If the US election and its fallout have taught us anything, it is that we in Canada occupy a singular place in the world. We are not America Lite. We have our own flawed history, our own demons, and our own ideas about what it means to be progressive and conservative. We are a nation of First Nations, of immigrants, of refugees and community and innovation and traditions. Our homegrown stories – especially our cinema – reflect this wealth of distinctive perspectives far better than anything that we parachute in from other corners of the globe.
But our multiplexes aren’t exactly packed with Canadian films every weekend; for many Canadians, it’s easier to name five recent Hollywood films than it is to name five locally made indie films from the last year. Hence the critical importance of National Canadian Film Day.
Reel People loves National Canadian Film Day. It’s a noble initiative spearheaded by Reel Canada, an organization that has been introducing Canadian film to high school students and new Canadians since 2005. The aim of National Canadian Film Day is both simple and genius: generate interest in Canadian film through a concentration of free screenings, events, and installations – and light a spark that carries on throughout the year.
According to the website, this year’s National Canadian Film Day 150 (it’s a Canada 150 Signature Project) is “The World’s Largest Film Festival. EVER… On April 19," it continues, "great Canadian movies will be available on air, online and on foot at over 1,700 screenings in cinemas, libraries, public squares and anywhere you can show a film.”
In Vancouver, we’re spoiled for choice: spend a day with Atom Egoyan at VIFF’s Vancity Theatre, screen a selection of daring shorts at the Anza Club (including Ben Ratner’s stellar Ganjy and several stand-out Crazy8s shorts from the last couple of years), take in NFB and STORYHIVE shorts in pop-up screenings at the main branch of the Vancouver Public Library – and so much more. The bulk of the events are free. Free! You can't argue with free, eh?
This National Canadian Film Day, Reel People encourages you to make Canadian film – and, specifically, Vancouver film – a part of your everyday. We're all richer for it. These are our stories, after all.
Here’s a rundown of National Canadian Film Day 150 events taking place in Vancouver:
Vancity Theatre/ VIFF
1181 Seymour St, Vancouver BC
Matinee: SKIP TRACER (4:30PM)
Filmmaker in attendance
When a revered filmmaker like Atom Egoyan is asked to pick an influential Canadian film to highlight, you better believe that SKIP TRACER is a must watch. The Vancouver based cult classic was directed by Zale Dalen and tells the story of a repo man willing to do anything to be the top dog of his collection company—even if it kills him. The matinee screening will be followed by a Q&A with Dalen himself.
Early Show: THE SWEET HEREAFTER (7PM)
Filmmaker in attendance
In honour of the 20th anniversary of Atom Egoyan’s THE SWEET HEREAFTER, Vancity Theatre has an entire day of programming designed to celebrate this iconic filmmaker’s voice. The heart-wrenching film was adapted from Russell Bank’s novel of the same name, and based on an incident that occurred in 1989 Alton, Texas. The story centres around a tragic school bus accident in a the small town of Sam Dent, British Columbia and, despite being two decades old, its examination of the ways in which grief and tragedy shape our lives is truly timeless.
In Discussion with Atom Egoyan and Bruce Greenwood (9:00 - 9:45)
Canadian film fans have the exciting opportunity to join a Q&A period with director Atom Egoyan and actor Bruce Greenwood.
Late Show: EXOTICA (10PM)
Filmmaker in attendance
Finishing the night is another Egoyan film EXOTICA, a hypnotic thriller about desire, obsession and loneliness. Centred around a fictional strip club in Toronto, Egoyan's film is structured like a strip tease, gradually revealing an emotional history. The filmmaker will introduce his movie, which was an international box office success in 1994.
The National Film Board Pacific Yukon Studio
351 Abbott St Suite 250
Atrium (8:30AM-5PM)
The National Film Board (NFB) is back this year with another great selection of Canadian shorts. This day-long event will be open to the public and will feature screenings of BC short films such as ASSEMBLY, UNINTERRUPTED, CMYK, I AM HERE, BUTTON BLANKET as well as other Canadian shorts like MOBILIZE, THE SWEATER, THE CAT CAME BACK and SUNDAY.
AN IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCE (10AM-12PM)
The NFB Digital Studio will be showcasing four of the NFB’s Webby Award-winning VR works in the Atrium of the W2 building. The line up will include: Bear71, Cardboard Crash, Way to Go, as well as Cut-Off, a VR documentary experience that places the viewer in the middle of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s historic visit to Shoal Lake 40, which was created by VICE, Occupied VR, the NFB and the Canadian Film Centre.
Screening Room (930AM, 11:00AM, 12:30PM, and 2:00PM)
To complete this venue's hat trick of events, make sure to check out short films MABEL, Oscar®-winning short animation DANISH POET and DEBRIS, which will run on a fifty minute loop throughout the day.
