Canada is a bilingual country officially, conducting the government in English and French. Canadian cinema is bilingual but not often together.
There are rare exceptions. Sometimes a Quebecois film will have a bit of English. English films might have a tiny bit of French.
A couple of notable exceptions are French Immersion and the Bon Cop, Bad Cop series. The late Kevin Tierney directed, produced, and co-wrote French Immersion and produced and co-wrote the original Bon Cop, Bad Cop.
Canadian film review: French Immersion
Canadian film review: Polytechnique
French-Canadian actors are more likely to be comfortable in both languages onscreen. We've seen a few films on both sides of the language border from Sophie Nélisse. Theodore Pellerin was in Never Steady, Never Still and a few French-Canadian films (The Demons, It's Only the End of the World, Genesis).
Évelyne Brochu and Karine Vanasse have had countless roles in both languages in TV and film. They also starred in both versions of Polytechnique from Denis Villeneuve.
Jessica Paré hasn't done much in French in TV or film but is bilingual.
I haven't seen much of Caroline Dhavernas in French but I have seen her both languages fluently. Pascale Bussières was in When Night Is Falling as well as The Five Senses in English.
Denys Arcand and Léa Pool, among many others, have made Quebec films in both languages. Villeneuve and Jean-Marc Vallée are now famous in the United States directing films in English after great careers directing films in French.
A Canadian film idea to showcase female Canadian acting talent
I imagined a potential scene in the not yet made Canadian film The Peacekeepers where Brochu and Tatiana Maslany have a conversation in French. Maslany did multiple accents in Orphan Black but didn't speak French with any of her characters. I don't know how good Maslany's French is but she could learn the dialogue.
I recall Maslany in an interview recommending people check out Brochu's French language film work. She could have seen those films without subtitles.
We don't want to pick on Maslany. We want to see English language Canadian actors be vulnerable and try speaking French. We've seen Colm Feore do quite well in the Bon Cop, Bad Cop films.
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
Being bilingual makes you more versatile as an actor. Netflix is running shows in languages other than English. A great example is the Quebecois TV show M'entends-tu? | Can You Hear Me?.
The show has subtitles. The content is a bit raw but does a great job at showcasing lower-income people in Montréal.
This is the country that has different versions of La Grande Séduction (2003) and The Grand Seduction (2013) that is essentially the same film in French and English.
Ken Scott co-wrote the English version with Michael Dowse and wrote the French version. Scott also wrote and directed Starbuck and wrote the screenplay and directed the American remake Delivery Man.
Kate Ascher (Vanasse), who is French-Canadian in an English language film All the Wrong Reasons, pulls out a copy of Les Amours imaginaires, the Xavier Dolan film known in English as Heartbeats. Don't know if Vanasse made that suggestion but that made a huge impression.
I have gathered anecdotally that some English Canadians get shy about speaking French even though they learned it in school and have more access to signs and yes, cereal boxes en Francaise.
Yes, people might poke fun and laugh. I know that feeling when I try and speak French. At least I try.
CanadianCrossing.com television coverage
Watching a English Canadian star speak French in a Canadian TV show or a Canadian film would help English Canadians realise that knowing a bit of French is cool. You can find out more in common with fellow Canadians if you have some knowledge of their language. The French speakers know they need to cross over; the English speakers need to donner un peu (give a little bit).
photo credit: Polytechnique film
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