Canadian Crossing

2020 Toronto Blue Jays spring training schedule

2020 marks the first spring training where we know Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Cavan Biggio will make the team. Lots of new pitchers to go through in the next few weeks.

The Toronto Blue Jays play their home spring training games in Dunedin, FL. Dunedin Stadium went through a $81-million renovation and got a new corporate name: TD Ballpark.

All TV games are on Rogers Sportsnet except for the opener airing on Rogers Sportsnet One.

Buck Martinez will do play-by-play in spring training with analysts Pat Tabler and Joe Siddall. Dan Shulman will work regular season games.

Ben Wagner and Mike Wilner will call the radio games, either on sportsnet.ca or the Sportsnet Radio Network, which includes Sportsnet 590 The FAN (Toronto); Sportsnet 960 The FAN (Calgary); and Sportsnet 650 (Vancouver).

February 22 @ NY Yankees
February 23 @ Minnesota
February 28 @ Detroit
March 1 @ Pittsburgh
March 4 @ Tampa Bay
March 7 @ Boston
March 9 @ Pittsburgh
March 10 @ NY Yankees 
March 12 @ Pittsburgh
March 13 @ Baltimore
March 14 Tampa Bay
March 19 @ Tampa Bay
March 21 Detroit
March 22 @ Atlanta
March 23 NY Yankees (Montréal)
March 24 NY Yankees (Montréal)

Wrapping up the 2019 Toronto Blue Jays season

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. brings a lot of excitement to Toronto Blue Jays

CanadianCrossing.com MLB coverage

MLB Network will carry some Toronto Blue Jays spring training games, mostly tape-delayed. You can check the MLB Network schedule. The channel will tape-delay the first Montréal game but carry the second Montréal game live.

Live telecasts:

February 22 1p @ NY Yankees
March 12 1p @ Pittsburgh
March 14 1p Tampa Bay
March 24 7p NY Yankees (Montréal)

Tape-delayed telecasts:

February 24 6a @ Minnesota
February 26 6a @ Philadelphia
February 28 4p @ Detroit
March 1 4p @ Pittsburgh
March 8 6a @ Boston
March 10 6a @ Pittsburgh
March 10 11p @ NY Yankees
March 14 6a @ Baltimore
March 22 6a Detroit
March 23 2a @ Atlanta
March 24 9a NY Yankees (Montréal)
March 25 6a NY Yankees (Montréal)

Here is the overall 2020 Toronto Blue Jays spring training schedule:

February 22 @ NY Yankees
February 23 @ Minnesota
February 24 Atlanta
February 25 NY Yankees (ss)/@ Philadelphia (ss)
February 26 Detroit
February 27 Minnesota
February 28 @ Detroit
February 29 Philadelphia
March 1 @ Pittsburgh
March 2 Pittsburgh
March 4 @ Tampa Bay
March 5 @ Philadelphia
March 6 Pittsburgh
March 7 @ Boston
March 8 Philadelphia
March 9 Tampa Bay (ss)/@ Pittsburgh (ss)
March 10 @ NY Yankees
March 11 Baltimore
March 12 @ Pittsburgh/Canada Jr. Team
March 13 @ Baltimore
March 14 Tampa Bay
March 15 NY Yankees (ss)/@ Detroit (ss)
March 17 @ Philadelphia
March 18 Boston
March 19 @ Tampa Bay
March 20 Philadelphia 6:07 pm
March 21 Detroit
March 22 @ Atlanta
March 23 NY Yankees in Montréal 7:07 pm
March 24 NY Yankees in Montréal 7:07 pm

All starting times at 1:07 pm (home) and 1:05 pm (road) unless noted.
(ss) – split squad

Tony Fernandez was a renowned shortstop for the Blue Jays in the 1980s, making multiple impacts on the team. Tony Fernandez passed away this week at the age of 57. Fernandez had kidney problems and had suffered a brain stroke.

Fernandez started his career with Toronto (1983-1990), came back to play and win a World Series ring in 1993 with the Blue Jays, returned to play for Toronto (1998-1999) and retired with the Blue Jays in 2001. He is remembered for the huge trade with Fred McGriff to San Diego for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter. Fernandez was a huge talent to get back such value.

Fernandez still leads the Blue Jays in hits (1,583), singles (1,160), triples (72), games played (1,450). He was a 5-time All-Star and won 4 Gold Gloves. His Gold Glove run was on the old carpet at Exhibition Stadium and the debut of SkyDome. Fernandez will be greatly missed.

photo credit: MLB; Toronto Blue Jays

Expanding on the Canadian film nominees at the 2020 Canadian Screen Awards

Canadian TV dominates the Canadian Screen Awards coverage. The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television combined television and film a number of years back.

Perhaps the academy felt Canadian film alone wouldn't draw too much attention.

The Genie Awards recognised the best in Canadian cinema from 1980-2012. The Canadian Film Awards ran from 1949–1978 (the 1980 Genies covered 1979 films).

We wanted to spend a bit more time on the film side of the 2020 Canadian Screen Awards.

