Spotlight Sublist: 2023 - 1 - Champagne and Caviar
Rebelle (War Witch)
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.
Director
Kim Nguyen
Writer
Kim Nguyen
Cast
Rachel Mwanza, Alain Lino Mic Eli Bastien, Serge Kanyinda
Producers
Pierre Even, Marie-Claude Poulin
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Global Experiences, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
French
Language Version
EN Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
Mongrel Media/Criterion
Room
A Canadian-Irish co-production, Lenny Abrahamson’s moving, enchanting film is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser that won’t leave a dry eye in the house. Room is a movie with massive heart, anchored by incredible performances by Larson and gifted Canadian child actor Jacob Tremblay.
Room also won nine Canadian Screen Awards and the Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award.
Director
Lenny Abrahamson
Writer
Emma Donoghue
Cast
Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers, Joan Allen, Tom McCamus
Producers
David Gross, Ed Guiney
Genre
Drama
Interests
Family Relationships, Literary Adaptation
Original Language
English
Canadian Distributor
Elevation Pictures/Criterion
The Red Violin
As the auction proceeds, the violin’s history is revealed through four interconnected tales spanning 300 years. And as it passes through the hands of musicians in Italy, Vienna, London and Shanghai, the violin fills its owners’ lives with romance, adventure, intrigue and tragedy. At the centre of the story is the instrument’s dark secret, which is revealed only at the film’s suspenseful finale.
“In a time of timid projects and easy formulas, The Red Violin has the kind of sweep and vision that we identify with elegant features from decades ago.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Director
François Girard
Girard won a Grammy for Secret World Live, a Peter Gabriel concert film. Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould won four Genie Awards, including Best Picture. The Red Violin won eight Genies and an Oscar for Best Original Score. His recent films include Boychoir, starring Dustin Hoffman, and Hochelaga terre des âmes which was nominated for eight CSAs, winning four. His latest, The Song of Names, premiered at TIFF 2019.
Writers
Don McKellar, François Girard
Cast
Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Flemyng, Colm Feore, Greta Sacchi, Sylvia Chang
Producer
Niv Fichman
Genre
Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, History
Original Language
English
Language Version
FR Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
eOne/Criterion
The Sweet Hereafter
As momentum for the case builds, he finds himself squaring off against the lone survivor of the accident (Polley), battling against the power of long-held family secrets. Based on the bestselling novel by Russell Banks, this shattering film won eight Genie Awards and garnered two Oscar nominations for Egoyan.
“Cuts to the bone and stays there long after its end credits have finished rolling.” — Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Director
Atom Egoyan
Egoyan received the Governor General’s award in 2015 for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. He was the first-ever Canadian director to earn two Oscar nominations (for The Sweet Hereafter). His award-winning films include Exotica, Ararat and The Captive. His most recent film, Guest of Honour, premiered at TIFF 2019.
Writer
Atom Egoyan
Cast
Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Bruce Greenwood, Arsinée Khanjian, Tom McCamus
Producers
Atom Egoyan, Camelia Frieberg, Robert Lantos, Andras Hamori
Genre
Drama
Interests
Classics, Family Relationships, Literary Adaptation, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Language Version
EN CC
Canadian Distributor
eOne
- Own Voice
Juste la fin du monde (It’s Only the End of the World)
Winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes, Xavier Dolan's It’s Only the End of the World is a magnificent drama about home and family featuring an all-star cast delivering incredible performances.
“a brilliant, stylised and hallucinatory evocation of family dysfunction” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Director
Xavier Dolan
Writers
Xavier Dolan, Jean-Luc Lagarce
Cast
Gaspard Ulliel, Vincent Cassel, Marion Cotillard
Producers
Sylvain Corbeil, Xavier Dolan
Genre
Drama
Interests
Family Relationships, LGBTQ2S+
Original Language
French
Language Version
EN CC
Canadian Distributor
eOne/Criterion
Away From Her
At the end of the difficult 30-day “no visitor” policy, Grant comes to visit Fiona, except there are some wrinkles: Fiona remembers little of the life they shared, and has found a new partner in the home. Beginning a journey that will test the bond they’ve shared for decades, Grant must draw upon his deep love for Fiona in order to adjust to this reality, and help ensure her continued happiness and support.
An enduring love story with a powerful message about friendship, generosity and devotion, Away From Her was nominated for two Oscars and won over 39 other awards. It won seven Genies, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay, among others.
