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Philippe Falardeau

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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.

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We just hosted an amazing discussion between two guest writer-directors, both Canadian national treasures: Mina Shum (Double Happiness, Ninth Floor, and Meditation Park) and Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar, The Good Lie, My Internship in Canada). We discovered that Philippe was very influenced as a filmmaker by Double Happiness, and that Mina took inspiration from Monsieur Lazhar when she made Meditation Park.

Together, they discussed the desire to challenge themselves as filmmakers with each project, working in the Canadian film industry, the importance of casting people of colour, why they like having long-term collaborators (and are also inspired by new blood), how much they love actors, how they approach working with them….and much more!

Who is Mina Shum?

Stills from Mina Shum's films: Double Happiness (top), Ninth Floor (middle), and Meditation Park (bottom). Mina Shum is one of two guests in this masterclass on directing.
Stills from Mina Shum’s films: Double Happiness (top), Ninth Floor (middle), and Meditation Park (bottom). Mina Shum is one of two guests in this masterclass on directing.

​Mina Shum was born in Hong Kong, raised in Canada, and is based in Vancouver. Shum has directed multiple feature films: Double Happiness (1994), Drive, She Said (1997), Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity (2002), the documentary Ninth Floor (2015), and Meditation Park (2017). She has also directed for television, including for October Faction (2020) and Murdoch Mysteries (2019). Double Happiness won the Best Canadian Feature Special Jury Citation at the Toronto International Film Festival, Ninth Floor was one of Canada’s Top Ten films, and Shum has been nominated for multiple Genie Awards.​​

​Click here to read our interview with Mina Shum on Meditation Park.​

​Click here to read our interview with Mina Shum on Ninth Floor.

Where can you watch Mina Shum’s films?

Meditation Park (2017): Stream on 🇨🇦 CBC Gem; rent on 🇨🇦 iTunes, Google Play, YouTube

Ninth Floor (2015): Stream 🇨🇦 free on the NFB website, 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇧 Prime; rent on 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇧i Tunes

Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity (2002): 🇺🇸 Rent on Amazon

Double Happiness (1994): Stream on 🇨🇦 CBC Gem, 🇺🇸🇬🇧 Prime; rent on 🇨🇦 iTunes

Click here to read our interview with Mina Shum on Meditation Park.

Click here to read our interview with Mina Shum on Ninth Floor.

Who is Philippe Falardeau?

Films directed by Philippe Falardeau: Monsieur Lazhar (left), The Good Lie (top right), My Internship in Canada (bottom right). Philippe Falardeau is one of our guests in this masterclass on directing.

​Philippe Falardeau is a Quebec-based screenwriter and director whose latest film, My Salinger Year (2020), was the opening night gala at the 2020 Berlinale. His feature Monsieur Lazhar (2011) was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, and won Genie awards for direction and adapted screenplay. His political satire My Internship in Canada (2016) was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for original screenplay and was one of Canada’s Top Ten films. Falardeau has also directed several features in the US, including The Good Lie(2013), Chuck (2016), and My Salinger Year.

​Read our interview with Philippe Falardeau on My Internship in Canada​

​Listen to our podcast on In the Loop and My Internship in Canada​

Where can you watch Philippe Falardeau’s films?

Chuck (2017): 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇧 iTunes, Google Play, YouTube  🇺🇸🇬🇧 Amazon

My Internship in Canada (2016): 🇨🇦 iTunes, YouTube

The Good Lie (2014): 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇧 iTunes, Google Play, YouTube 🇺🇸🇬🇧Amazon

Monsieur Lazhar (2011): 🇨🇦🇺🇸 Kanopy, Google Play, YouTube 🇨🇦CBC Gem 🇺🇸Fandor 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇧 iTunes 🇨🇦 Hoopla 🇺🇸🇬🇧 Amazon

It’s Not Me, I Swear! (2008): 🇨🇦🇺🇸 iTunes, Google Play, YouTube 🇺🇸 Amazon

Congorama: 🇨🇦 iTunes

Filmmakers Shum & Falardeau are excited about

We asked Mina and Philippe if there are any young Canadian filmmakers they’re particularly excited about. Together, they mentioned three films we also absolutely loved, and we’ve actually interviewed all of the filmmakers. Here’s a list of the films, where to find them, and our coverage.

Never miss another Lockdown Film School

Sign up for Lockdown Film School, and we’ll invite you to our weekly Zoom discussions so that you can participate live and ask our guests your questions.

