Le givre de Bobby-Yves

Directors Bogdan Anifrani, Ranee Inez
Year 2021
Run Time 3min
Genre Drama
The tenacious Bobby-Yves wakes up to find himself stranded in a blizzard, and must explore the landscape to find shelter and warmth before he succumbs to the icy white abyss. A suspenseful and unexpectedly humorous tale told through a beautiful, minimalist animation style, Le givre de Bobby-Yves is an instant classic.

Directors

Bogdan Anifrani, Ranee Inez

Writers

Bogdan Anifrani, Ranee Inez

Producer

Sharon Corder

Genre

Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Environment, Female Filmmaker

Original Language

French

5:1

Director Sara Ben-Saud
Year 2021
Run Time 8min
Genre Documentary, Family

Filmmaker Ben-Saud takes us into her family home, where she was confined with her parents and adult brother and sister during the early months of the lockdown, to experience the sometimes funny and sometimes challenging realities of pandemic coexistence.

Director

Sara Ben-Saud

Writer

Sara Ben-Saud

Producer

Sara Ben-Saud

Genres

Documentary, Family

Interests

Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences

Original Language

French

  • Own Voice

Mohawk Girls

Director Tracey Deer (Mohawk)
Year 2005
Run Time 55min
Genre Documentary
For three teenage girls growing up in Kahnawake — and indeed, all teenagers on the reserve — life can be quite confusing. If they want to move away to pursue new experiences — perhaps in nearby Montreal — they risk losing credibility, or worse yet, their rights as Mohawk women. Of course, if they stay, their opportunities in the tiny community are limited.

With insight, humour and heart, director Tracey Deer (who left Kahnawake to attend school and pursue filmmaking) returns to her community to follow these Mohawk girls and tell their stories. Her deeply emotional documentary reveals the complex hope, heartache and promise of growing up Indigenous in the 21st century.

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.

 

Writer

Tracey Deer (Mohawk)

Producers

Christina Fon, Linda Ludwick, Adam Symansky, Joanne Robertson

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Biography, BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Language Version

EN CC

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

Pour la suite du monde (For Those Who Will Follow)

Directors Michel Brault, Pierre Perrault
Year 1963
Run Time 105min
Genre Documentary
For centuries, the villagers of Île aux Coudres, a small island in the St. Lawrence River, hunted beluga whales by creating a sort of “fence” of saplings in shallow, muddy waters, trapping the mammals in low tide as they swim by.

In 1962, Michel Brault and a team of filmmakers travelled to the island to document the resumption of the practice decades after it had been abandoned, shedding light and wit on this “resourceful” tradition.

A balance of grace, humour, and up-close observation, Pour la suite du monde is known as a landmark achievement in documentary filmmaking and was screened at the Cannes film festival.

Directors

Michel Brault, Pierre Perrault

Writers

Michel Brault, Pierre Perrault

Producers

Jacques Bobet, Fernand Dansereau

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Classics, Environment, History

Original Language

French

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

  • Own Voice

Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance

Director Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)
Year 1993
Run Time 119min
Genre Documentary
In July of 1990, the Oka Crisis was a critical moment in contemporary Canadian history and a turning point for Indigenous affairs. That summer, as the small Quebec community was thrust into the international spotlight, master filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin spent 78 nail-biting days filming the armed stand-off between the Mohawks of Kanehsatake, Quebec, the Quebec police and the Canadian army.

This powerful documentary takes you right to the heart of the action, painting a sensitive and deeply affecting portrait of the people behind the barricades.

Winner of the Toronto International Film Festival’s Best Canadian Feature Film prize.

Director

Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Legendary Abenaki filmmaker Obomsawin has made over 50 documentaries on issues affecting Indigenous peoples in Canada, including Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, Trick or Treaty?, Is the Crown at War with Us?, Our People Will Be Healed and Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger. Her most recent film is the short documentary Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair. Next, she is set to appear in an episode of Marie Clements’ Bones of Crows: The Series.

Writer

Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Producers

Wolf Koenig, Colin Neale, Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)

Genre

Documentary

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Classics, Environment, Female Filmmaker, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Language Versions

EN CC, EN Subtitles, FR CC, FR Dub, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

La passion d’Augustine (The Passion of Augustine)

Director Léa Pool
Year 2015
Run Time 103min
Genre Drama

Céline Bonnier stars as Mother Augustine, a passionate and resilient Catholic nun who teaches music to children of all backgrounds in a convent school in rural Quebec in the 1960s. When her rebellious but musically gifted niece (Lysandre Ménard) joins the convent, Mother Augustine must confront a past that she strives to forget.

