Canadian Crossing

NHL the month in preview January 2023

TNT starts 2023 with a couple of Toronto home games. Nashville crosses the border (11) in their yellow sweaters. The U.S. network has an Original 6 game as part of an all-Canadian doubleheader as the New York Rangers come to Scotiabank Arena (25) followed by Johnny Gaudreau and his squad in Edmonton.

The main ESPN network gets close to being on Canadian soil with the Maple Leafs in Detroit (12). Finally, the network finally crosses into Canada almost a year and a half into the new deal with Dave Randorf's team in Edmonton (19). TNT had the opening half of that latter rivalry back in November.

NHL Network features the Toronto Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada hosting Detroit (7), in Boston (14), and a rare all-Canadian matchup in Montréal (21) as part of Hockey Day in Canada. Calgary gets a Showcase game in Dallas (14).

The Winnipeg Jets get 3 games in the month: in Pittsburgh (13) and hosting Arizona (15) and St. Louis (30). Ottawa gets more love from the U.S. channel hosting Nashville (9) and in Pittsburgh (20).

The Maple Leafs also get a Sunday game hosting Washington (29).

ESPN+/Hulu finally figured out how to get to Canada 4 days later after the addition of the Oilers game mentioned earlier and finally shows a NHL game on Canadian soil. Maybe they were afraid of how good butter tarts are and stayed away as a result. The U.S. network will show Johnny Gaudreau's return to Calgary (23). Unless the schedule changes significantly, these will be the only ESPN games in Canada in the regular season in 2 years of the contract.

Why is Rogers Sportsnet giving a gift to the CBC to let the public broadcaster show a Friday night game? Best not to ask. Both CBC and Sportsnet will show the Battle of Ontario at Scotiabank Arena on January 27 as a Hockey Night in Canada Special.

Hockey Day in Canada will be on January 21 in Owen Sound, ON. Tampa Bay is the lone U.S. team and there are 2 prime time games in the East. ESPN+ will have the other 3 games that day for the U.S. audience.

The NHL takes an All-Star Game break February 2-5 so we have added the February 1 game to this schedule.

TNT

January 11
Nashville @ Toronto, 7:30p
January 25
NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p/Columbus @ Edmonton, 9:30p

ESPN

January 12
Toronto @ Detroit, 7p
January 19
Tampa Bay @ Edmonton, 9p

NHL Network

January 7
Detroit @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
January 9
Nashville @ Ottawa, 7:30p
January 13
Winnipeg @ Pittsburgh, 7p
January 14
Calgary @ Dallas, 2p (Showcase)
Toronto @ Boston, 7p (HNIC)
January 15
Arizona @ Winnipeg, 7p
January 20
Ottawa @ Pittsburgh, 7p
January 21
Toronto @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
January 29
Washington @ Toronto, 5p
January 30
St. Louis @ Winnipeg, 8p

ESPN+/Hulu

January 23
Columbus @ Calgary, 9:30p

Hockey Night in Canada

January 7

Detroit @ Toronto, 7p/St. Louis @ Montréal, 7p/Seattle @ Ottawa, 7p/Colorado @ Edmonton, 10p

January 14

Toronto @ Boston, 7p/Montréal @ NY Islanders, 7p/Ottawa @ Colorado, 7p/Vancouver @ Florida, 7p/Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 10p

January 21 (Hockey Day in Canada)

Tampa Bay @ Calgary, 3p/Toronto @ Montréal, 7p/Winnipeg @ Ottawa, 7p/Edmonton @ Vancouver, 10p

January 28

Montréal @ Ottawa, 7p/Philadelphia @ Winnipeg, 7p/Chicago @ Edmonton, 10p

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

January 3 Seattle @ Edmonton, 9p

January 5 Colorado @ Vancouver, 10p

January 9 Seattle @ Montréal, 7:30p/Nashville @ Ottawa, 7:30p

January 10 Vancouver @ Pittsburgh, 7p

January 11 Nashville @ Toronto, 7p/Edmonton @ Anaheim, 10p

January 13 Winnipeg @ Pittsburgh, 7p

January 14 Calgary @ Dallas, 2p

January 16 Ottawa @ St. Louis, 8p/Calgary @ Nashville, 8p

January 18 Pittsburgh @ Ottawa, 7p/Colorado @ Calgary, 9:30p

January 23 NY Islanders @ Toronto, 7p/Columbus @ Calgary, 9:30p

January 25 NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p/NY Islanders @ Ottawa, 7p/Columbus @ Edmonton, 9:30p