I've seen 7 of the 10 performances in the leading roles but only 4 of the supporting roles. 2 of the 4 supporting roles were in Kuessipan, a film that got some deserved recognition. Nour Belkhiria had a tiny role in Antigone and made the most of it. Rémy Girard was fun to watch in his film.

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers has a rare combination of being up for lead actress, director, and screenplay for The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open. When we say Canadians do a lot, this usually means writer/director. Tailfeathers and Violet Nelson are both up in the same category for the same film. As we noted yesterday, this category is extraordinary. I had some doubts on White Lie, but Kacey Rohl isn't one of those doubts.

I do feel bad for Anne at 13,000 ft, which nabbed 4 major CSA nominations. I don't feel bad for the film but not having access to the film. I likely would have seen that at TIFF. Unfortunately, Canadian awards don't improve the chances of seeing a film.

Anne with an E, Schitt's Creek dominate 2020 Canadian Screen Awards nominations

Schitt's Creek, Anne with an E lead TV nominations for 2019 Canadian Screen Awards

Schitt's Creek, Anne with an E win big at 7th Canadian Screen Awards

Original Screenplay
Jonas Chernick, Jeremy LaLonde James vs His Future Self
Anne Émond Jeune Juliette
Kathleen Hepburn, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
Matthew Rankin The Twentieth Century
Yonah Lewis, Calvin Thomas White Lie

Adapted Screenplay
Louise Archambault And the Birds Rained Down | Il pleuvait des oiseaux
Sophie Deraspe Antigone
Denis Côté Ghost Town Anthology | Répertoire des villes disparues
Myriam Verreault, Naomi Fontaine Kuessipan
Guillaume De Fontenay, Guillaume Vigneault, Jean Barbe Sympathy for the Devil | Sympathie pour le diable

4 of the top 5 best picture nominees have screenplay nominations; the exception being Anne at 13,000 ft. Jonas Chernick is best known for My Awkward Sexual Adventure (with the wonderful Emily Hampshire) and The Border. I saw Jeune Juliette from Anne Émond; a good film but not her best work.

Denis Côté is talented but I have struggled in watching his films. And the Birds Rained Down | Il pleuvait des oiseaux and Kuessipan were beautifully told stories. I've seen 7 of the 10 nominated screenplays.

Best Feature Length Documentary
Alexandre le fou
If You Could Read My Mind
Invisible Essence: The Little Prince
nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up
Prey

I've seen If You Could Read My Mind and nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up. I would lean toward the latter of the two.

Best First Feature Film Award
Black Conflux
Mad Dog Labine
Murmur
Sympathy for the Devil | Sympathie pour le diable
The Twentieth Century

I've seen Murmur and The Twentieth Century. Those in New York City had a chance to see Black Conflux. Both of the ones I saw were really good but would lean toward The Twentieth Century.

Canada Now 2020 brings Canadian films to New York City

There was quite a bit of backlash last year over the complete dominance of French-Canadian films for Best Motion Picture.

In the last year, we did see A Colony | Une colonie and Genesis | Genèse. We also saw Firecrackers (Best Director Jasmin Mozaffari) and Slut in a Good Way | Charlotte a du fun (Best Original Screenplay Catherine Léger). I would like to see either Roman Duris Canadian film but would lean heavily toward The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur.

I have now seen 3 of the 5 best picture nominees from last year. A Colony | Une colonie was a really nice film. Genesis | Genèse was hit and miss but an interesting film. Family First | Chien de garde was dreadful. Still think Giant Little Ones was better than any of them.

The fact that the nominees were all French-Canadian did rankle some English Canadians. English Canada should look into Quebec films.

2019 WIFF Canadian films in review

Brandon Oakes was nominated for Diggstown this year and was nominated for Through Black Spruce last year. Crossing between TV and film isn't as easy in Canada. We've seen Caroline Dhavernas and Karine Vanasse do so but their TV gigs are generally 6 episodes a season.

Karen Robinson is nominated this year for Forgive Me and last year for Mary Kills People. She is highly versatile as she also does comedy on Schitt's Creek. Amanda Brugel wasn't nominated this year but has juggled her roles on Kim's Convenience, Workin' Moms, and the Handmaid's Tale, among others.

Tatiana Maslany won best actress in a drama and for film for Orphan Black and The Other Half in 2017. In 2014, Maslany won for Orphan Black and was nominated for the lead in Cas & Dylan.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

We have talked at length about Canadian films having access to Canadian theatres. The eligibility rules require films to have at least a consecutive week run in 2 major Canadian cities: Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Saskatoon, St. John’s, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, and Winnipeg.

The requirement for the 2020 Canadian Screen Awards runs from January 1, 2019 to March 29, 2020.

The eligibility rules changed in 2019. Previously, films needed a 1-week run in only a major city or accepted into 2 Academy-approved film festivals. (Curious if Windsor is one of those festivals.)

photos credit: The Body Remembers When the World Broken Open film; Canadian Screen Awards/CBC

Anne with an E, Schitt's Creek dominate 2020 Canadian Screen Awards nominations

Schitt's Creek, in its next-to-last Canadian Screen Awards, has 26 nominations for the 2020 Canadian Screen Awards. Anne with an E, in its final ceremony, bows out with 17 nominations. So much for having to be cancelled.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television announced the nominations for Canadian television and Canadian film earlier this morning.

