+
Original Language
English
Butterfly Tale
Determined not to let his disability stop him, Patrick and his best friend, a goofy caterpillar named Marty (Lucinda Davis), stow away in a milkweed trailer to be part of the adventure. Facing challenges and trials along the way, Patrick faces his fear, embraces his uniqueness and overcomes adversity to become an unlikely hero!
Butterfly Tale is an inspiring animated adventure full of humour that reminds us that differences are less important than the bonds we share.
Director
Sophie Roy
Writers
Heidi Foss, Lienne Sawatsky, Michael Solomon
Cast
Tatiana Maslany, Mena Massoud, Nick Julius Schuck
Genres
Animation, Family
Interests
Bullying, Female Filmmaker
Original Languages
English, French
Canadian Distributor
Vortex Media
- Own Voice
Short Film Programme
If you’d like to show several short films together as a programme, please feel free to get in touch for advice and tips on selecting the perfect combination for your needs.
Director
Shorts Programme
Genres
Action/Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Experimental, Family, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller
Interests
Arts and Culture, Biography, BIPOC Stories, Bullying, Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Discrimination, Environment, ESL, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+, Literary Adaptation, Newcomer Stories, Social Justice & Politics, Sports, Strong Female Leads
Original Languages
English, French
Bully Dance
A vibrant musical parable that demonstrates the consequences of peer pressure and bullying.
Director
Janet Perlman
Genre
Animation
Interests
Arts and Culture, Bullying
Original Language
No Dialogue
And That’s Remarkable
Director
Linnea Ritland
Genres
Animation, Drama
Interests
Bullying, Female Filmmaker
Original Language
English
Language Version
EN CC
Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl
Director
Brad Peyton
Writers
Lee Hoverd, Brad Peyton
Cast
Nadia Litz, Joshua Close
Producer
Jim Mauro
Genre
Comedy
Interest
Bullying
Original Language
English
Canadian Distributor
Canadian Film Centre
Pudge
Director
Annie Bradley
Award-winning writer/director Annie Bradley serves as the Chair of the DGC Ontario and develops a slate of film and TV projects through her company, The Heat Mansion. She is an alumna of the Sundance Film Festival, TIFF, the TIFF Talent Lab, TIFF Pitch This!, the CFC Directors Lab, Film Fatales LA, AWD, and WIDC. Her award-winning works include Tongue Bully, Pudge II, The WBI, and My Daughter’s Secret Life.
Writer
Tina Cooper
Cast
Anne Anglin, Laytrel McMullen
Producers
Ani Baravyan, Avi Federgreen, Antonella LaCaprara
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Bullying, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker
Original Language
English
Canadian Distributor
Canadian Film Centre
- Own Voice
The Basketball Game
When nine-year-old Hart attends Jewish summer camp, his group must play an epic basketball game against the students of a notorious Holocaust denier. What awaits him on the court?
Director
Hart Snider
Writer
Hart Snider
Producer
Yves J. Ma
Genres
Animation, Drama
Interests
Bullying, Discrimination, Social Justice & Politics, Sports
Original Language
English
Language Version
FR Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
National Film Board (NFB)
To This Day
In this collaborative online project, 12 animators and 80 “motion artists” bring their unique styles to Koyczan’s poem about bullying. Content Note: Coarse language
Director
Shane Koyczan
Genre
Animation
Interests
Arts and Culture, Bullying, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Snow
Director
Kim Barr
Writer
Kathy-Ann Thomas
Cast
Hannah Chantée van Herten
Producers
Kathy-Ann Thomas, Kim Barr
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Bullying, Discrimination, Female Filmmaker, Newcomer Stories, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Language Version
FR Subtitles
Jeune Juliette (Young Juliet)
This humorous and heartfelt fourth film from writer/director Anne Émond wonderfully captures the awkwardness and the pain of growing up, letting go, and learning to love yourself no matter what other people think.