January 27 Ottawa @ Toronto, 7p (Hockey Night in Canada Special)/Calgary @ Seattle, 10p

January 30 St. Louis @ Winnipeg, 8p

February 1 Boston @ Toronto, 7:30p

Dreams do come true. 👀@FriedgeHNIC reports that the Heritage Classic is returning to Edmonton next year for the Battle of Alberta at Commonwealth Stadium. pic.twitter.com/6FwIV2LM4T

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 11, 2022

While not official, Elliotte Friedman reported that the 2023 Heritage Classic will be the Battle of Alberta from Commonwealth Stadium. Friedman said the game would likely be in October.

Lake Louise seemed more ideal but the logistics were more difficult. Commonwealth Stadium was the site of the original Heritage Classic in 2003.

The potential October date means the game won't be that cold, the NHL will continue its lackluster promotion (compared to the U.S. outdoor games), and this will affect the CFL Edmonton Elks. The 2023 CFL schedule has the Elks final home game is October 14 with a road game in Winnipeg and a bye to finish the season.

This means one of the U.S. networks will be required to carry the Battle of Alberta.

Maybe Montréal can get an outdoor NHL game when Gary Bettman is no longer the NHL commissioner.

Canadian ads from fall 2022 NHL Center Ice free preview

NHL the month in preview December 2022

The Ottawa Senators were supposed to go into the holiday break with a home game against Detroit on December 23. The winter storm made that non viable so the game was postponed until February 27.

After last year's COVID-19 postponements, having a game postponed because of weather feels a lot more normal. 

NHL the month in preview November 2022

NHL the month in preview October 2022

Monday Night Hockey is the replacement for Hometown Hockey. David Amber shifted from the late Saturday Hockey Night in Canada slot to host the Monday segments. Cassie Campbell-Pascall and Anson Carter are consistently on the panel with a random fourth person.

Hope Carter is enjoying those Atlanta-Toronto flights. They may get rougher as winter truly rolls into Canada. Carter gets to show off his hockey insights in a better format than the TNT studio show. Campbell-Pascall feels at home in this format. She is working as an analyst for ESPN games. Greg Millen took over as the fill-in for Kelly Hrudey on Calgary Flames telecasts with Rick Ball.

The studio setup is very above average but not sure what the draw is otherwise. Maybe that is the draw. The studio crew is better than the Wednesday night games.

Happy Holidays 2022 includes Season 11 of Letterkenny

Carey Price will likely not play in the NHL for the Montréal Canadiens or any other team. We briefly touched on Carey Price and the whole hunting and guns issue last week. His heart seemed in the right place.

Feel free to read more for yourself.

2022 NHL preseason schedule

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

Tracking the NHL 2022 media changes

December 1 Edmonton @ Minnesota, 8p Bob Wischusen/Brian Boucher/Leah Hextall ESPN+/Hulu
December 6 Toronto @ Dallas, 8:30p Bob Wischusen/Ray Ferraro/Emily Kaplan ESPN+/Hulu
December 14 Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p Brendan Burke/Darren Pang/Jennifer Botterill TNT
December 18 Ottawa @ Minnesota, 2p Jamie Hersch/Dave Reid NHL Network
December 21 Edmonton @ Dallas, 9:30p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Keith Jones TNT
December 28 Calgary @ Seattle, 10p John Forslund/Darren Pang/Kathryn Tappen TNT
December 30 Edmonton @ Seattle, 10p Leah Hextall/Ray Ferraro ESPN+/Hulu

We note that schedules are subject to change. TNT switched out its previous game on December 28 and brought in the Calgary Flames in Seattle. A good point to check back with the blog for updates, good or bad.

John Forslund is the local Seattle announcer, continuing a TNT pattern with Canadian teams. Kathryn Tappen normally works for NBC.

The December 6 game took a while to show up on the ESPN+ menu. Odd to look for the exclusive game and that game isn't even on the ESPN+ NHL page. Hulu might have had it but the games only show up on my computer, not the TV path.

The all-Canadian matchup on December 14 was our first look at the backup TNT team this season. Burke does a fine, credible job. Pang and Botterill make the team what it is. Having Botterill helps because she covers the Canadian teams on Hockey Night in Canada. Good to see her get plenty of work on both sides of the border.

Jamie Hersch did a good job in the NHL Network showcase game (18). The Senators didn't do as well.

