With Nadia, Butterfly, Pascal Plante used his own experiences as a competitive swimmer to make a psychological character study about the sport where all the swimming is real.
Canadian cinema
TIFF Review: Violation starts out well but disappoints
Violation is a cottage-country-Canada twist on the rape-revenge genre, which explores consent and the limits of revenge.
TIFF Interview: Reclaiming transmasculine history in No Ordinary Man
Transgender jazz musician Billy Tipton’s life was distorted by the media after his death. No Ordinary Man aims to correct that narrative.
Remember David Thewlis’s greatness with Guest of Honour (or just rewatch Naked)
If you haven’t seen Naked, we’d suggest catching up with it on the Criterion Channel over watching Guest of Honour, but either will leave you hungry for more of Thewlis’ acting.
Ep. 50: Canadian YA Films
Many of the best recent Canadian films tell stories about young adults. This episode features YA fiction expert Joe Lipsett as we discuss what counts as YA, what is unique about Canadian YA films, and focus on six great films.
Ep 46: A conversation between Mina Shum and Philippe Falardeau
This episode highlights a session from our Lockdown Film School with writer-directors Mina Shum and Philippe Falardeau. In it, the two discuss their craft, compare notes on process, and discuss how they were inspired by each other.