“It’s remarkable... Beautifully written, and sprinkled with laughter.” — MarcAndré Lussier, La Presse (Translated from French)
Director
Anne Émond
Émond's debut feature, Nuit #1, won the Claude Jutra Award for Best Feature by a first time filmmaker at the 2012 Genie Awards. Her other credits include the shorts La vie commence, Sophie Lavoie and Plus rien ne vouloir, and the features Nelly and Les êtres chers, which received seven Jutra Award nominations and won for Best Direction. Her most recent film is Manuel de la vie sauvage.
Writer
Anne Émond
Cast
Robin Aubert, Alexane Jamieson, Léanne Désilets
Producer
Sylvain Corbeil
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Bullying, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+
Original Language
French
Language Versions
EN CC, EN Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
Maison 4:3
La course des tuques (Racetime)
This fun and action-packed sequel is a wild romp through the trials and tribulations, passionate joys and little victories of childhood. Frankie and Sophie are teaming up for a spectacular sled race through the village, and this time they’ve got some new friends along for the ride, including the mysterious Zac and his musical cousin Charly.
Directors
François Brisson
Brisson is a visual artist, animation director, and comic book creator who was instrumental in the early development of Quebec's animation scene, directing the animated films Gene Fusion, La guerre des tuques (Snowtime!), and La course des tuques (Racetime), as well as episodes of Arthur and The Lost World.
Writers
Paul Risacher, Claude Landry, Maxime Landry
Cast
Mariloup Wolfe, Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc, Sophie Cadieux, André Sauvé
Producer
Marie-Claude Beauchamp
Genres
Action/Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family
Interests
Bullying, Sports
Original Languages
English, French
Canadian Distributor
eOne
Wet Bum
Director
Lindsay MacKay
Writer
Lindsay MacKay
Cast
Julia Sarah Stone, Kenneth Welsh, Craig Arnold
Genre
Drama
Interests
Bullying, Female Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Canadian Distributor
levelFILM
- Own Voice
Riceboy Sleeps
This stunning second feature from Anthony Shim follows a Korean single mother who moves to Canada with her young son in the early 1990s, following the death of her husband. As she struggles to make ends meet and provide the best life possible for her son, she has to contend with his changing attitudes towards her, and towards their Korean culture.
A profoundly affecting drama about the immigrant experience, Riceboy Sleeps premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival where it won the Platform Prize, and was named to their 2022 Canada’s Top Ten list. It also won the award for Best Original Screenplay at the Canadian Screen Awards.
Director
Anthony Shim
Shim is an actor and award-winning filmmaker who has appeared in numerous shorts, feature films and television series. His features include Daughter and Riceboy Sleeps, both of which he directed, wrote, and produced. His second feature, Riceboy Sleeps, premiered at TIFF 2022 and won the festival’s Platform Prize. The film went on to win over 20 other awards, including the CSA for Original Screenplay.
Writer
Anthony Shim
Cast
Choi Seung Yoon, Ethan Hwang, Hunter Dillon
Producers
Bryan Demore, Anthony Shim, Rebecca Steele
Genre
Drama
Interests
Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, Bullying, Discrimination, Family Relationships, Newcomer Stories, Strong Female Leads
Original Languages
English, Other Language
Canadian Distributor
Game Theory Films
- Own Voice
Beans
Beans takes place at the height of the 1990 Mohawk Resistance at Kanehsatà:ke (also known as the Oka Crisis), a 78-day standoff between Indigenous land defenders, Quebec police, the RCMP and the Canadian military, over the proposed expansion of a golf course on to a Mohawk burial ground. Twelve-year-old Tekehentahkhwa (nicknamed “Beans”, played by Kiawentiio) is forced into an early coming of age by these events, as her innocence turns to anger over the treatment of her people.
Drawing from her own experiences as a child, director Tracey Deer provides a poignant and engaging chronicle of these real-life events that shook the nation, as well as a much-needed look at how the traumatic events impacted youth in the community.
Beans premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the 2021 Canadian Screen Award for Best Picture.
Content Note: This film includes coarse language, violence, and thematic elements that may not be suitable for all audiences.
Director
Tracey Deer (Mohawk)
In 2008, Deer won a Gemini Award in Best Documentary Writing, for Club Native. Her debut doc was the award-winning Mohawk Girls, which she adapted into a TV series that ran for five seasons and was nominated for seven CSAs. Beans has won eleven awards, including Best Picture at the CSAs. Most recently, she directed episodes of the series Three Pines, and is currently working on the feature Thorpe, about Native American Olympic gold medalist Jim Thorpe.