ESPN+/Hulu gave a nice gift at the end of the calendar year with an all-Canadian crew with the Oilers in Seattle.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Rogers Sportsnet had already decided to take the December 3 Maple Leafs game for itself, not knowing Mitch Marner would set the all-time Toronto record for most consecutive games with a point at 19. Marner finished his streak at an impressive 23 games.

As we predicted, the Habs-Oilers game in Edmonton was way more exciting with a lot of power play goals and lead changes.

.@NHLNetwork went from one of best @NHL crews to the worst crew to chase #AlexOvechkin. Saved its audience time because they weren't going to sit through what was on the screen. Ovi didn't even get the goal.

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) December 18, 2022

The December 17 CBC promos would have been American holiday specials, Canadian shows coming in January, and their news and sports outlets. There were 3 potential Hockey Night in Canada games available. The December 3 game had Rogers Sportsnet playing the Grinch while the December 10 game on the NHL Network aired on Citytv. NHL Network switched out the HNIC feed for the December 17 game for less than logical reasons.

ESPN+ did offer both feeds, something they don't normally do for a NHL Network game.

The NHL Network continued its obsessive Alex Ovechkin chase, showing the NBC Sports Washington feed for a Ottawa home game and Winnipeg road game in subsequent days.

You can check out our CBC television winter preview to see what some of those promos could have been. Hopefully, January will mean some CBC promos.

photo credit: NHL
Twitter captures: @Sportsnet; @canadian_xing 

2023 CBC television winter preview

The 2023 CBC winter schedule doesn't have an Olympics interruption. The NHL is back to a normal mid-April conclusion as opposed to the end of April from 2022.

Comedies back from their sophomore years include the Mark Critch vehicle Son Of A Critch and Run The Burbs. Workin' Moms is back for its final season, Season 7. Pretty Hard Cases is back for Season 3 on Wednesdays.

Coroner is done as is Tallboyz. The sketch comedy show should have had another season, given that CBC had to fill the post Workin' Moms slot with a British and American show.

Season 8 of Still Standing has Jonny Harris off to new towns from Ucluelet and Gibsons, BC to Wabush, Newfoundland, and everywhere in between.

David Suzuki is back for his final season of The Nature Of Things (Season 62 overall). We'll have more down below on his replacements.

The CBC will run Canadian documentaries on Sunday nights under the name Hot Docs.

CBC Winter 2022

Monday

Murdoch Mysteries 8p
Around the World in 80 Days/Plan B 9p

Tuesday

This Hour Has 22 Minutes 8p
Son Of A Critch 8:30p
Workin' Moms 9p
Catastrophe/Casual 9:30p

Wednesday

Still Standing 8p
Run The Burbs 8:30p
Pretty Hard Cases 9p

Thursday

Bollywed/Canada's Ultimate Challenge 8p
The Fifth Estate/Trigger Point 9p

Friday

Marketplace 8p
Stuff The British Stole/Push 8:30p
The Nature of Things 9p

Saturday

Hockey Night in Canada 7p

Sunday

Heartland/Best in Miniature 7p
Hot Docs 8p
Essex County 9p

bold indicates new series; ital indicates new timeslot

CBC has officially announced Essex County as a 5-part, live action TV miniseries for March 2023! I’m showrunning and co-writing the series. Stay tuned for more details soon! https://t.co/aiAMkaIhZX

— Jeff Lemire (@JeffLemire) June 2, 2022

As for the new shows, Plan B has strong promise. Airing 6 episodes starting February 27, the English language version of the Radio-Canada French-language drama stars Patrick J. Adams and Karine Vanasse (photo below). This is about second chances, not birth control.

Essex County is a 5-episode miniseries that follows the intertwining lives of two families living in a rural community. Molly Parker and Stephen McHattie are in the cast. The show debuts on March 19.

The rest of the new shows fall into the reality TV genre. Bollywed is a docu-series about the Singh family, operating the Chandan Fashion bridal shop in Toronto’s Little India for the last 37 years. Canada's Ultimate Challenge is a reality show where Canadians are mentored by superstar coaches Donovan Bailey, Waneek Horn-Miller, Clara Hughes, Gilmore Junio, Jen Kish, and Luke Willson. Stuff The British Stole is technically a CBC co-production with ABC out of Australia. Push is a factual series about “the Wheelie Peeps” in Edmonton. Best in Miniature is another reality show.

That is a lot of unscripted programming from the public broadcaster. Barry Hertz from The Globe and Mail adds his own thoughts, generally agreeing on the amount of reality TV in the schedule.

