It’s that time of the year, where we get to celebrate Canadian Films and the many who make them. The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television highlights the best of the best in this year’s Canadian Screen Awards. The Red Carpet Gala is taking place next Sunday March 1, and I will be there to support and join in the celebration.
For those of you who might have missed the Academy’s announcement, I give the Top 5 Films nominated this year.
Mommy
Producers | Producteurs : Xavier Dolan, Nancy Grant
Director | Réalisateur : Xavier Dolan
Distributor | Distributeur : Les Films Séville
A feisty widowed single mom finds herself burdened with the full-time custody of her explosive 15-year-old ADHD son. As they try to make ends meet and struggle with their unpredictable ménage, the peculiar, new girl across the street, Kyla, benevolently offers her help. Together, they find a new sense of balance, and hope is regained.
Dolan’s latest, Mommy, has garnered a lot of attention throughout the film festival circuit, since its premiere. As a filmmaker, Dolan never disappoints. He is deservedly of the many accolades he receives. The overall film production is well done; from script to performances. The film leads with 13 Nominations which include Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Direction, Original Screenplay, and both Leading Actors — Anne Dorval and Antoine Olivier — up for an award as well.
Maps To The Stars
Producers | Producteurs : Martin Katz, Michel Merkt, Saïd Ben Saïd
Director | Réalisateur : David Cronenberg
Distributor | Distributeur : Entertainment One
In Maps To The Stars, Cronenberg pushes both a wicked social satire, and a very human ghost story from our celebrity-obsessed culture. The film concerns the plight of a child star and a washed up actress while commenting on the entertainment industry’s relationship with Western civilization as a whole.
The film has received mixed reviews since its premiere. Nonetheless, under Cronenberg’s direction brings a certain gravitas to the project. With 11 Nominations, Maps To The Stars will create some healthy competition to Mommy. It is also up for Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Direction, Evan Bird and Julianne Moore are both up for Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Leading Role, and let us not forget the Achievement in Music nod for Howard Shore‘s Original Score.
Director | Réalisateur : Albert Shin
Director Albert Shin has said he wanted to make a film about “the characters, the individual people”, which he achieves with In Her Place. Irrespective of culture, the story and characters’ moral quandaries are relatable for various reasons. The films has received 7 Nominations including, Best Motion Picture, Achievemen in Direction and Editing, and Original Screenplay.
Director | Réalisateur : Martin Talbot
Forgotten orphan, Henri has earned a job commensurate with his abilities: he maintains the lamps of the convent where he has lived since his childhood. Forced one day to leave the institution, he devotes his efforts to bringing light into people’s lives and pulling them out of the shadows.
Québécois films have their own charm and style. Talbot’s Henri Henri, may not get wide distribution across Canada. However, it has been received positively and the Academy has taken note. The film has 6 Nominations, which include Achievement in Cinematography, Achievement in Editing, and Achievement in Music.
Director | Réalisateur : Stéphane Lafleur
Distributor | Distributeur : Les films Christal
Another Québécois film, Tu dors Nicole has been called the “anti-Mommy”, for its lack of “dramatic fireworks”, which works well within the constructs of this film. For those who caught the film on the big screen, there will be no surprise it’s received 6 Nominations — Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Direction, and Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role nom for Julianne Côté.
Each and every one of these films is quite unique. Together they highlight the vast array of cinematic talent found in Canada, in front and behind the camera. I hope you take the time to search them out and continue supporting these artists.