With the looming changes brought by Vatican II and Quebec's Quiet Revolution, the local government threatens to shut down the school in favour of public education, and Mother Augustine must search her soul for a solution – or perhaps a new calling. She and her fellow nuns are forced to confront the waves of modernity, but can Augustine move forward, or will she perish with tradition?

The film was nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards including Best Actress for Bonnier, and Best Original Score.

Director

Léa Pool

Pool has earned three Genie Award nominations for Best Direction. Her films include Emporte Moi, Mouvements du désir, Lost and Delirious, La dernière fugue and the documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc. Her recent films include the doc Double Sentence and the features La passion d'Augustine and Et au pire, on se mariera.

Writers

Léa Pool, Marie Vien

Cast

Céline Bonnier, Lysandre Ménard

Producers

Lyse Lafontaine, François Tremblay

Genre

Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Female Filmmaker, History

Original Language

French

Language Versions

EN Subtitles, FR CC

Canadian Distributor

eOne

Les affamés (Ravenous)

Director Robin Aubert
Year 2017
Run Time 104min
Genre Action/Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller

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

Director

Robin Aubert

Saints-Martyrs-des-Damnés premiered at TIFF 2005. Aubert also directed the feature films À quelle heure le train pour nulle part, À l’origine d’un cri, and Tuktuq, and starred in De père en flic, the critical hit Guibord s’en va-t-en guerre, Jeune Juliette, and Mon cirque à moi. His latest film, Les Affamés won Best Canadian Feature at TIFF 2017 and ten Prix Iris. He is currently completing his next film, Tu ne sauras jamais. 

Writer

Robin Aubert

Cast

Charlotte St-Martin, Marc-André Grondin, Monia Chokri, Micheline Lanctôt

Producers

C.S. Roy, Stéphanie Morissette

Genres

Action/Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller

Original Language

French

Language Version

EN Subtitles

Canadian Distributors

Les Films Seville, Maison 4:3

Sonatine

Director Micheline Lanctôt
Year 1984
Run Time 91min
Genre Drama

Actor and filmmaker Micheline Lanctôt won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival for her second feature, the story of two teenage girls whose close bond, dreams, and sentimental whims are presented in a series of vignettes that move gradually from the seemingly trivial to the extremely dark.

 

Structured around three parts, the first follows teenage Chantal (Pascale Bussières), who pursues an infatuation with a bus driver (Pierre F. Fauteux), ultimately costing him his job. The second segment follows Louisette (Marcia Pilote), who has run away from home but finds temporary affection from a Bulgarian sailor (Kliment Denchev) in the port. In the third and final chapter, the two girls come together and make a grim, disturbing plan.

 

Micheline Lanctôt won the Genie Award for Best Director for the film.

Director

Micheline Lanctôt

Writer

Micheline Lanctôt

Cast

Pascale Bussieres, Kliment Denchev

Genre

Drama

Interest

Female Filmmaker

Original Language

French

Language Versions

EN Subtitles, FR CC

Canadian Distributor

Les Films René Malo

Mariages (Marriages)

Director Catherine Martin
Year 2001
Run Time 95min
Genre Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Quebec filmmaker Catherine Martin made her feature debut with this film about a 19th century woman struggling against oppressive Victorian social norms. 20-year-old Yvonne (Marie-Ève Bertrand) is a free spirit whose prudish, strict older sister Héleène (Guylaine Tremblay) struggles to contain her.

Helene intends to send her sister to a convent, and when Yvonne falls in love with the rakish Charles (David Boutin), Hélène concocts a scheme to keep them apart by arranging for him to marry her own teenage daughter. Unwilling to give up her passionate desires, Yvonne heads to the woods to find her own solution.

This finely crafted historical drama was awarded Best Feature by the Quebec Association of Film Critics in 2001.

Director

Catherine Martin

Writer

Catherine Martin

Cast

Marie-Ève Bertrand, Guylaine Tremblay, Hélène Loiselle

Producer

Lorraine Dufour

Genres

Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interests

Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, History

Original Language

French

Language Version

EN Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

Film Tonic

Parachute

Director Martin Thibaudeau
Year 2012
Run Time 5min
Genre Comedy
A vacationing couple discovers an unconventional skydiving club. Should they take the plunge?