Lionsgate has a deal for U.S. and international distribution for Son of a Critch. but we haven't seen any sign of an actual deal. The initial episode showed great promise.

Season 7 of Workin' Moms will be the final season for the long-running CBC comedy. Hopefully, the U.S. audience won't have to wait too long to see the final season on Netflix. The first 6 seasons are available on CBC Gem (Canada) and Netflix (United States).

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

The CBC released the titles for the documentaries on Sunday nights (director in parentheses):

• January 8 The Case Against Cosby (Karen Wookey)
• January 15 Doug and the Slugs and Me (Teresa Alfeld)
• January 22 Offside: The Harold Ballard Story (Jason Priestley)
• January 29 Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children (Barri Cohen)
• February 5 Dear Jackie (Henri Pardo)

Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children ran during the 2022 Windsor International Film Festival and has aired on the Documentary Channel in Canada. This is Jason Priestley's return to directing a full-length film since Cas & Dylan. Priestley also directed the rockumentary Barenaked in America as well as TV shows and TV movies.

These are only the films we know so far. Unlike British seat fillers, these are Canadian stories in Canada told by Canadians.

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

Diggstown finished its 4 seasons on CBC this fall. Season 4 saw a shift to filming in Prince Edward Island where the show had been shot in Halifax in Nova Scotia. Variety has an extensive interview with Diggstown creator and showrunner Floyd Kane. One of the issues addressed in the interview was why the show didn't end up on Fox.

U.S. viewers can access the show through BET+. Canadians can watch via CBC Gem.

Mi'kmaw filmmaker Jeff Barnaby has passed away at 46

As it stands right now, our biggest native show was trickster, and they cancelled it because of one person. That show was rhymes for young ghouls light I could've taken it over with my eyes closed. But they didn't even try.

— Jeff Barnaby (@tripgore) December 16, 2021

We ran this quote for the 2022 CBC television winter preview. Barnaby would have done a tremendous rendition of a theoretical Season 2 of Trickster. Unfortunately, that won't happen, mostly because Barnaby passed away unexpectedly in mid-October at the young age of 46.

Season 1 of Trickster was one of the best TV experiences of 2021 for your humble narrator. Those stories need to be told.

Workin' Moms is a rare Canadian television show to get a Season 7

2022 CBC television upfront preview

The Nature of Things will have 2 co-hosts next winter, to replace David Suzuki. Sarika Cullis-Suzuki, daughter of David Suzuki, has a PhD in marine biology and has hosted episodes of The Nature of Things as well as programs for Audible and Ocean Networks Canada. Anthony Morgan has hosted science programs on such outlets as Discovery Channel, CBC, and Vice. Morgan is also the creative director of Science Everywhere, a science education startup and media company.

photos credit: Run The Burbs; Plan B/CBC; Hockey Night in Canada/Rogers Sportsnet (x2)
Twitter capture: @JeffLemire; @tripgore

Happy Holidays 2022 includes Season 11 of Letterkenny

The holiday tradition continues in 2022 with a new season of Letterkenny debuting on Crave on Christmas Day and Hulu on Boxing Day. Makes me wish I was back in my Airbnb where I stayed in Windsor, watching Letterkenny on Christmas Day. Those on the U.S. side have to wait an extra day to get their present.

The trailer mentions several themes for the upcoming season. We only mention 2 words: chip flavours. Sounds like that would go well with the Caesar episode from Season 10. Canada has way more interesting chip flavours than the United States. Watch and learn.

The pattern has been to have 6 episodes with an extra episode coming within months.

Our happy holidays message also applies to Hanukkah, which started on the evening of December 18 and runs through the evening of Boxing Day on December 26.

As we wind down 2022, here are some random thoughts for our holiday notebook.

Carey Price is one of our favourite NHL players for a lot of reasons. Talented goalie, his amazing resolve (especially on Saturday nights), a Canadian goalie who stayed in Canada.

This made his social media appearance on Bill C-21 all the more surprising. The weapon Price is carrying isn't being banned. Indigenous people, of which Price is one, are exempt.

Bill C-21 is going after assault rifles, not hunting rifles. There is this nuance of assault vs. hunting yet most weapons are distinct.

Hunting is a part of the Canadian landscape. Having guns for hunting is not and should not go away. Quite frankly, the handguns pouring into large Canadian cities, a lot from the United States, is the larger concern.