The Song of Names from Francois Girard led films with 9 nominations but shut out in the major categories. The best picture nominees are a lot more known than last year's slate.

Kim's Convenience is back on the comedy list after not airing any episodes in 2018.

Anne with an E cancellation might be start of fallout with CBC and Netflix

Schitt's Creek, Anne with an E win big at 7th Canadian Screen Awards

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Drama

Anne with an E should go out on top with its final season. A surprise that Amybeth McNulty is the only actor in the major acting awards. Mary Kills People is also done after 3 seasons though that was the plan. Caroline Dhavernas was so wonderful in that role. Elizabeth Saunders was scary good on that show this past season.

Coroner is making its mark. Lauren Lee Smith is back on the nominations list for Frankie Drake Mysteries. Karen Robinson, who also does comedy on Schitt's Creek, is up for her new show Forgive Me. Good to see Karine Vanasse up for Cardinal.

Best Dramatic Series
Anne with an E
Cardinal
Coroner
Mary Kills People
Vikings

Best Lead Actor
Peter Mooney Burden of Truth
Billy Campbell Cardinal
Jerry O'Connell Carter
Roger Cross Coroner
Shawn Doyle Unspeakable

Best Lead Actress
Amybeth McNulty Anne with an E
Caroline Dhavernas Mary Kills People
Karine Vanasse Cardinal
Serinda Swan Coroner
Lauren Lee Smith Frankie Drake Mysteries

Best Supporting Actor
Rossif Sutherland Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey
Brendan Fehr Daughter of the Wolf
Brandon Oakes Diggstown
Hugh Thomson Forgive Me
Thom Allison Killjoys

Best Supporting Actress
Kristen Thomson Cardinal
Karen Robinson Forgive Me
Kelly McCormack Killjoys
Elizabeth Saunders Mary Kills People
Rosemary Dunsmore Street Legal

Comedy

Kim's Convenience is back after being missing for last year's ceremony. The show didn't air any episodes in 2018.

Dustin Milligan and Sarah Levy were added to the stunning Schitt's Creek lineup in supporting roles. The show has a 60% chance of winning an award in both categories. Schitt's Creek actors and the show will be eligible for next year's CSAs.

Jason Priestley stays in the comedy category for Private Eyes. Michelle Mylett debuts in the best actress category for Letterkenny.

For U.S. viewers, still waiting for Season 3 of Private Eyes to air on Ion.

Best Comedy Series
Jann
Kim's Convenience
Letterkenny
Schitt's Creek
Workin' Moms

Best Lead Actor
Jared Keeso Letterkenny
Jason Priestley Private Eyes
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee Kim's Convenience
Daniel Levy Schitt's Creek
Eugene Levy Schitt's Creek

Best Lead Actress
Jean Yoon Kim's Convenience
Annie Murphy Schitt's Creek
Catherine O'Hara Schitt's Creek
Jann Arden Jann
Michelle Mylett Letterkenny

Best Supporting Actor
Chris Elliott Schitt's Creek
Noah Reid Schitt's Creek
Dustin Milligan Schitt's Creek
Mark Forward Letterkenny
Andrew Phung Kim's Convenience

Best Supporting Actress
Mary Walsh Little Dog
Emily Hampshire Schitt's Creek
Jennifer Robertson Schitt's Creek
Sarah Levy Schitt's Creek
Nicole Power Kim's Convenience

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Film

The 5 films for best motion picture are directed by the 5 directors nominated for best director. The selections for both are a lot less controversial than last year's picks. Your humble narrator has seen 4 of the 5 nominees. I would have wanted And the Birds Rained Down | Il pleuvait des oiseaux and Kuessipan in the best picture category.

I don't know how you pick a best actress. Outstanding performances all the way around. I would have loved to add Shan MacDonald in Murmur. Her character in the Heather Young film was sad and all too real.

Surprised to see Mark O'Brien get a nod for Goalie. A good performance but a surprise to see a nomination.

Last year, 60% of the best director nominees are women. 40% of the films were directed by women this year. Still beats 0% at the Oscars.

Best motion picture

• Anne at 13,000 ft
• Antigone
• The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
• The Twentieth Century
• White Lie

Best director

• Kazik Radwanski Anne at 13,000 ft
• Sophie Deraspe Antigone
• Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Kathleen Hepburn The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
• Matthew Rankin The Twentieth Century
• Yonah Lewis, Calvin Thomas White Lie

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

• Gilbert Sicotte And the Birds Rained Down | Il pleuvait des oiseaux
• Ryan McDonald Black Conflux
• Mark O'Brien Goalie
• Marc-André Grondin Mafia Inc
• Dan Beirne The Twentieth Century

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

• Deragh Campbell Anne at 13,000 ft
• Nahéma Ricci Antigone
• Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
• Violet Nelson The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
• Kacey Rohl White Lie

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

• Rémy Girard And the Birds Rained Down | Il pleuvait des oiseaux
• Matt Johnson Anne at 13,000 ft
• Andy McQueen Disappearance at Clifton Hill
• Daniel Stern James vs His Future Self
• Douglas Grégoire Kuessipan

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

• Leanna Chea 14 Days, 12 Nights | 14 jours, 12 nuits
• Nour Belkhiria Antigone
• Larissa Corriveau Ghost Town Anthology | Répertoire des villes disparues
• Alison Midstokke Happy Face
• Yamie Grégoire Kuessipan

The 2020 Canadian Screen Awards will again not have a host. The chic thing to do these days, though the CSAs did so before the Oscars jumped on the bandwagon. Jonny Harris and Emma Hunter were the last hosts in 2018.

