National Canadian Film Day had a much different vibe in 2020 thanks to the lack of live options due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The streaming of interviews with prominent Canadian filmmakers was a nice addition. We thought the live stream was worth noting.
Peter Keleghan and Ali Hassan co-hosted the event, taking turns interviewing people via video connections. Keleghan pleaded modesty that he hasn't done anything like this before. If the Canadian Screen Awards has a host, these people should be considered. Women should be considered as well.
We have bemoaned the fact that Canada doesn't have a late-night TV talk show where Canadian artists can be interviewed and get publicity.
We learned through the live stream that Keleghan and Jay Baruchel live next door to each other. Keleghan and Baruchel talk about Bean, Baruchel's dog. Hassan interviewed Vinay Virmani, who got Hassan onto Breakaway. Hassan also interviewed Mina Shum and Sandra Oh, friends and collaborators on 3 of Shum's films.
Keleghan had a nice interview with Don McKellar, who put Keleghan and his father-in-law Gordon Pinsent in The Grand Seduction.
Keleghan and Hassan both interviewed Colm Feore who talked about Richard III (was scheduled to do that in Stratford), the late Kevin Tierney, and made a fennel and blood orange salad that looked delicious.
Other notable guests included Ethan Hawke, Atom Egoyan, Megan Follows, and Philippe Falardeau.
They also had acknowledgments at the top of the hour for the front line workers during the pandemic.
The session also has staff picks from Reel Canada, sponsor of National Canadian Film Day, and NFB shorts.
The artists had separate Q&As tied to Canadian films being streamed as part of the celebration. The live stream promoted those events presented as online options where live in-person events weren't possible.
Celebrating National Canadian Film Day 2020
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah had a Canadian talking about a Canadian film
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
People find out about films through interviews and publicity. Canadians don't find out about Canadian film because of a lack of interviews and publicity. After the pandemic is over, Canada should come up with a solution that might look similar to this. A half-hour show where Canadian creators interview each other about their craft. Don't need a fancy set or a band. A few video interviews could fill a half hour in late-night Canadian television. The cost would be low enough that the CBC could make a nice profit margin on such a venture.
video and photo credit: Reel Canada/National Canadian Film Day
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