Director

Martin Thibaudeau

Writer

Martin Thibaudeau

Cast

Christine Beaulieu, Louis Tremblay

Producer

Martin Thibaudeau

Genre

Comedy

Interest

Sports

Original Language

French

Language Version

EN Subtitles

Les Plouffe (The Plouffe Family)

Director Gilles Carle
Year 1981
Run Time 169min
Genre Drama
Les Plouffe is an adaptation of Roger Lemelin’s WWII-set novel, chronicling seven years in the lives of a poor family living in the Basse-Ville area of Quebec City.

This is kitchen-sink drama at its most satirical, dramatizing an entire era in the quirks of this memorable clan. The lovable characters and unforgettable moments make Les Plouffe a simultaneously sad, funny and loving account of life in WWII-era Quebec.

This French Canadian classic won seven Genie Awards, including Best Achievement in Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Filiatrault).

Director

Gilles Carle

Writers

Gilles Carle, Roger Lemelin, Jacques Vigoureux

Cast

Gabriel Arcand, Pierre Curzi, Émile Genest, Juliette Huot, Denise Filiatraul

Producers

Denis Héroux, Justine Héroux, John Kemeny

Genre

Drama

Interests

Family Relationships, History, Literary Adaptation

Original Language

French

Language Version

FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

eOne

J.A. Martin photographe (J.A. Martin Photographer)

Director Jean Beaudin
Year 1997
Run Time 100min
Genre Drama
It’s no secret that much of an artist’s craft is spent in solitude. For photographer J. A. Martin (Sabourin) in late 1800s Quebec, solitude is found in the countryside during the summer, when he travels around taking beautiful photographs to sell.

After 14 years of marriage, Martin’s wife (Mercure) decides to accompany him on one of his summer tours, using it as an opportunity to try to rekindle their relationship as they explore the uniquely beautiful landscapes of rural Quebec.

Winner of three Canadian Film Awards (including Best Feature Film) and the Best Actress award for Monique Mercure at the Cannes Film Festival.

Director

Jean Beaudin

Writers

Jean Beaudin, Marcel Sabourin

Cast

Marcel Sabourin, Monique Mercure, Luce Guilbeault, Jean Lapointe

Producer

Jean-Marc Garand

Genre

Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Biography

Original Language

French

Language Version

EN Dub

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

Vinyl

Director Alan Zweig
Year 2000
Run Time 110min
Genre Documentary
Alan Zweig’s cult favourite documentary mines the comedy and tragedy of obsessive record collecting, assembling an all-star lineup of audiophiles, store clerks, DJs, Elvis fanatics and hot jazz enthusiasts. A hard-core collector himself, Zweig uses mirror confessionals to excoriate his anti-social compulsion, while approaching his interview subjects with open-hearted compassion.

With this film, Zweig established his voice as a documentarian who is not content to be merely a fly on the wall in the lives of his subjects. Instead, he deploys the camera as a tool for engagement, rooting around in the margins of contemporary society to explore themes of beauty, addiction, love and longing in a profound and unique way.

Director

Alan Zweig

Writer

Alan Zweig

Cast

Alan Zweig, Harvey Pekar, Alan Williams, Don McKellar

Producers

Alan Zweig, Greg Klymkiw, Bruce McDonald, David McCallum

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Arts and Culture, Cult & Offbeat Cinema

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

The Asylum

Les ordres (Orders)

Director Michel Brault
Year 1974
Run Time 109min
Genre Drama
The most political film by legendary Canadian director Michel Brault, Les ordres is a clear, vivid docudrama depiction of the October Crisis, the 1970 event that saw martial law invoked after the abduction of Quebec’s labour minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross by members of the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ).

Following five individuals over those harrowing days, the film uses colour and black-and-white cinematography to blur the lines between fact and fiction. Brault’s masterful film treats the difficult subject with sensitivity and care.

This film won Brault the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Director prize and he remains the only Canadian filmmaker to achieve that distinction.

Director

Michel Brault

Writer

Michel Brault

Cast

Hélène Loiselle, Jean Lapointe, Guy Provost, Louise Forestier, Claude Gauthier

Producer

Bernard Lalonde

Genre

Drama

Interests

Classics, History, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

French

Language Version

EN Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

Filmoption International

Tu dors Nicole (You’re Sleeping Nicole)

Director Stéphane Lafleur
Year 2014
Run Time 93min
Genre Comedy, Drama

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.