Alex Trebek (Academy Icon Award), David Suzuki (Lifetime Achievement Award), Tina Keeper (Earle Grey Award), and Daniel Levy (Radius Award) have already received special honours.

Canadian Screen Week runs March 23-29 with celebrations and awards given off-camera before the Sunday telecast. Viewers outside Canada should be able to watch on YouTube thanks to the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

You can find all the nominations in film, television, digital media, and special awards. The 8th Canadian Screen Awards will be on March 29 and will air on CBC.

photos credit: CBC/Netflix; CBC; The Body Remembers When the World Broken Open film

Valentine's Day 2020: Things we love about Canada

Valentine's Day is usually about love, love of people with each other. We have had a bit of fun over the years on that topic.

This year, we want to celebrate our love for Canada that doesn't involve celebrities. We still love Canadian celebrities. Anna Maria Tremonti's new More podcast celebrates an internal push from Canadian celebrities. Our focus is on things we appreciate about Canada that are distinctly Canadian.

Newfoundland in the snow

Newfoundland has its share of storms: last month's snowscape was intense even for Newfoundland. Getting ¾ of a metre (2 ½ feet) of snow is incredible enough. The howling 150+ km winds brought a force to the island.

Stumbled across an impromptu Georgetown block party with bonfire in the middle of what should be a street. Beer and comraderie freely shared with all #nlwx #NLStorm2020 #blizzard2020 pic.twitter.com/QxUlea6rti

— Peter Cowan (@PeterCBC) January 19, 2020

How the people of Newfoundland celebrated the snow from snowboarding down the steep roads that are a part of downtown St. John's to building bonfires in the street to hang out with neighbours. Most of what we saw was from St. John's due to the limitations of covering the rest of the province during a horrible storm. You showed Canada and the world that no matter how intense the blizzard was, you would still have fun.

CBC The National

CBC The National slightly skews its numerous hosts lineup

Canada PM Stephen Harper says he prefers watching U.S. news

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

Then Prime Minister Stephen Harper once bragged that he watched American news instead of Canadian news. Most Canadian TV news isn't that meaningful. CTV and Global aren't bad; they just aren't good for a country of 36 million. The National is a nightly newscast that is meaningful to Canada and the world.

You can make fun of the 4 anchor setup. You can poke fun at the ratings compared to CTV and Global (which have American TV shows as their lead-in). Night after night, the best TV newscast in Canada and the United States is The National.

Americans should appreciate that while the newscast has disappeared from cable boxes outside those areas that get the CBC, you can watch the newscast on Facebook and YouTube.

Politeness

Canada isn't always polite. Canada is often more polite, everything else being equal.

When you travel and deal with Canadians, they have a politeness that is refreshing when visiting the country. Canadians are reasonably friendly and helpful. They are polite. Do them a favour and learn a few things about Canada to show how polite you are when you visit them.

Alberta and Saskatchewan

The rhetoric of division in Canada reveals a lack of understanding

They were pretty angry during the election and didn't stop being angry after the election. There will be a Wexit party on future ballots.

These provinces have felt angst from many generations of feeling underrepresented in Parliament.

The Canadian Senate is unelected. Ontario and Quebec get 24 senators each while Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan combined have 24 senators. As we saw in the 2019 election, improving the vote total in Alberta and Saskatchewan doesn't get you that many more seats in the House of Commons.

The area produces some great Canadian resources from beef to potash. Oh, there is oil as well. There are a lot of great people in these provinces. A lot of them are conservative but not in a mean way. Most might be frustrated but they aren't as angry as their elected leaders.

Harry and Meghan

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle living in Canada will be easier by staying fewer than 6 months

I know we said no celebrities. This isn't really about them. Vancouver Island is a gorgeous place in Canada. Having the (former) royals stay there will draw attention to people who otherwise might not have considered the island as a travel destination.

Americans can fly to Seattle and sail from downtown Seattle to Victoria. You can take a bus to Nanaimo and Tofino. Renting a car? Gas is more expensive because, well, Canada and being on an island.

If you are trying to "accidentally" spot the royals (with respect, of course), they are reportedly in North Saanich. That community is south of Swartz Bay, the destination from the ferry from Tsawwassen, an hour by bus to Victoria. North Saanich is also just south of the Victoria International Airport. They will likely be in Victoria and Vancouver, the latter of which is not on Vancouver Island.

If you spend your time exploring the region and/or those two cities, you will have a lovely time, even if you don't spot anyone too famous.