One of the changes that came after the École Polytechnique shooting was a long-gun registry. Stephen Harper dismantled that long-gun registry after he became prime minister. Many of Justin Trudeau's supporters hoped he would bring back that registry.

This isn't just about Bill C-21 and the potential loss of guns. The MontréalCanadiens sent out a response saying Price didn't know about the history of the mass shooting. Price came out with his own response and said he did know about the mass shooting in Montréal in 1989. The fact that the right-wing gun group Price was supporting had a coupon code that said POLY has a lot to do with why people are upset.

Canadian film review: Polytechnique

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

CBC News Explore is a new online approach to news from CBC News. This is only available on Canadian soil. With a nightly 1-hour newscast and a 24-hour news network, many stories fall through the cracks or don't have enough context.

Hopefully, CBC News Explore is a way to get some guidance on some of those news stories. The channel can be streamed for free, again on Canadian soil.

We also recommend Canadaland and its offspring podcasts as an option to learn more behind Canadian news stories. Watching a 30-minute TV newscast just before you go to bed doesn't give much insight into what is happening in Canada.

Happy Holidays 2021 includes Season 10 of Letterkenny

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Canadian TV programs have dominated Sunday nights in the U.S. on the CW Network. The U.S. network finished up Season 1 of Family Law on December 11. Season 4 of Coroner finished up Sunday with back-to-back episodes. That marks 10 episodes for Family Law and 12 episodes for Coroner.

Global has renewed Family Law for Season 3. The CW status of any show is up in the air due to new ownership i.e., Nexstar. Hopefully, a show where production costs are already paid for will help in that decision process.

Family Law has been a pleasant surprise in terms of character development. Jewel Staite is very comfortable playing a lawyer who is a recovering alcoholic.

There were some amusing Easter eggs in Episode 5 of Season 1, Until Death Do Us Part.

A guest of one of the main characters is watching TV. That show turns out to be Jann. Later in the show, one of the women in a lesbian couple is watching Wynonna Earp.

You might expect an Easter egg to tie back to programs on that network. While Global airs Family Law, Bell Media (CTV) produces Jann and Wynonna Earp.

The fun for the American audience is that both shows within the show can be found in the United States. Jann is on Hulu in the States, though only the first 2 seasons (where the bleep is Season 3?). Wynonna Earp airs on Netflix in the U.S.

Looking back at the last 20 Canada Oscars entries for international films

Eternal Spring misses the Oscars shortlist cut for Best International Feature Film

Eternal Spring was worthy of making the Academy Awards shortlist for Best International Feature Film but missed the cut. There are a lot of good films on the shortlist.

You can draw inspiration from our look back at previous nominees. Well, maybe not Chien de Garde. Such a terrible film.

Jason Loftus and his crew should be proud of the film they made.

Your Favorite Woman Tour pre-sale tix are live Wednesday, 12/14 at 10am your local time!
✨ code: WITCH ✨ at https://t.co/vBO6SRZZuT pic.twitter.com/leOkT9Yel5

— Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (@FullFrontalSamB) December 13, 2022

Samantha Bee is having a U.S. tour with a stage show entitled Your Favorite Woman starting in April. Her Full Frontal with Samantha Bee was cancelled by Warner Brothers Discovery after 7 seasons on TBS. 

"Many of the best segments we did on 'Full Frontal' focused on making complex issues more accessible," said Bee in a prepared statement. "And I am called to do that once again. Not sure why. Nothing much is happening in the world of women's bodily autonomy, so I am taking it upon myself to teach the parts of Sex Ed that should’ve been taught by your gym teacher."

This will be a boost after not having a live audience for the show since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We still miss the TV show. The Daily Show has an opening and CBC late night could use a take on the news.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The NHL looked very different 12 months ago with postponements of games due to the latest COVID-19 variant. Glad for a sense of relative normalcy.

CBC and Citytv have New Year's Eve programming instead of Hockey Night in Canada on December 31. The league takes off for a holiday December 24-26.

We don't cover the World Juniors as part of our hockey coverage anymore. We do provide the basic information before the tournament begins. The 2023 version runs from Boxing Day (December 26) through January 5 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick.

This is the third straight year the tournament has been held on Canadian soil, mostly due to the pandemic. Edmonton had the tournament by itself in 2021 and that city shared the tournament with Red Deer, Alberta in 2022. Halifax and Moncton took over from Novosibirsk and Omsk, Russia after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Halifax will host Group A, featuring Canada, at the Scotiabank Centre. Moncton will host Group B, featuring the United States, at the Avenir Centre. Halifax previously co-hosted the 2003 tournament with Sydney, Nova Scotia.