Director

Stéphane Lafleur

Writer

Stéphane Lafleur

Cast

Julianne Côté, Catherine St-Laurent, Marc-André Grondin, Francis La Haye

Producers

Luc Déry, Kim McCraw

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Cult & Offbeat Cinema

Original Language

French

Language Version

EN Subtitles

Canadian Distributors

Christal Films, eOne

  • Own Voice

Club Native

Director Tracey Deer (Mohawk)
Year 2008
Run Time 78min
Genre Documentary
On the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake, outside of Montreal, there are two unspoken rules: don't marry a white person, and don't have a child with one. The consequences of ignoring these rules can be dire — loss of membership on the reserve for yourself and your child. For those who incur them, the results can be devastating.

In this honest and affecting doc, filmmaker Tracey Deer follows the stories of four Kahnawake women whose lives have been affected by these rules, shedding light on contemporary Indigenous identity and asking quesitons about how we all understand who we are. 

With her own family as a poignant case study, Deer's film will strike a chord with anyone who's ever thought about ethnicity, culture or their place in the world.

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.

 

Writer

Tracey Deer (Mohawk)

Cast

Tracey Deer (Mohawk), Hilda Nicholas, Akwiratékha Martin (Mohawk)

Producers

Catherine Bainbridge, Christina Fon, Linda Ludwick

Genre

Documentary

Interest

Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Language Versions

EN CC, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

National Film Board (NFB)

Jésus de Montréal (Jesus of Montreal)

Director Denys Arcand
Year 1989
Run Time 120min
Genre Drama
The Passion Play has been a success for more than 40 years at a Montreal church, but the old-fashioned staging has made modern audiences restless. When the priest in charge hires a young troupe of actors to stage a revised and more inventive version, things don’t go exactly as planned.

Combining religion and some unconventional theories about Jesus, the troupe’s work begins to ruffle some feathers in the Catholic church, even as the life of main actor Daniel (Bluteau) starts to mirror the Messiah’s journey in unexpected and poignant ways.

Told with sharp humour and heart, the film received critical acclaim and won numerous awards, including the Genie for Best Picture and the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Director

Denys Arcand

Writer

Denys Arcand

Cast

Lothaire Bluteau, Catherine Wilkening, Johanne-Marie Tremblay, Rémy Girard, Gilles Pelletier

Producers

Roger Frappier, Pierre Gendron

Genre

Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Classics

Original Language

French

Language Versions

EN Subtitles, FR CC

Canadian Distributor

eOne

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

Language Versions

EN CC, EN Subtitles, FR CC, FR Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

eOne

The Boys of St. Vincent

Director John N. Smith
Year 1992
Run Time 186min
Genre Drama
This hard-hitting miniseries was based on real events that took place at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John’s, Newfoundland, in Canada’s largest sexual abuse scandal.

At the heart of this powerful film is a remarkable performance by Henry Czerny as Brother Peter Lavin, who transformed his own difficult childhood into a cycle of abuse and pain for others in his charge. Director John N. Smith grapples with this difficult subject with remarkable sensitivity and honesty, turning a dark chapter in Canada’s history into a thoughtful and affecting docudrama.

Director

John N. Smith

Smith’s credits include award-winning TV docudramas such as The Boys of St. Vincent, Dieppe and Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story, as well as numerous feature films, including Dangerous Minds, A Cool Dry Place, Geraldine’s Fortune and Love & Savagery among others. Sitting in Limbo won the Best Canadian Feature Film award at TIFF 1986.

Writers

Sam Grana, John N. Smith, Des Walsh

Cast

Henry Czerny, Johnny Morina, Brian Dooley

Producers

Claudio Luca, Sam Grana

Genre

Drama

Interests

Classics, History, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Language Version

EN CC

Canadian Distributor

eOne

Corbo

Director Mathieu Denis
Year 2014
Run Time 119min
Genre Drama

Based on the real events that led to the 1970 October Crisis, Corbo follows Giovanni Corbo (Therrien), the son of the rich and powerful businessman Nicola Corbo (Nardi). Perhaps in spite of his father’s big-L Liberal leanings, fresh-faced Giovanni finds revolutionary freedom in the friendship of two activists who encourage him to join the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ). As Giovanni’s behavior becomes radicalized, he quickly ascends the ranks of the FLQ, a group whose separatist desires are turning militant.


Refusing to paint too broad a brush on an important part of Quebec’s history, this gripping, beautifully crafted and moving Canadian Screen Award winner establishes director Mathieu Denis as a talent to watch.

Director

Mathieu Denis

Writer

Mathieu Denis

Cast

Anthony Therrien, Antoine L'Écuyer, Karelle Tremblay, Tony Nardi

Producers

Félize Frappier, Roger Frappier

Genre

Drama

Interests

History, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

French

Language Version

EN Subtitles

Canadian Distributor

eOne