Twenty-one-year-old Ricardo (Boucher) is a screenwriting student in Montreal, where he dreams about striking up a romance with his classmate Marie-Ève (Gosselin). When she announces that she’ll be going on an exchange trip to Italy, Ricardo can only see one option for himself: to follow her — and his heart — on the trip, and perhaps reconnect with his own Italian roots along the way. Of course, nothing on the trip goes as he expects, and connecting with Marie-Ève seems further away than before.

The charming and funny story is based on director Ricardo Trogi’s own coming-of-age experiences, and was a box office smash and winner of the Golden Screen Award (for biggest Canadian box office gross of the year). The film was nominated for 16 Prix Iris awards and won five, including those for best film and best director.

In the bleak aftermath of an outbreak of zombies in rural Quebec, Bonin (Marc-André Grondin) struggles to survive along with the rapidly dwindling remaining population. When he encounters a group hiding in a house that is in the path of an invading horde of the undead, he must decide whether or not to save them, as doing so would put him and his companions in danger.

Les affamés is a brilliant and fresh take on the zombie genre, maintaining a tense atmosphere with exceptional moments of horror. It won the Best Canadian Feature prize at TIFF in 2017 and swept the Jutra Awards (now the Prix Iris) with ten wins, including Best Film and Best Direction.

“Robin Aubert's idiosyncratic and nuanced drama breathes fresh life into the zombie apocalypse subgenre.” - John Leydon, Variety

A poignant exploration of the dysfunctional family, Chien de Garde centres on JP (Jean-Simon Leduc), who lives with his brother Vincent (Theodore Pellerin), his mother Joe and his girlfriend Mel in a cramped apartment in the Verdun area of Montreal.

JP’s life is a constant balancing act, as he juggles being a dutiful son and a devoted boyfriend, along with his work at the collection job he does with his brother, and his involvement in the drug cartel that his uncle Dany (a father figure for JP) controls. But the heaviest weight on JP’s shoulders is the responsibility he feels for his impulsive and volatile brother. JP loves Vincent deeply, but is reaching the limit of what he can endure for his sake.

The film was nominated for four Canadian Screen Awards including Best Picture as well as eight Prix Iris, winning three. 

Set in the Haida Gwaii region in the 19th century, Edge of the Knife (SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna in Haida) adapts a classic Haida folk tale of a man left for dead in the forest who becomes the Gaagiid/Gaagiixiid, or “the Wildman”. After an accident where he is separated from his family, Adiits'ii (York) wanders through the forest becoming driven mad by both natural and supernatural forces. As his loved ones, including best friend Kwa (Russ), set out to capture and cure him, Adiits’ii grows increasingly feral.

The first feature film made entirely in the critically endangered Haida language - fluently spoken by fewer than 20 people - the film is a spellbinding and mythical tale of pride, tragedy and love, set against the stunning backdrop of Canada’s Pacific northwest.

Made with a Haida cast and in collaboration with the Haida Council, this compelling film proves that cinema can be at once a powerful vessel for storytelling and a profound act of Indigenous language and culture revitalization.

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.

Torn between the two sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict through two close friendships, a Canadian doctor finds her sympathies sorely tested while working in the conflict ravaged territories. Starring Évelyne Brochu.

Every spring, China’s cities are plunged into chaos as millions of migrant factory workers attempt to return home by train to their rural villages for Chinese New Year. This arresting documentary draws us into the fractured lives of a single family caught up in this desperate annual migration. 

A documentary focusing on the relationships between a choir of homeless men in Montreal and their founder and choirmaster, Pierre.

An olympic swimmer goes on a journey of self-discovery in the days following her retirement from the sport after her final race at the Tokyo Olympics.

Disturbing and violent memories haunt a man after he emerges from a lengthy coma. Starring Roy Dupuis.

The Rocket traces the meteoric rise of hockey legend Maurice Richard (Dupuis), from his humble beginnings as a Montreal machinist during the Depression to star of the Canadiens and the greatest scorer in hockey.

But this is much more than a sports movie. Director Binamé frames the story in a cultural context: It isn’t until Richard, a man of few words, begins to speak his mind about the inequalities and prejudice directed toward French Canadians that he finds his voice.