Telus Storyhive NFB Pop Up Screening Spaces (8:30AM-5PM)
VPL Main Branch Atrium & downtown Vancouver street front TBD
During the day, Vancouver will have two street level pop-up locations featuring short content by the NFB and Telus STORYHIVE creators. Even if you only have a few minutes to spare, drop by to experience a slice of Canadian films!
Vancouver Public Library—Main Branch
350 W Georgia Street
Matinee: THE SNOW WALKER (1PM)
Alice MacKay Room, VPL Main Branch
THE SNOW WALKER tells the story of an Arctic bush pilot and his passenger, a young Inuit woman. When their plane goes down in the wilderness, they are forced to rely on each other to survive. Based on a story by acclaimed Canadian author Farley Mowat, this is a beautifully rendered tale set in the gorgeous but desolate Arctic.
Evening: MIXED MATCH (6:30PM)
Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, VPL Main Branch
Filmmaker in attendance
MIXED MATCH is documentary that unveils the frustration and desperation that mixed-raced people face while waiting for suitable matches for bone marrow donors. Skillfully incorporating his trademark animation with the stories of those afflicted, Chiba Stearns lets us know what we can do to address this increasingly critical situation facing cancer treatment.
Presented by the Vancouver Asian Film Festival and the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society, the film will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns and a representative from Blood Canada. This event is guaranteed to have something for both sides of the brain!
UBC Robson Square
800 Robson Street
DOXA Documentary Film Festival & The David Suzuki Foundation present AFTER THE LAST RIVER (6:30PM)
Filmmaker in attendance
In 2008, De Beers, opened a diamond mine just 90 km upstream from the Attawapiskat First Nation in Northern Ontario. As the mine removed billions of dollars worth of diamonds, the promised jobs barely materialized and the community was threatened by potentially devastating contamination. AFTER THE LAST RIVER follows their five-year journey into the international spotlight and the protests that galvanized the Idle No More movement. Through interviews and day-in-the-life footage of the community, director Victoria Lean weaves a tapestry of the issues affecting indigenous rights today.
Presented by the DOXA Documentary Film Festival and The David Suzuki Foundation, the film will screen at UBC Robson Square. Following the screening, there will be a discussion with director Victoria Lean and other special guests moderated by Doreen Manuel (recipient of the Governor General of Canada Bronze Medal Award for academic excellence during her studies in Capilano University’s Indigenous Independent Digital Filmmaking Program).
As an extra bonus, this screening will be the Western Canadian launch of the Point of View Magazine (POV) salute to Canadian documentary. POV highlights ten must-see short docs and feature-length docs to note some of the many titles that have shaped the history of Canadian docs. All audience members will receive a free copy of this celebratory edition.
The Cinematheque
1131 Howe St #200
Early Show: YOU TAKE CARE NOW, STORIES WE TELL (6PM)
The early show kicks off with two deeply personal stories. Ann Marie Fleming’s experimental short YOU TAKE CARE NOW is a signature film from her early studies and a perfect exemplar of her idiosyncratic vision. Fleming's film offers a visually dazzling, emotionally wrenching and oddly humorous account of two profound personal traumas.
Sarah Polley’s acclaimed documentary STORIES WE TELL unravels her family’s long-held secrets. The film is a highly personal exploration of the stories families tell, the secrets they hide and the elusive nature of truth and memory.
Late Show: RYAN, ARCHANGEL (8:30PM)
Opening our late show is the Oscar-winning animated short RYAN. Chris Landreth’s mind-blowing short, a triumph of CGI animation, offers a moving portrait of Ryan Larkin. Once one of Canadian’s most acclaimed animators, Larkin wound up living on welfare and panhandling in Montreal. Though he passed away in 2007, the success of this 2004 film – which won a Genie, an Oscar, and an array of other honours – aided his successful return from the streets to the studio.
Closing the night is Guy Maddin’s black and white feature ARCHANGEL, a film that showcases the renowned faux early-cinema aesthetics and surrealist sensibility of this Winnipeg native. The film is a delirium-dream tale of obsessive love in the remote Russian Arctic town of Archangel during the Great War. The war may actually be over, but no one’s remembered to tell one-legged Canadian soldier Boles (Kyle McCulloch) who confuses the equally uninformed Veronkha (Kathy Marykuca) for his dead love Iris.
UBC Frederic Wood Theatre
6354 Crescent Rd
Pre-reception (6:30PM)
DOUBLE HAPPINESS (7:30PM)
Filmmaker in attendance
Celebrate one of BC’s finest filmmakers with Mina Shum’s DOUBLE HAPPINESS, in which a young woman (played by Sandra Oh) struggles to balance her traditional Chinese family’s expectations and her own Canadian identity.