Director
Sarah Polley
Polley won a screenwriting Oscar nomination for Away From Her, and directed Take This Waltz and Stories We Tell. She wrote and produced Alias Grace, a miniseries based on Margaret Atwood’s novel, which premiered at TIFF 2017. In 2022 she published the essay collection Run Toward the Danger. Her most recent feature, an adaptation of Miriam Toews’ Women Talking, premiered at TIFF 2022.
Writer
Sarah Polley
Cast
Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy, Kristen Thomson
Producers
Daniel Iron, Simone Urdl, Doug Mankoff, Atom Egoyan, Jennifer Weiss
Genres
Drama, Romance
Interests
ESL, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Literary Adaptation, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Language Version
FR Dub
Canadian Distributor
Mongrel Media/Criterion
- Own Voice
Water
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.
Director
Deepa Mehta
Mehta gained acclaim for her trilogy, Fire, Earth and the Oscar-nominated Water. Her adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children was nominated for eight CSAs. She has also directed Bollywood/Hollywood, Beeba Boys, Anatomy of Violence, and many others. Her most recent film Funny Boy has also won multiple awards, including the CSA for best direction. Most recently, she directed an episode of the series Yellowjackets. She has numerous projects in development as a writer, director and producer.
Writer
Deepa Mehta
Cast
Sarala Kariyawasam, Lisa Ray, John Abraham, Seema Biswas
Producers
David Hamilton, Mark Burton, Ajay Virmani, Doug Mankoff
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, History, Social Justice & Politics, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
Other Language
Language Versions
EN Subtitles, FR Dub
Canadian Distributor
Mongrel Media/Criterion
- Own Voice
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
“I am not surprised that The Fast Runner has been a box office hit in its opening engagements. It is unlike anything most audiences will have ever seen, and yet it tells a universal story.”
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Director
Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk)
In 2015, Atanarjuat was selected as TIFF’s number one Canadian film of all time. Kunuk has directed shorts such as Exile and Home and features such as Maliglutit, which won the CSAs for best film and screenplay. He recently directed the series Hunting With My Ancestors and executive produced SGaawaay K'uuna (Edge of the Knife). His latest feature, One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, premiered at TIFF 2019. Most recently, he directed the short The Shaman’s Apprentice, which won the CSA for Best Animated Short among other awards at festivals worldwide.
Writer
Paul Apak Angilirq (Inuk)
Cast
Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq (Inuk), Lucy Tulugarjuk (Inuk), Natar Ungalaaq (Inuk), Sylvia Ivalu (Inuk)
Producers
Paul Apak Angilirq (Inuk), Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk (Inuk), Germaine Ying Gee Wong
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Classics, Family Relationships, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
Inuktitut
Language Versions
EN Subtitles, FR Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
Vtape/Criterion
Monsieur Lazhar
Coming from a completely different culture, Monsieur Lazhar must go through a steep learning curve as he comes up against a stubborn class of quirky 11- and 12-year-olds and the school’s rigid administrative standards. And while the school goes through the long process of grieving and healing, it is gradually suspected that Monsieur Lazhar is not entirely who he has claimed to be. This is a touching story of loss and an emotionally powerful exploration of how adults help children cope with intractable issues of life and death for which none of us is truly equipped.
The film was short-listed for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
Director
Philippe Falardeau
Quebecois director and screenwriter Falardeau has won more than 32 international awards for his films, which include Monsieur Lazhar, La moitié gauche du frigo, C'est pas moi, je le jure!, The Good Lie, the political satire Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre, and the recent My Salinger Year as well as the TV show Le temps des framboises.
Writer
Philippe Falardeau
Cast
Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx, Bridgette Poupart
Producers
Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Newcomer Stories
Original Language
French
Language Versions
EN Subtitles, FR CC
Canadian Distributor
eOne
Les invasions barbares (The Barbarian Invasions)
An illuminating bittersweet-comedy that won Canada’s first Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The film also won the award for Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival and nearly 50 other awards.
Director
Denys Arcand
Writer
Denys Arcand
Cast
Rémy Girard, Dorothée Berryman, Stéphane Rousseau, Marie-Josée Croze
Producers
Daniel Louis, Denise Robert
Genre
Comedy
Interests
Arts and Culture, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
French
Language Versions
EN Dub, EN Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
eOne