Click here to sign up

Discover more great Canadian films and filmmakers

Related Lockdown Film School Sessions

  • In session 1, we talked to Canadian nonfiction filmmaker Carol Nguyen (No Crying at the Dinner Table) in conversation with Penny Lane
  • In session 2, we talked to Canadian cinematographer Catherine Lutes (Mouthpiece, Firecrackers) in conversation with Ashley Connor
  • In session 4, we talked to Canadian writer-director Ashley McKenzie (Werewolf) in conversation with Stephen Cone on low-budget filmmaking
  • In session 5, we talked to Canadian writer-director Anne Émond (Nelly, Jeune Juliette, Our Loved Ones) in conversation with Madeleine Olnek about writing and directing female writer biopics.

Discover more great Canadian films

The last year was one of the best for Canadian cinema in history. Discover these great films through conversations with the filmmakers, guided by the Seventh Row editors in our inaugural annual book, The 2019 Canadian Cinema Yearbook.

Get your copy now!

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Ep. 41: In the Loop and My Internship in Canada: Political satires

This episode compares two political satires about nations on the bring of war, Armando Iannucci’s modern classic In the Loop (2009) and Canadian unseen gem Philippe Falardeau’s My Internship in Canada (2015).

This episode is a Seventh Row members exclusive, as are all episodes older than six months. Click here to become a member.

This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney and special guests Jeremy Mongeau (@JeremyMonjo) and Caitlin Merriman (@CaitlinSnark).

iTunes,

TuneIn,

Google Podcasts, or

Spotify.

In the Loop (Armando Iannucci, 2009)

Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), the United Kingdom’s Minister for International Development, accidentally says war in the Middle East is “unforseeable” on a radio interview. While the Prime Minister’s resident spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) tries to fix the situation, war hawks in the United States invite Foster to Washington to help make the push seem more international. Incompetence from all parties ensues, which ultimately leads to war and hilarity (the black humor variety) for the audience.

Often hailed as one of the best political satires of the 21st century, Armando Iannucci’s feature film debut In The Loop mixes British and American comic talent to excellent effect. Based on Iannucci’s TV series The Thick of It, which also stars Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker, the film introduces a new cast of characters on both sides of the ocean. With roots in Yes, Minister, and often seen as an almost cynical reaction to shows like The West Wing, which was still on the air when The Thick of It began, Iannucci’s Malcolm-Tucker-verse was a groundbreaking cynical approach to political satire.

The film features a large cast of great character actors, both British and American, including Gina McKee, Olivia Poulet, Zach Woods, Anna Chlumsky, James Gandolfini, and David Rasche.

My Internship in Canada (Philippe Falardeau, 2015)

Set in a small town in rural Quebec, the film follows member of parliament (MP) Guibord (Patrick Huard), an ex-hockey player who spends most of his time coaching peewee and attending local events, as he discovers he holds the deciding vote about whether Canada will go to war. In an attempt to keep the peace in his family — his wife is pro and his daughter is against — he decides he’ll consult voters, which results in a comedy of errors.

Meanwhile, Guibord has an idealistic Haitian intern, Souverain (Irdens Exantus), who is schooled in Jean-Jacques Rousseau but has little experience with real politics. As they team up, a buddy comedy ensues, whilst they deal with the local problems which are preoccupying Guibord’s constituents. Although the film works as a thoughtful interrogation of the limits of democracy, it’s always with a light touch.

Although Canada has a history of political satire on television, with our TV news satire program This Hour Has 22 Minutes, we have no precedent for political satire on film. In this way, My Internship in Canada is a groundbreaking achievement for our national cinema, but also a story of the limits of democracy that will resonate around the world.

Want to listen to the episode?

Click here to become a Seventh Row member and get access to this episode, as well as all other podcast episodes older than six months.

  • Read Alex’s 2015 review of My Internship in Canada
  • Read Alex’s interview with Philippe Falardeau about the film.
  • Listen to our podcast episode on the films of Bill Forysth, including Peter Capaldi’s debut film, Local Hero
  • For more on other great recent Canadian films, preview or purchase our ebook, The 2019 Canadian Cinema Yearbook
  • Pre-order our newest ebook on Kelly Reichardt

Where to Watch

  • In The Loop is available on VOD and streaming on Stan in Australia
  • My Internship in Canada is available on VOD in Canada

Watch our directing masterclass with Philippe Falardeau and Mina Shum

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National Treasure Philippe Falardeau discusses his political satire My Internship in Canada

Falardeau discusses writing and making the film, the political discussions it’s provoked, and how he made the first great Canadian political satire on film. The film  is the epitome of a great political satire: absolutely hilarious and with enough on its mind to make you think.

[Read more…] about National Treasure Philippe Falardeau discusses his political satire My Internship in Canada