Presented by the UBC Department of Theatre & Film, DOUBLE HAPPINESS will screen at the UBC Frederic Wood Theatre preceded by a reception at 6:30 PM and followed by a Q&A with director Mina Shum. Set in Vancouver, the film, the Q&A, and the reception afterwards will surely resonate with Canadians from all walks of life.
Preceding DOUBLE HAPPINESS, a brand new short created in the UBC cultural documentary class that highlights personal stories will screen. The filmmaker of the showcased documentary was mentored by Canadian director, writer and producer Sudz Sutherland who is UBC’s 2017 Phil Lind Artist in Residence.
Vancouver Jewish Film Festival
Fifth Avenue Cinemas
The Vancouver Jewish Film Festival is the longest running Jewish film festival in Canada. During NCFD 150, they will be screening WEIRDOS and BARNEY’S VERSION.
Early Show: WEIRDOS (6:30PM)
Beautifully shot in black and white and scored with a suitably killer '70s soundtrack, master director Bruce McDonald teamed up with playwright/screenwriter Daniel MacIvor to bring audiences a film that combines coming-of-age themes, road-trip adventure and magic realism.
Late Show: BARNEY’S VERSION (9PM)
BARNEY’S VERSION tells the story of Barney Panofsky, played by Paul Giamatti in a Golden Globe–winning performance. As he progresses from young adulthood to old age, Barney ricochets from one romantic entanglement to another, trying to keep his outrageous father under control while being pursued by a cop who suspects him of murdering his best friend. The screenplay is based on Mordecai Richler’s novel.
The Anza Club
3 West 8th Avenue
7:30PM Doors, 8PM Screenings
Crazy8s is an 8-day filmmaking event where emerging filmmakers get funding and support to produce a short film. For NCFD 150, Crazy8s / Celluloid Social Club is hosting screenings of short films including THE REMEMBERER, GANJY and GROCERY STORE ACTION MOVIE among others. Local short film makers will be in attendance for a Q&A afterwards.
SchoolCreative
210 - 112 East 3rd Ave
Filmmaker in attendance
LAWRENCE AND HOLLOMAN (7PM)
SchoolCreative, a training school for the arts is presenting the work of two of their faculty
Cowriters Daniel Arnold and Matthew Kowalchuk (who also directs) turned Vancouver playwright Morris Panych’s 1998 episodic two-hander into the darkest of comedy films. The story cynically examines the meaning of life while causing the audience to laugh from start to finish.
Vancouver Royal Canadian Legion
1407 Laburnum Street
THE BATTLE OF VIMY RIDGE
Produced and directed by Deanne Judson and Richard Nielsen THE BATTLE OF VIMY RIDGE draws the viewer into the events that occurred over eighty years ago, in a country across an ocean, under unimaginable circumstances for most audience members. Paul Gross’ narration is simple and elegant throughout the film.
HYENA ROAD
Paul Gross not only stars in this 2015 Canadian Drama—he also wrote and directed it. The film centres around a Canadian intelligence officer who enlists a sniper to track down a legendary freedom fighter. The road in question is deep in Taliban territory, and the film is a skillfully designed reminder of Afghanistan's status of "the graveyard of empires."
Visions Ouest Productions
406-1111 Beach Ave.
LES CANADIENS FRANÇAIS DANS L'OUEST(THE FRENCH CANADIANS IN THE WEST) and LA DERNIÈRE CLÉ(THE LAST KEY) and RIEN SUR LES MOCASSINS (NOTHING ABOUT MOCASSINS) (7:30PM)
At the heart of LES CANADIENS FRANÇAIS DANS L'OUEST, Canadian journalist Gerard Pelletier and director/producer Fernand Dansereau set out to investigate the French Canadians who settled in the west. At the heart of their research, the filmmakers speak with children of French-Canadian families who settled there twenty-five years ago. The film invites audiences to share an intimate moment with the present and past representations of these families, and a closer look at their agricultural life and education.
The newly completed LA DERNIÈRE CLÉ, produced as part of the NFB’s Tremplin competition in collaboration with Radio-Canada, tells of a young immigrant who arrives in Canada from France with a Citroën 2CV. The iconic post-war car stands out on the streets of Vancouver, and before long he meets up with a group of like-minded car buffs. Watching these characters prepare for an upcoming antique car show explains how these cars not only evoke nostalgia for a past era but are also a powerful marker of identity and a link between cultures.
RIEN SURE LES MOCASSINS is a playful 4- minute short by director Eden Mallina Awashish. When her grandmother refuses to allow her to shoot a film about moccasins, the director playfully reconstructs the idea of cultural loss and creates a record of the resolve to protect Atikamekw tradition.