TSN covers the tournament with the NHL Network showing the TSN feed unless the United States is involved.

Canada scored 2 goals in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, so there was some progress

2022 FIFA World Cup preview for Team Canada

Canada did really well in the World Cup qualifying through CONCACAF and made its first World Cup (for the men) since 1986. Yet the Canada team drew a really tough group in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Sometimes, such things get exaggerated. Croatia and Morocco, the teams that advanced out of Group F, finished third and fourth, respectively, in the whole tournament. Croatia defeated Morocco 2-1 in the third place game. Canada looks better as a result of how the other teams did in the rest of the tournament.

Montréal's Morocco community embraced their home country's success in the World Cup. Morocco was the first African country to reach the World Cup semifinals.

TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2022

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The fine folks at CanadianCrossing.com are taking a holiday break. The CBC winter schedule preview runs on December 28. The NHL month in preview for January will run on December 30. The year to come in travel and politics will run that first full week in January. Breaking news will run as needed, such as if a famous director passes away over the holidays. Schedules are subject to change. We have a lot of archive material to read over the holidays, including many film reviews.

video credit: Letterkenny/Hulu
photo credit: cpoo31/Instagram
Twitter capture: @FullFrontalSamB

Eternal Spring misses the Oscars shortlist cut for Best International Feature Film

#EternalSpring For Your Consideration in 3 Categories for the Oscars: Best International, Best Documentary, and Best Animated Film. The first Canadian film EVER to qualify for these categories simultaneously. #oscars2023 pic.twitter.com/ut3st1AGeI

— Eternal Spring (長春) 🇨🇦's Choice for 2023 Oscars (@loftyskydocs) December 12, 2022

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its 15-film shortlist for Best International Feature Film. Let's take a look at the titles.

2023 Academy Awards shortlist for Best International Feature Film
Country	Film
Argentina	Argentina, 1985
Austria	Corsage
Belgium	Close
Cambodia	Return to Seoul
Denmark	Holy Spider
France	Saint Omer
Germany	All Quiet on the Western Front
India	Last Film Show
Ireland	The Quiet Girl
Mexico	Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Morocco	The Blue Caftan
Pakistan	Joyland
Poland	EO
South Korea	Decision to Leave
Sweden	Cairo Conspiracy

Your humble narrator has seen a number of films from other countries in the Academy Awards category (thanks in part to the 2022 Windsor International Film Festival).

Austria (Corsage) Marie Kreutzer
Belgium (Close) Lukas Dhont
Canada (Eternal Spring) Jason Loftus
Finland (Girl Picture) Alli Haapasalo
Poland (EO) Jerzy Skolimowski
Spain (Alcarràs) Carla Simón

The Austria, Belgium, and Poland entries are on the shortlist. Now that we know the frontrunners, finding some of them will be relatively easy.

For the first time in 4 years, there is not an entry for Best Documentary Feature in the running for Best International Feature Film. Flee (Denmark), Collective (Romania), and Honeyland (North Macedonia) were the only 3 films to be on both shortlists.

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song, not a Canadian film, and Fire of Love, a Canada co-production, did make the documentary shortlist.

Close and EO were outstanding. Corsage was unusual but good in its way.

Variety reported on the voting changes this year in the Academy Awards category. The significant change is a 1-15 voting scale instead of a 7-10 voting scale. This might have made a dark horse candidate, such as Eternal Spring, less likely to crack the Top 15.

Eternal Spring was in more discussions than any recent Canadian entry. Canada has only had a single entry on the shortlist in the last decade: Juste la fin du monde | It's Only the End of the World made the shortlist in the movie year 2016.

Saying this was the best film Canada has submitted in some time is not saying a whole lot. The hope was that a shortlist would draw more eyes to the Jason Loftus film.

Looking back at the last 20 Canada Oscars entries for international films

Canadian film review: Eternal Spring

Eternal Spring gets the nod from Canada for Best International Feature Film

The Independent Spirit Awards announced its 5 nominees for Best International Film. They have more leeway since they aren't limited to the film each country submits to the Academy Awards.