Parlé Francaise

You can and should go to Montréal or elsewhere in Quebec to get a French language perspective on being Canadian. You can elsewhere within Canada to get that Francaise experience: St. Boniface in Winnipeg to Acadia in New Brunswick to numerous Franco-Ontarian cities to Edmonton's French Quarter.

Donut scandals

Justin Trudeau had a scandal (gasp) because the prime minister bought donuts from Oh Doughnuts during a Liberal Party gathering in Winnipeg. On the surface, the scenario is a boss buying donuts for his team. Employees usually want the boss to buy the good donuts for the meeting. Canadians and Americans can relate to this action.

The "scandal" was that Trudeau didn't buy donuts from Tim Hortons, majority-owned by a Brazilian investment firm. Tim Hortons is Canadians in the eyes of Canada. I haven't had Oh Doughnuts but feel comfortable in saying that fresh, local donuts from a locally owned company taste better than donuts that are reheated on site (as Tim Hortons donuts reportedly are).

The "scandal" is a reminder that in a world of Brexit and a highly angry toddler, donut scandals are not a bad speed to be traveling.

National Film Board and TIFF

We were down on them for layoffs late last year. Both organisations celebrate Canadian film. They have online resources to learn more about Canadian film. The NFB allows you to watch certain films within Canada and even outside Canada. The TIFF site has more about Canadian films shown in the festival, the list of Rising Stars, and so much more.

Coolness of Canadian celebrities

This story is about Ryan Reynolds and his generosity.

During the whole Peloton ad saga, Reynolds decided to "save" the Peloton wife (actor Monica Ruiz) and gave her a safe space in an ad for his Aviation American Gin brand.

You could cynically argue that Reynolds was trying to take advantage and increase awareness of his gin brand. Ruiz was concerned about being typecast. Reynolds tapped into the concerns people had over the Peloton ad and gave a break to a fellow actor who needed one.

2019 Valentine's Day: Our love for Sandra Oh

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

If your Valentine's Day is not going the way you want it to go, planning a trip to Canada can be a way to distract you.

video credit: CBC News
Twitter capture: @PeterCBC
photo credit: me; Aviation American Gin

Canadian film review: Bang Bang Baby

Bang Bang Baby offers up several films under the name. There are songs with fantasy and science-fiction.

While the cast is mostly Canadian, Jane Levy is the reason to watch this film. The American actor, whom you might know from the TV series Suburgatory, stars as Stepphy, a young teenager who is trying to get to New York through a singing contest. Her sickly father refuses to let her go.

Good fortune comes to Stepphy when her idol Bobby Shore (Justin Chatwin) ends up in her small Canadian town after car trouble. Kristian Bruun plays Bobby's assistant, Helmut.

This spark almost seems too much because there is a leak coming from the local chemical Purple Mist plant.

Levy sparkles in the role, bewildered and very hopeful. Stepphy keeps your attention given the winding curves of the film.

2019 TIFF Canadian film wrapup

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The film features other Canadian talent, including David Reale, Chloe Rose, Boyd Banks, and Seán Cullen.

Writer and director Jeffrey St. Jules takes us back to an era that feels like the early 1960s but also feels timeless. Reality and fiction mix through most of the film. You truly haven't seen too many films such as this one. For those who feel like Canadian film looks inferior, Bang Bang Baby will change your mind.

St. Jules gives us a creative effort yet the film feels like a little light in its take on that era.

Canadian films fans talk about appreciating the new talent. St. Jules made a strong impression with this film but hasn't done a follow-up other than a 2015 short. Cinema of Sleep should be out within a year. From what we know, the film is a departure from Bang Bang Baby.

Bang Bang Baby won Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. The film also won the 2014 Claude Jutra Award. The film is available in the United States via Amazon Prime.

video credit: YouTube/Movieclips Trailers
photo credit: Bang Bang Baby film

Canada Now 2020 brings Canadian films to New York City

Canada Now 2020 is the latest chapter from Telefilm Canada to bring Canadian films to a limited U.S. audience. The New York City event is this weekend and features several films.

The New York City event runs Thursday-Sunday at the IFC Center. The collection of films are Guest of Honour; And the Birds Rained Down; A Brother’s Love; Red Snow; Antigone; Black Conflux; This Is Not A Movie; and One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk. All but the latter film will have a director Q&A.

We have seen 4 of the films on this list: And the Birds Rained Down; A Brother’s Love; Antigone; and One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk.

The CANADA NOW Film Festival opens at the @IFCCenter in #nyc York) on February 13! It features some of Canada’s most acclaimed veteran filmmakers as well as some sensational emerging talents. https://t.co/TtoQpyZ1Ut @Telefilm_Canadahttps://t.co/skucZNfdXS

— Women Make Movies (@womenmakemovies) February 5, 2020

As for the other films:

• Guest of Honour Atom Egoyan's latest film
• Red Snow a cross between Afghanistan and the Canadian Arctic
• Black Conflux coming of age of awkward young people in Newfoundland
• This Is Not A Movie documentary about British journalist Robert Fisk

