Spotlight Sublist: 2023 - 8 - Molecular Gastronomy
The Peanut Butter Solution
Hands down the most surreal children’s movie in Canadian history, this cult classic from the Tales For All series has to be seen to be believed.
Director
Michael Rubbo
Writers
Vojtech Jasný, Andrée Pelletier, Louise Pelletier, Michael Rubbo
Cast
Matthew Mackay, Siluck Saysanasy, Alison Darcy
Producers
Nicole Robert, Rock Demers
Genres
Action/Adventure, Comedy, Family, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Original Languages
English, French
Canadian Distributor
Cineplex Odeon Films/Criterion
Tales from the Gimli Hospital
Nominated for a genie award for Best Screenplay, Gimli Hospital is a cult classic bearing many of the surreal hallmarks that would make Maddin one of Canada’s most singular filmmaking voices.
Director
Guy Maddin
Writer
Guy Maddin
Cast
Kyle McCulloch, Angela Heck, Michael Gottli
Producers
Guy Maddin, Stephen Snyder, Greg Klymkiw
Genres
Drama, Experimental
Interests
Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
Canadian Distributor
Criterion
Highway 61
When naïve barber Pokey Jones (McKellar) meets Jackie Bangs (Buhagiar), a flamboyant roadie on the run, it doesn’t take her long to persuade him to leave Thunder Bay for New Orleans. Jones f inds himself taking not only Jackie, but also a frozen corpse he found in his backyard, which she claims is her brother. Meanwhile, in hot pursuit of the fleeing couple is Mr. Skin (Pastko), a bizarre and deluded character who thinks of himself as the Devil. As the three travel south, sparks fly and romance blooms between Pokey and Jackie.
“The triumphant return of two talents firing on all cylinders.” — Festival of Festivals
Director
Bruce McDonald
McDonald directed the cult hits Highway 61, Roadkill, Hard Core Logo, The Tracey Fragments, starring Elliot Page, Pontypool, and the award-winning series Twitch City, episodes of Degrassi and Heartland. His recent films include Trigger, The Husband, Hellions, Weirdos and Dreamland. He recently directed the series Creeped Out and Malory Towers and is currently working on the films Switched at Death and I Have a Bad Feeling About This.
Writers
Allan Magee, Bruce McDonald, Don McKellar
Cast
Valerie Buhagiar, Earl Pastko, Don McKellar
Producers
Colin Brunton, Bruce McDonald
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Language Version
EN CC
Canadian Distributor
eOne
I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing
Though timid on the outside, Polly’s inner life is rich and full of charming fantasies which Rozema brings to life in black & white sequences that punctuate the film with humour and whimsy.
The film won the award for Best First Feature at the Cannes Film Festival, and in 1993 was ranked as one of TIFF’s Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time.
Director
Patricia Rozema
Writer
Patricia Rozema
Cast
Sheila McCarthy, Paule Baillargeon, Ann-Marie MacDonald
Producers
Don Haig, Alexandra Raffe, Patricia Rozema
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+
Original Language
English
Language Versions
EN CC, FR Dub, FR Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
eOne
Léolo
Lauzon's critically acclaimed film tells the tale from Léolo's point-of-view, alternating the stark reality of his dysfunctional home life with the surrealistic imagery and fantasy sequences into which Léolo retreats, in order to escape the family drama that surrounds him. Eventually, this precarious balance of reality and fantasy begins to crack. A haunting score by Tom Waits accentuates Léolo's breakdown.
This disturbing, visually stunning, magical realist coming-of-age tale won three Genie Awards and was named one of the Top 10 films of 1993 by Time Out. In 2015, a poll conducted by the Toronto International Film Festival named it one of the Top 10 Canadian Films of all time.
Roger Ebert called it “a film that stirs in the shadows of memory for everyone who has ever seen it, a film that cannot be classified and can hardly be explained”.
Director
Jean-Claude Lauzon
Writer
Jean-Claude Lauzon
Cast
Gilbert Sicotte, Maxime Collin, Ginette Reno, Julien Guiomar, Pierre Bourgault
Producers
Aimée Danis, Jean-François Lepetit
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Interests
Arts and Culture, Classics, Family Relationships
Original Language
French
Canadian Distributor
eOne
The Twentieth Century
Winner of TIFF’s 2019 award for Best Canadian Feature, and nominated for 8 Canadian Screen Awards including Best Picture.
“An exuberant feat of visual design, it’s meticulously weird and full of rambunctious humor.”
– Nicolas Rapold, The New York Times
Director
Matthew Rankin
Writer
Matthew Rankin
Cast
Catherine St-Laurent, Dan Beirne, Sarianne Cormier
Producers
Gabrielle Tougas-Fréchette, Ménaïc Raoul
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Biography, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Language Version
EN CC
Canadian Distributor
Crave
- Own Voice
Zero Patience
A playful hybrid of activism and entertainment, Zero Patience polarized critics upon its release in 1993 but has since been hailed as an important work of New Queer Cinema.
Director
John Greyson
Writer
John Greyson
Cast
John Robinson, Normand Fauteux, Dianne Heatherington, Richardo Keens-Douglas
Producers
Alexandra Raffe, Louise Garfield, Anna Stratton
Genre
Drama
Interests
History, LGBTQ2S+
Original Languages
English, French
Canadian Distributor
Cineplex Odeon Films
Maps to the Stars
Unbeknownst to them, another member of their brood has just arrived in town – the mysteriously scarred Agatha (Wasikowska), recently released from a psych ward. Agatha befriends a limo driver (Pattinson) and becomes the assistant to one of Stafford’s clients, (Moore) who is haunted by the abuse she suffered at the hands of her legendary mother (Gadon).
A wickedly funny trip into the depravity of Hollywood and a compelling meditation on the ways family can haunt us both literally and figuratively, Maps to the Stars won 10 awards including two CSAs and two awards at the Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for 20 others internationally.
Director
David Cronenberg
Writer
Bruce Wagner
Cast
Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson, John Cusack, Evan Bird
Producers
Saïd Ben Saïd, Martin Katz, Michel Merkt
Genre
Drama
Interest
Arts and Culture
Original Language
English
Language Versions
EN CC, FR Subtitles, Other Subtitles
Canadian Distributor
eOne
Family Viewing
Nominated for 8 Genie Awards, and now considered Egoyan’s breakthrough feature, Family Viewing is a classic that is a must-see for Canadian film fans.
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
Arsinee Khanjian, David Hemblen, Aidan Tierney, Gabrielle Rose
Producer
Atom Egoyan
Genre
Drama
Interest
Family Relationships
Original Language
English
Canadian Distributor
Canada Council for the Arts
Crime Wave
Set in a 1950s fantasy world, this wryly humorous combination of post-modernism, surrealism and genuine affection for old Hollywood films is irresistible for anyone who likes unusual movies with an inventive take on storytelling.
Director
John Paizs
Since filming the widely-praised Crime Wave in his native Winnipeg, Paizs has directed Top of the Food Chain and Marker, and has worked on such TV series as Kids in the Hall, The Adventures of Shirley Holmes and John Woo’s Once a Thief. He is currently writing and illustrating a graphic novel and working as the director in residence at the Canadian Film Centre.
Writer
John Paizs
Cast
John Paizs, Eva Kovacs, Darrell Baran
Producer
John Paizs
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
Canadian Distributor
eOne