The coming-of-age story gets an imaginative makeover with Stephen Dunn’s debut feature, which mixes affecting drama with whimsical fantasy to tell the story of high school senior Oscar (Connor Jessup), a young man who is struggling with his identity and a turbulent volatile home life with his increasingly volatile father.

Oscar finds an escape from his troubled home life in a passion for special effects and fantasy makeup that he shares with his best friend Gemma (Sofia Banzhaf) and hopes to pursue in college. At home, he creates a different fantasy world, sharing a close bond with the pet hamster (voiced by Isabella Rosellini) who has talked to him since his childhood.

When Oscar meets the cool, handsome Wilder (Aliocha Schneider), he finally starts coming to terms with his own sexuality, which he has repressed since witnessing a terrible act of homophobic violence as a child.

Closet Monster premiered at the Toronto International FIlm Festival, winning the award for Best Canadian Feature Film and was named one of Canada’s Top Ten films of 2015.

This remarkable second feature from Bretten Hannam follows two-spirit Mi’kmaw teenager Link (Lewitski) on a remarkable journey of self discovery set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Annapolis Valley. After finding out that his estranged mother may be alive, Link and his brother (Winters-Anthony) escape from their abusive father and set out to find her, helped along their way by Pasmay (Odjick), a young drifter who helps Link come to terms with his newfound sexuality.

Adapted from Hannam’s award-winning short film Wildfire, this realistic coming of age story is full of hope, love and heartbreak, and is a bold addition to the new wave of Indigenous filmmaking.

“Brettan Hannam's glorious first feature catapults him into the pantheon of filmmakers to watch.” – Frank J. Avella, Edge Media Network

When a young Québecois girl watches the 1970 October Crisis take over the news, it gives her an idea for how to keep herself and her brother out of foster care. With their father in the hospital and their mother unable to care for them, the children hatch a plan to find and kidnap an elderly woman (Coulter) who can pose as their grandmother.

They take their victim to a remote cabin, but the authorities are soon on their trail, as their poorly planned scheme quickly gets out of hand, and the story evolves into a brilliant parallel of one of the most important moments in Quebec history. Winner of the prestigious Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, Les Rois Mongols is a bittersweet and adventurous coming-of-age story with a lot of heart.

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.

In her last year of high school, straight-A student Antigone (Ricci) finds her life suddenly overturned when one of her brothers is murdered by a police officer, while the other is arrested. Having lived in Montreal since arriving as a refugee with her family over a decade ago, Antigone faces a terrible choice. She wants desperately to help her brother in prison, but doing so will put not only her promising future in jeopardy, but also her ability to stay in Canada. As her story becomes a media sensation, Antigone becomes a symbol for a movement of justice, as she makes a decision that will change her life forever.

Despite being based on a tragedy over 2,000 years old, Antigone is an urgent and extremely timely story. It was the official Canadian submission for International Feature Film at the Oscars in 2019.

“An intelligent, moving reworking of Sophocles' tragedy, electrified by a breakout turn from star Nahéma Ricci.” - Jessica Kiang, Variety

Life can feel like an endless uphill battle for families in the titular Toronto neighbourhood where addiction, poverty and job insecurity are common. Bing, Sylvie and Laura are three young children variously dealing with abuse and neglect, mental illness and precarious housing. But the friendship and stability formed through their participation in a local drop-in reading programme stands in contrast to the various struggles they experience in a system destined to fail them. 

Co-directors Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson’s documentary-like shooting style captures Scarborough and its residents with sensitive attention to detail that celebrates the bonds formed amid their diverse struggles. Adapted for the screen by Catherine Hernandez from her own hit novel, Scarborough is a profoundly humane and authentic portrait of a community, and the resilience of young people coming of age on the margins.    
 

A box office blockbuster and the winner of a whopping 11 Genies, C.R.A.Z.Y. is an infectious, entertaining coming-of-age drama. When Zac Beaulieu (Grondin) is born on December 25, 1960, it becomes clear that he is different from his four brothers. He vies desperately for attention and acceptance from both of his parents, but in particular from his loving and old-fashioned father, Gervais (Côté).

The film follows Zac as life takes him on an epic journey to come to grips with his sexual identity. Buoyed by a vibrant soundtrack, C.R.A.Z.Y. boasts countless moments of true movie magic. It is at once a crowd pleaser and a poignant auteur film.

Jude (LeBlanc) is a nurse and single mom struggling with health issues while trying to raise her son, Ciel (Gordon). Ciel is a dreamy 12-year-old boy who loves music, magic and, of course, his mother. Silence (Johnson) is a middle-aged boxer who lands in Jude’s hospital after an illegal fight. Down on his luck but trying to turn his life around, Silence is lost until he meets Jude.

As Jude’s illness becomes more serious, Ciel learns to trust Silence, a new source of strength in their small, tight-knit family. Beautifully acted, shot in vibrant colour, and featuring an unforgettable soundtrack, Nurse.Fighter.Boy is sure to cast its spell on you.

“Nurse.Fighter.Boy is a … gem of a movie.” — Liz Braun, Sun Media

In a small Nova Scotian town in 1976, 15-year-old Kit (Authors) and his girlfriend Alice (Stone) decide to shake up their go-nowhere existence by hitchhiking to the big city of Sydney to visit Kit's glamorous but unstable mother (Parker). It becomes a journey of self discovery that opens them up to new possibilities for their futures. 

Beautifully shot and featuring a killer '70s soundtrack, the new film from Canadian master Bruce McDonald and playwright and screenwriter Daniel MacIvor shakes up the coming-of-age road-movie concept with wit, charm and a lot of heart. 

"What's not to love about Canuck hipster Bruce McDonald's return to a genre he's a master of – the indie road movie with a distinctly Canadian flavour and endearingly peculiar characters." – Michelle Reid, Victoria Times Colonist
 

Sandy (Margaret Langrick) is a bored 12-year-old preparing for another long and uneventful summer in rural 1950s British Columbia, when her older cousin, Butch (John Wildman), arrives unexpectedly from California in a shiny red convertible.

Of course, the impressionable Sandy is immediately dazzled by Butch’s cool, rock’n’roll swagger, whose appearance seems to promise all the excitement that Sandy has been longing for.

Based on writer-director Sandy Wilson’s own memories, My American Cousin won six Genie Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Wilson), Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Wildman), Best Actress (Langrick), and Best Film Editing. It remains one of Canada’s best loved coming-of-age films.

“The film works a gentle spell around its viewer, and ends up leaving an unexpected lasting impression.” – Dustin Putman, The Film File