We normally have a Canadian film via the summer film series in Chicago to present. No film series due to, well, you know why. Here is some of the latest Canadian film news.
We have critiqued Canadian films that shoot in other countries with non-Canadian actors. We know that will always be a subsection of Canadian films. We applaud those films that use Canadian actors that shoot in Canada.
Marie Clements wrote, directed, and produced Red Snow (2019). The film is about an indigenous Canadian solider who gets captured in Afghanistan. The idea of indigenous in Canada vs. Afghanistan is key to the plot of the film. The extremes of freezing and desert are on full display.
Turns out the entire film was shot in Canada: Red Snow was shot in the Northwest Territories and British Columbia, including Yellowknife, Dettah, Kamloops, Whistler, and Cache Creek.
The category of Canadian films shot in Canada but made to look like somewhere else might only be a few. Those films deserve a salute.
Marie Clements interview on Q (CBC Radio)
The film has dialogue in Gwich'in, Inuvialuktun, Pashto, and English: Different languages aren't a concern for us.
Red Snow is available on Apple TV.
The idea of different colour bandages isn't a new idea even as Band-Aid announced a new line of bandages that better match the skin tones of black and brown people.
Pat Mills didn't invent the idea when he utilised a dark-colour bandage in the Canadian film Guidance. Mills played a clueless school counselor who comes up with the idea of taking a marker and darkening the regular bandage.
That was a heartwarming moment in a really nice Canadian comedy. You might have seen Don't Talk to Irene, which was Mills' second film.
Mills doesn't always appear on lists of budding Canadian filmmakers. His films centre around high school life and underdogs. Both films are silly and have heart: Canadian English comedies that are thoughtful.
These are the kind of moments you don't see in American films, things that make Canadian films special.
The Cannes Film Festival, scheduled for May 12-23, was thwarted by, well, you know. The 2019 version had a couple of major films from Canada, both of which we saw in Windsor in November.
The 2020 version only had a single title: Nadia, Butterfly from director Pascal Plante.
2020 Cannes films are allowed to debut at other film festivals later this year, perhaps even TIFF.
"It's all positive, it's very humbling," Plante said. "I live in the same world as everybody. We live in crazy times. I cannot be disappointed in the slightest. These are extraordinary circumstances."
The film is about the Olympics experience and what happens when that glory is over. Actual Canadian Olympics champion swimmer Katerine Savard (relay bronze for Canada at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro) makes her acting debut.
Given the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo have been postponed to 2021, timing is good for Olympics participants and filmmakers.
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
Academy Awards changes don't normally apply too often to Canadian films. If there is a breakthrough Canadian film with limited U.S. releases, there could be a crossover to the Oscars.
The Academy is shifting the rules allowing films that debut on a streaming service without a theatrical run to be eligible for the Oscars in 2021.
All film academy members will now be able to vote in the first round for best international feature film aka best foreign language film. The film academy will condense the two sound categories into a single category. This is highly relevant to Canadians who work in the U.S. film industry.
The new 93rd Oscars date is April 25, moved back from February 28. Hopefully, the date won't have to be adjusted a second time. We've seen how the Canadian Screen Awards handled an online presentation. Feel comfortable saying the Oscars won't have a host, whether in person or online.
photos credit: Red Snow film; bandaidbrand Instagram; Nadia, Butterfly film
video credit: YouTube/Movieclips Indie
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