Many feel that the riots caused by Richard’s suspension in 1955 were the spark that fuelled the Quiet Revolution in Quebec. This hockey blockbuster is chock-full of heart and history.

The Rocket was nominated for 13 Genie Awards and won nine.

When Winnipeg is named the ”saddest city in the world” for the fourth year running, Baroness Port-Huntley (Rossellini) concocts an elaborate scheme to promote her beer by advertising a contest to find the saddest music in the world.

With a $25,000 prize up for grabs, composers from all over the world are soon pouring into Winnipeg to play her their woeful tunes. Things get even more interesting when her own former lover, Broadway producer Chester Kent (McKinney) enters the competition.

Realized in Guy Maddin’s signature black-and-white style that imitates the look of ’20s and ’30s cinema, this delightfully quirky film is a triumph of the imagination. A cross between a silent film and a Hollywood musical, The Saddest Music in the World is truly unlike anything you’ve ever seen before!

Luc (Houde) and Marco (Côté) are two comedians who tour second-rate theatres around Quebec. Every night, they choose some poor sap in the audience to ridicule to the delight of the other spectators. One night in a small town, the sap is Roger (Gendron), a mild-mannered fry cook. Unfortunately, Roger turns out to be the wrong guy to pick on, and the unlucky duo wake up in a cage, with madman Roger plotting his revenge.

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.

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!

Five years after the events of Les Pee-Wee: L’hiver qui a changé ma vie best friends Janeau (Pilon) and Joey (Goulet) have made it to Quebec’s semiprofessional hockey league. Both athletes have their sights set on the NHL and scouts have begun to take an interest. Then, in a sudden twist of fate, the two are caught in a devastating car accident that threatens both of their careers. The road to recovery is full of complex challenges and emotions that may end up doing irreparable damage to their previously strong friendship.

A more mature exploration of friendship and the competitive world of junior hockey, this is a coming of age drama with a whole lot of heart.

A critical hit at the Cannes film festival, Stéphane Lafleur’s third feature is an indie comedy that showcases his trademark absurdist and deadpan humour.

Nicole (Côté) is adrift after college graduation, working a dead-end summer job in her hometown and hanging out with her best pal, Véronique. When her older brother Remi (Grondin) unexpectedly returns with bandmates in tow to record a new album, it becomes clear to Nicole that her summer must — and will — change.

Shot in black-and-white, Tu dors Nicole is a funny, wry and charming snapshot of the fleeting, in-between moments between childhood and the grown-up world.

African rebels kidnap Komona (Mwanza) and force her to become a child soldier, but a miraculous event makes them fear that she has supernatural powers. Wonderfully played by Rachel Mwanza, whose performance is nothing short of a revelation, Komona’s trials and tribulations are compelling from start to finish. The topic of child soldiers is of course fraught with painful realities, but this story of a young “war witch” is an absolute tour-de-force of magic realism.

Montreal’s Kim Nguyen — who won several directing awards for his thoughtful work — travels a long way from Canada to tell this important tale.

A poignant and impossible love story filled with wonder, the film was nominated for an Oscar and won 10 Canadian Screen Awards.

Set in India during the rise of Mahatma Gandhi, Water recounts the story of Chuyia (Kariyawasam), a child bride. When her husband dies suddenly, Chuyia is forced to live in an ashram for Hindu widows, essentially cut off from society.

Fortunately, she finds friends in the beautiful Kilyani (Ray) and in the forward-thinking Narayan (Abraham). With their help, Chuyia attempts to escape the confines of her existence. Boasting lush visuals, Water could easily be a bleak story of deprivation and loss, but in Mehta’s gentle hands, it becomes one charged with hope and optimism.

Water was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

In French Canada and abroad, the series of films spawned from Les Boys is both beloved by audiences and box offices alike. But the title garçons in Les Boys are hardly young dudes at all — they’re grown men!

In this original, fun and hilarious prequel set in 1965, we find Les Boys as they originally were: hardy teenagers. Dreaming of victory in the Holiday tournament, the team is on Christmas vacation, but it’s anything but a restful experience: they have goals to make and trophies to win.

Full of wonderful highs and lows that evoke the rollercoaster experience of adolescence, When We Were Boys is a rare thing in cinema: a terrific and successful prequel.

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.