Corsage (Austria/Luxembourg/France/Belgium/Italy/England) Marie Kreutzer
Joyland (Pakistan/USA) Saim Sadiq
Leonor Will Never Die (Philippines) Martika Ramirez Escobar
Return to Seoul (South Korea/France/Belgium/Romania) Davy Chou
Saint Omer (France) Alice Diop

The 2023 Golden Globes are back on television on January 10. Here are their nominees for Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language

All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
Close (Belgium)
Decision to Leave (South Korea)
RRR (India)

The Critics Choice Awards airs January 15 on the CW network in the United States. Here are their nominees for Best Foreign Language Film:

All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (Mexico)
Close (Belgium)
Decision to Leave (South Korea)
RRR (India)

The Critics Choice Awards list is the same as the Golden Globes with the addition of Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths. Both that film and All Quiet on the Western Front are available on Netflix (at least in the United States).

Malta submits a Canadian film for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars

While Malta did submit Carmen, a Canada co-production, for the Best International Feature Film Oscars category, the film is not eligible to participate in the category. Variety reported that the film likely "failed to meet its required seven-day theatrical run by Nov. 30."

There are nuanced rules and a theatrical run is definitely necessary to be in the running.

Jason Loftus interview with Tom Power on Q (CBC Radio One)

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The Oscars shortlist of 15 films will be reduced to the list of 5 official nominees on January 24, 2023. The 95th Academy Awards will be held on March 12, 2023.

Twitter capture: @loftyskydocs
video and photo credit: Eternal Spring

Looking back at the last 20 Canada Oscars entries for international films

My mild OCD means I can be obsessed with lists. As we've noted in the past, there is something about the Canadian entries for the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.

We have prided ourselves for having seen a bunch of those films in a row. Now with Eternal Spring, we have now seen the last 20 years of Canadian nominees. 21 if you count Funny Boy, which we've seen, and we don't count that film. Sorry, Telefilm Canada.

We will know tomorrow if Eternal Spring makes the shortlist, which would only be the second Canadian film on the shortlist in the last decade.

While we are reflecting on the last 20 films Canada has submitted for the Academy Awards, we have now seen 25 of the last 26 entries, including the last 23 entries. We just saw Un crabe dans la tête (2002), which we will review early in 2023.

We have seen Cosmos (1997), August 32nd on Earth (1998), Maelström (2000), and Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001). Denis Villeneuve wrote and directed August 32nd on Earth and Maelström and directed a segment of Cosmos. We are now missing Emporte-moi | Set Me Free (1999).

Canadian film review: Eternal Spring

Eternal Spring gets the nod from Canada for Best International Feature Film

In the last 20 years, Canada has had 5 films make the Top 5 cut with 1 film winning the award: The Barbarian Invasions. Water, Incendies, Monsieur Lazhar, and War Witch were the other 4 films to reach the Top 5. 3 other films made the shortlist: Days of Darkness, The Necessities of Life, and It's Only the End of the World. All but the last film came in the first decade (2003-2012) of the last 20 years.

If we were to rank the last 20 entries, which we don't prefer to do, here is some idea of what we think:

Top Tier

The Barbarian Invasions (2003), C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005), The Necessities of Life (2008), I Killed My Mother (2009), Mommy (2014)

Second Tier

Water (2006), Days of Darkness (2007), Incendies (2010), Monsieur Lazhar (2011), Félix et Meira (2015)

Third Tier

Far Side of the Moon (2004), War Witch (2012), Gabrielle (2013), It's Only the End of the World (2016), Antigone (2019)

Fourth Tier

Hochelaga, Land of Souls (2017), Family First (2018), 14 Days, 12 Nights (2020), Drunken Birds (2021), Eternal Spring (2022)

Eternal Spring deserves a better fate but the film is too fresh in my mind to move up. Was hoping for that film to be more in the conversation for the shortlist, though the film is also Oscar-eligible in Best Animated Feature and Best Documentary Feature. Some of this list is subjective: Gabrielle was more uplifting where War Witch, with no visible Canadian content, was too depressing. Family First is one of the worst films I've seen on any list in any context. That film deserves its own tier.

C.R.A.Z.Y. and Mommy are such well-crafted films: still can't believe neither made the shortlist.

The last decade doesn't come close to the previous decade for Canadian films in this category.

Looking back at Canada's Oscars entries for international films

The short-term criticism of Gabrielle (2013), Mommy (2014), and Félix et Meira (2015) was that they didn't match up to the strength of the previous 3 films, all of whom made the Top 5 Academy Awards cut. Mommy should have made the cut. Those 3 films look a lot stronger by comparison to recent films.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

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Here are the last 20 Canadian films to be nominated in this category for the Academy Awards and whether they made the cut. The Barbarian Invasions | Les Invasions barbares is still the only Canadian film to win the Oscar in this category.