2019 WIFF Canadian films in review

2019 WIFF Canadian films in review: English

2019 WIFF Canadian films in review: French

2019 WIFF Canadian films in review: Documentaries

You can find out more details about the New York City info. There are fewer screenings spread out to southern California, New Orleans, and Winchester, Virginia. White Lie, which we've seen, is listed in the overall brochure. There are also options in Germany, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Our 2019; 2018; 2017; and 2016 coverage has been almost as much about the virtual non-publicity to promote the event as the films themselves. We would love to cover this event with advance notice. We would also love for these films to reach more Americans in more cities.

video credit: Canada Now/Telefilm Canada
Twitter capture: @womenmakemovies
photo credit: A Brother's Love film

Parasite is the first film not in English to win the Oscar for Best Picture

Congratulations @ParasiteMovie So so proud to be Korean 🇰🇷❤️ pic.twitter.com/aISEy1HUpz

— Sandra Oh (@IamSandraOh) February 10, 2020

Parasite became the first film not in English to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The South Korean film won 4 Oscars: Best Picture, Best International Feature Film, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Director for Bong Joon-ho.

We'll have more later in this article on what that might mean for Canadian films down the road.

The 92nd Academy Awards featured some Canadian presenters, a number of nominations, and zero wins.

Here are the individual Canadians who were nominated for an Oscar this year.

• live action short film: Brotherhood (Meryam Joobeur) lost to The Neighbors' Window
• animated feature: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Dean DeBlois) lost to Toy Story 4
• documentary short: St. Louis Superman (Sami Khan) lost to Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're A Girl)
• sound mixing: Ford v Ferrari (Paul Massey) lost to 1917
• production design: 1917 (Dennis Gassner) lost to Once Upon A Time … in Hollywood

Toy Story 4 introduces Canadian character Duke Caboom played by a Canadian

Keanu Reeves, who was in Toy Story 4, presented with Diane Keaton for original screenplay. Sandra Oh presented with Ray Romano for best makeup and hairstyling.

Canadians Oscars nomination scoreboard

Looking at how Canadians have done at the Oscars

The success of Parasite should give inspiration to Canadian films that could make an impact at the Academy Awards. The Barbarian Invasions | Les Invasions barbares is the only Canadian film to win what was Best Foreign Language Film now the Best International Feature Film. The Academy Awards are more embracing to films not in English. Penelope Cruz put that well when she spoke of the "global language of cinema."

Parasite won out over Les Misérables (France); Honeyland (North Macedonia); Corpus Christi (Poland); and Pain and Glory (Spain) for Best International Feature Film.

Parasite won Best International Film at the Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, CA on Saturday. The film won out over Invisible Life (Brazil); Les Misérables (France); Portrait of a Lady on Fire (France); Retablo (Peru); and The Souvenir (United Kingdom).

Parasite won the BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language. The film also won Best Original Screenplay (director Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won). BAFTA is the British version of the Oscars from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Honeyland (North Macedonia) received nominations for Best International Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature. The latter award went to American Factory. Honeyland lost to American Factory for Best Documentary in the Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Into the Unknown from Frozen 2 was filled with voices in multiple languages and nominated for Best Original Song.

"I dedicate this to all the Indigenous kids in the world who want to do art and dance and write stories. We are the original storytellers.” —@TaikaWaititi, the first Indigenous filmmaker to win an Academy Award. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/UPbDPrR1f0

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) February 10, 2020

Taika Waititi became the first indigenous filmmaker to win an Academy Award for adapted screenplay for JoJo Rabbit. The film won the People's Choice Award at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.

Antonio Banderas was nominated for Best Actor for his role in the Pedro Almodóvar film Pain and Glory. Banderas lost out to Joaquin Phoenix for Joker.

Little Women; Anne with an E are relevant updates to appreciate timeless classics

Parasite set to be a breakthrough foreign film at 92nd Academy Awards

Antigone doesn't make Oscars shortlist for best international feature film

Lionheart from Nigeria suggests Academy Awards reconsider language for best international feature film

Roma set the pace last year with 10 nominations at the 91st Academy Awards. The Mexican film won Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Director.

Foreign-language films have been up for a Best Picture Oscar.

1938 Grand Illusion (France)
1969 Z (France/Algeria)*
1972 The Emigrants (Sweden)
1973 Cries and Whispers (Sweden)
1995 The Postman (Italy)
1998 Life Is Beautiful (Italy)*
2000 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Taiwan)*
2006 Letters from Iwo Jima (US)
2012 Amour (France/Germany/Austria) *
2018 Roma (Mexico) *
2019 Parasite (South Korea)*

* also nominated for Best International Feature Film. All the previous winners did win Best International Feature Film.

What Canadian film can learn from Jojo Rabbit?

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Canadian film nominees for the Best International Feature Film have been in French, Inuktitut, Hindi, Lingala, Yiddish, Mohawk, and Algonquin. There is every reason to think a Canadian film can make similar breakthroughs at the Academy Awards thanks to films such as Roma and Parasite.

Twitter captures: @IamSandraOh; @TIFF_NET

Canadian film review: Mouthpiece

The complexities of a young woman as portrayed by a pair of actors sets up Mouthpiece. Cassandra ignores the noises of multiple texts on her phone after a night of drinking. She discovers the next morning that her mother has passed away from a stroke.

Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava star as Cassandra. The actors first told this story in a play that they wrote and starred. Acclaimed director Patricia Rozema directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Nostbakken and Sadava.

They are given tasks to do for her mother's funeral from floral arrangements to buying food. They also cope with the inner conflict of being a writer, something her mother could have been but chose to concentrate on taking care of Cassandra and her younger brother Danny.

Nostbakken and Sadava are very physical in their performance, sometimes in tandem. The tandem elements are well synchronized; the fun comes in their differences. A guy crudely hits on her. One responds with a obscene word; the other says "Thanks."

We are treated to flashbacks with a younger, singular version of Cassandra. This showcases the nuances between girls and women. You get a sense, good and bad, about the devotion of motherhood and the impact on a daughter.

Maev Beaty brings a lot of warmth to mother Elaine, the kind of mother that Cassie's friends flock to their presence and is always there for her children. Jess Salgueiro plays Roxanne, Cassandra's friend. Salgueiro was a 2018 TIFF Rising Star in anticipation of Mouthpiece.

The film is full of subtle details of Cassie remembering her mother: tidbits such as never seeing her mother eat a French fry or a croissant, her mother saying to Cassie "always use your voice." There is a brief tribute to feminist authors and rom-com films. Toronto is shown off ranging from Eaton Centre to riding on streetcars.

The rest of the family makes more cameo appearances: Ari Cohen as Cassie's father and Paula Boudreau as her aunt.

Mouthpiece is a powerful, sweet story about a mother-daughter relationship told in a modern, complex fashion.

Canadian film review: Into the Forest

Canadian film review: When Night Is Falling

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Mouthpiece was named to the TIFF Top 10 Canadian films of 2018. The film is available on-demand through cable.

video credit: YouTube/TIFF Trailers
photo credit: Mouthpiece film

Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada merger has to benefit Canadian television and Canadian film

The Canadian Screen Awards combined the Geminis (television) and Genies (film) starting in 2013. The Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review panel report released last week suggested a merger between the Canada Media Fund (television) and Telefilm Canada (film).

Alias Grace has been the best hybrid example of where TV meets film. The first 2 parts of the 6-part series ran as a "film" at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) "fosters, promotes, develops and finances the production of Canadian content and relevant applications for all audiovisual media platforms. The CMF receives financial contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors."

Telefilm Canada "administers the programs of the Canada Media Fund and the Talent Fund, a private donation initiative, as well as the Canada Feature Film Fund."

51 film professionals signed a letter in 2017 addressing concerns over a merger. "We are deeply concerned that if feature film investments are subsumed within a larger agency with a competing and unsympathetic mandate, its independence and efficacy will quickly erode," according to the letter. "Merging filmmaker-driven Telefilm with broadcaster-driven CMF would deal a devastating blow to Canadian cinema."

The list of film artists on the letter include Denys Arcand, David Cronenberg, Xavier Dolan, Atom Egoyan, Deepa Mehta, Sarah Polley, and Denis Villeneuve.

Mixing television with film juggles unique requirements: TV falls under Canadian content regulation while Canadian film exists in an unregulated market.

Canada Media Fund was responsible for the Made | Nous project promoting Canadian television, film, and digital projects. The Web site launched about a year ago during the Oscars coverage.

Made | Nous is a great example of promoting Canadian TV and film together that might benefit from a merger of the two organisations.

The Made | Nous campaign features Canadian content and projects that feature Canadians, such as Killing Eve and The Shape of Water.

We applauded the promo and the Web site at the time of the launch. There doesn't seem to be any additional updates to the site. Perhaps there will be new content in time for the Academy Awards on Sunday night.

An ad-free CBC just one of the recommendations from a government panel report

The necessity of Canadian films that don't seem Canadian

Telefilm Canada shouldn't limit funding by language but reward films shot in Canada with Canadians

The Canadian Screen Awards have a week to celebrate Canadian television and Canadian film. The actual ceremony on Sunday night has a lot of awards in both categories that don't get shown on television. Canadian television and Canadian film deserve their own space to shine rather than sharing the spotlight.

A merger with Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada might benefit both industries. If the Trudeau Government includes a proposed merger in the legislation, hopefully we will get an explanation on the potential benefits. Canadian film, especially in English, gets lost in the Canadian content shuffle.

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault weighed in on potential licensing for media companies. "If you’re a distributor of content in Canada and obviously if you’re a very small media organization the requirement probably wouldn’t be the same if you’re Facebook, or Google. There would have to be some proportionality embedded into this."

photo credit: Canada Media Fund; Telefilm Canada; Made | Nous
video credit: YouTube/Made_Nous

Super Bowl LIV through the eyes of Canada

Emily Hampshire and Charlie Day were in a Tide commercial that sprinkled in Bud Light and the Pepsi halftime show during Super Bowl LIV. Hampshire dressed as Stevie Budd from Schitt's Creek. Hampshire gets a stain on Day's shirt. Day did the subsequent ads about delaying laundry until tomorrow.

Hampshire and Day played older versions of themselves and replicated that in a later ad.