Writers
Tracey Deer (Mohawk), Meredith Vuchnich
Cast
Kiawentiio (Mohawk), Dawn Ford, Violah Beauvais (Mohawk), Rainbow Dickerson (Rappahannock), Brittany Leborgne (Mohawk)
Producer
Anne-Marie Gélinas
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Bullying, Discrimination, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Language Versions
EN CC, FR Dub, FR Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
Mongrel Media
Le sens de l’humour (A Sense of Humour)
With little to trade for their freedom other than their comedy skills, the duo offer to teach Roger the art of comedy and make him a local star. Thinking it might help him win the girl of his dreams, Roger accepts, and the hilarity and hijinks begin.
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
Émile Gaudreault, Benoît Pelletier
Cast
Michel Côté, Louis-José Houde, Benoît Brière, Anne Dorval
Producers
Daniel Louis, Denise Robert
Genre
Comedy
Interest
Bullying
Original Language
French
Language Versions
EN Subtitles, FR CC
Canadian Distributor
eOne
La guerre des tuques (Snowtime!)
The result is a family-friendly contemporary hit full of chilly thrills, snow-fort hills, and a rollicking energy that is unstoppably fun. Fortunately, there’s also a brilliant anti-war message packed in the ice that’s sure to melt hearts.
Snowtime! (La Guerre des tuques) 3D was a bilingual box-office smash, winning the Golden Screen Award for being the highest-grossing Canadian film in 2015.
Directors
Jean-François Pouliot
In addition to over 500 commercials, Montrealer Pouliot’s credits include feature films Guide de la petite vengeance and the 2015 box-office success Dr. Cabbie as well as the hit animated film Snowtime!. Recently, he directed the feature films Les 3 p’tits cochons 2, Votez Bougon and the Snowtime! sequel, Racetime.
François Brisson
Brisson is a visual artist, animation director, and comic book creator who was instrumental in the early development of Quebec's animation scene, directing the animated films Gene Fusion, La guerre des tuques (Snowtime!), and La course des tuques (Racetime), as well as episodes of Arthur and The Lost World.
Writers
Paul Risacher, Normand Canac-Marquis, Roger Cantin, Danyèle Patenaude
Cast
André Sauvé, Nicholas Savard L'Herbier, Mariloup Wolfe, Sandra Oh, Ross Lynch
Producer
Marie-Claude Beauchamp
Genres
Action/Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family
Interest
Bullying
Original Languages
English, French
Canadian Distributor
eOne
The Trotsky
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
A prolific actor, writer, director and producer, Tierney has appeared in over 50 feature films and TV shows. His feature directorial debut was Twist, which was nominated for four Genies, winning one. He also wrote and directed The Trotsky (which won two Genies) and Good Neighbours, and directed Preggoland. He wrote and directed episodes of the hit series Letterkenny and Shoresy, and starred in both.
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
Canadian Distributor
eOne
Babine
In the small village of Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, whenever something bad happens, the villagers blame Babine, the son of the village witch. Babine was born an outsider, and has spent his life being teased. When the local church burns down, the new priest becomes determined to find the culprit, and puts the blame on Babine, deciding he must be punished once and for all.
Babine is an offbeat comedy and a charming fairy tale filled with eccentric characters and has a strong message of acceptance that will resonate with audiences of all ages.
Director
Luc Picard
Luc Picard is a celebrated actor with over 50 film and television credits and two Jutra Awards to his name. He has directed Audition, Babine, Ésimésac, and a segment in the anthology film 9. Les rois mongols earned six Canadian Screen Award nominations. His latest film is Confessions and he recently starred in Arsenault & Fils and French Girl.
Writer
Fred Pellerin
Cast
Vincent-Guillaume Otis, Luc Picard, Alexis Martin, Isabel Richer, René Richard Cyr
Producer
Lorraine Richard
Genres
Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Interest
Bullying
Original Language
French
Language Versions
EN Subtitles, FR CC
Canadian Distributor
eOne