While Hampshire appears in the commercial as Emily (herself), visually she appears to be Stevie Budd. A small Canadian TV show on a U.S. outlet that most cable subscribers have never watched is connected to an American Super Bowl ad.

Lilly Singh (comedian) and Busy Philipps (actor) with actual astronaut Nicole Stott played astronauts in an ad for Olay Regenerist. The theme was about how girls/women can do anything. The company is donating $1 to Girls Who Code for every mention of #MakeSpaceForWomen.

Cobie Smulders came along to rescue people left behind in a Toyota Highlander that can travel through time and dimensions.

Mike Myers, the late John Candy, Matthew Perry all said "no" in an ad for whether the Discover card has annual fees. The appearances came from the Austin Powers series (Myers), Uncle Buck (Candy), and Friends (?) (Perry). Not quite sure how you can appear in an ad without permission. There was a similar Discover ad where "yes" was the theme. In the "no" ad, there were 8 people and 3 of them were Canadian.

Will Arnett appeared on promos as the host of Lego Masters, a new Fox series.

Canadians won't be able to watch Super Bowl LIV ads

CTV aired American ads during Super Bowl LIII with no confirmed trade deal

Happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦#football #nfl #chiefs #chiefskingdom #canada #quebec pic.twitter.com/5SlMsM1fl3

— Laurent D. Tardif (@LaurentDTardif) July 1, 2019

Canadians have made very few on the field contributions to the Super Bowl. Most of those contributors are kickers and punters.

Kansas City's Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, born in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, QC, is only the fourth non-kicking Canadian to start in a Super Bowl.

Duvernay-Tardif is the 16th Canadian to start in a Super Bowl and the first medical doctor from any country to play in a Super Bowl.

Ryan Hunter (North Bay, ON) would have been the 17th player but Hunter was a healthy scratch for Kansas City.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau beamed with pride for Duvernay-Tardif in part because both of them were McGill University graduates.

Here are the previous non-kickers, according to NFL Canada:

Austin Collie (Hamilton) wide receiver, Indianapolis, 2010
J.P. Darche (St-Laurent, QC) long-snapper, Seattle, 2006
Nick Kaczur (Brantford, ON) offensive lineman, New England, 2008
Allan Kennedy (Vancouver) offensive lineman, San Francisco, 1982, 1985
Mike Labinjo (Toronto) linebacker, Philadelphia, 2005
Mark Rypien (Calgary) quarterback, Washington, 1988, 1992
O.J. Santiago (Whitby, ON) tight end, Atlanta, 1999
Luke Willson (LaSalle, ON) tight end, Seattle, 2014-2015

Here are the previous kickers, according to NFL Canada:

Mitch Berger (Kamloops, BC) punter, Pittsburgh, 2009
Steve Christie (Oakville, ON) kicker, Buffalo, 1992-1994
Roy Gerela (Sarrail, AB) kicker, Pittsburgh, 1975-1976, 1979
Eddie Murray (Halifax) kicker, Dallas, 1994
Jon Ryan (Regina) punter, Seattle, 2014-2015
Shaun Suisham (Wallaceburg, ON) kicker, Pittsburgh, 2011
Klaus Wilmsmeyer (Mississauga, ON) punter, San Francisco, 1995

Non Canadian-born players who grew up in Canada and played in the Super Bowl:

Ken Clark (Southampton, England; Mississauga, ON) punter, Los Angeles Rams, 1980
Orlando Franklin (Kingston, Jamaica; Toronto) offensive lineman, Denver, 2014
Harald Hasselbach (Amsterdam; Tsawwassen, BC) defensive lineman, Denver, 1998-1999
Israel Idonije (Lagos, Nigeria; Brandon, MB) defensive lineman, Chicago, 2007
Markus Koch (Niedermarsberg, Germany; Kitchener, ON), defensive lineman, Washington, 1988, (IR) 1992
Tom Nutten (Toledo, Ohio; Magog, QC) centre, St. Louis Rams, 2000, 2002

Super Bowl LII ads light on Canadian content

Bell Media Super Bowl LI ratings drop 39% from last year

Canada makes little presence in Super Bowl LI ads

Canadians can watch Super Bowl LI ads but not without U.S. pressure

Super Bowl XLIX preview: CRTC to allow Super Bowl ads in 2017

Canadians get a lot of U.S. TV, but normally get shut out of Super Bowl ads

CanadianCrossing.com NFL coverage

CanadianCrossing.com advertising coverage

UPDATE: The Canadian ratings for Super Bowl LIV were significantly improved. The CTV/TSN/RDS average numbers were 9.5 million compared to 5.3 million. Some of those figures won't convert with what we posted before the Super Bowl since these numbers include RDS. The U.S. numbers were down, the second-least-watched over the last 11 years.

We are curious but not as curious as Bell Media is about the Super Bowl LIV ratings. CTV gets credit for people watching on the Fox affiliates in cable and satellite since Bell Media wasn't able to carry the U.S. Super Bowl ads. We will be intrigued to see if CTV returned to the 2016 numbers, especially if the U.S. ratings fell over last year.

photos credit: Tide; Olay
videos credit: YouTube/Tide; YouTube/Toyota USA
Twitter capture: @LaurentDTardif