2003 The Barbarian Invasions | Les Invasions barbares Denys Arcand (won the Oscar)
2004 Far Side of the Moon | La face cachée de la lune Robert Lepage
2005 C.R.A.Z.Y. Jean-Marc Vallée
2006 Water Deepa Mehta (nominated)
2007 Days of Darkness | L'Âge des ténèbres Denys Arcand (shortlist)
2008 The Necessities of Life | Ce qu'il faut pour vivre Benoît Pilon (shortlist)
2009 I Killed My Mother | J'ai tué ma mère Xavier Dolan
2010 Incendies Denis Villeneuve (nominated)
2011 Monsieur Lazhar Philippe Falardeau (nominated)
2012 War Witch| Rebelle Kim Nguyen (nominated)
2013 Gabrielle Louise Archambault
2014 Mommy Xavier Dolan
2015 Félix et Meira Maxime Giroux
2016 It's Only the End of the World | Juste la fin du monde Xavier Dolan (shortlist)
2017 Hochelaga, Land of Souls | Hochelaga terre des âmes François Girard
2018 Family First | Chien de garde Sophie Dupuis
2019 Antigone Sophie Deraspe
2020 14 Days, 12 Nights | 14 jours, 12 nuits Jean-Philippe Duval
2021 Drunken Birds | Les Oiseaux ivres Ivan Grbovic
2022 Eternal Spring Jason Loftus

photo credit: C.R.A.Z.Y. film

Canadian film review: Dawn, Her Dad and the Tractor

The family's matriarch has passed on. Don returns home as Dawn (Maya Henry). Her sister Tammy (Amy Groening) is upset over not knowing what had happened to her sibling. John Andrew (Robb Wells), the patriarch, wanders around wondering what to do. Byron (Reid Price), Tammy's fiance, is trying to be helpful.

Running a farm is hard enough when everyone is on board. Now that the children's mother has passed on, there are still farm chores. The tractor becomes a symbol of rebuilding the relationship between Dawn and John Andrew.

Dawn gets love and support from allies in town and one notable detractor. Her family slowly comes around. The tractor looks a lot better after they work on it.

Henry and Groening have strong chemistry as siblings working on layers of issues. They work through love and hate; neither giving an inch (centimetre?).

The film is longtime actor Shelley Thompson's full-length feature debut as writer and director. Thompson makes good use of the soundtrack though most of the songs feel like aimless background music.

The script has some false endings and feels staggered in the final 30 minutes. Thompson develops strong characters, especially with the siblings dynamic. The father is stronger and more aware in the second half of the film.

The story feels rather authentic for a trans person in a small, rural town.

There is a lot of heart in the script. The characters feel like they are in the soil in rural Nova Scotia.

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The beauty of Nova Scotia is definitely a co-star with filming in Windsor, Chester, Halifax, and Antigonish.

The film has its moments but slips at times where it feels like a TV-movie, which is quite unfortunate. The subject matter and most of its execution tips the scales toward seeing the film. Don't expect too much from the film.

Dawn, Her Dad & the Tractor is currently available on Crave in Canada.

video credit: YouTube/Dawn, Her Dad & the Tractor-Movie
photo credit: Dawn, Her Dad & the Tractor

Canadian film review: Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers has had great success of late in front of the camera (Blood Quantum, Night Raiders, The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open) and behind the camera (The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open).

So taking a step to do a documentary on opioids and addiction might seem unusual. Somehow, this makes sense for someone such as Tailfeathers and her concern for her community.

Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy is a personal documentary in that Tailfeathers' mother is a physician on the front lines of this battle. The documentary focuses on Tailfeathers' home in the Kainai Nation community in Alberta.

The film explores the quandary between abstinence, an approach that works well for alcoholism, versus harm reduction, which can be more helpful for dealing with the addiction of opioids. Convincing the community of the differences in approach is a significant challenge.

We see the Kainai Nation visiting Vancouver Downtown Eastside, where The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open was set. They learn how harm reduction is helping cut the fatality rate.

Tailfeathers talks with people who are suffering as well as those who are helping those in need. The story of George and Leah is so important: they want to get help but they have 4 steps to get into a treatment centre. Even then, some of those steps have wait lists.

Tailfeathers also shows the push back from nearby Lethbridge residents, including violence and death.

Tailfeathers does have an agenda in that harm reduction is a meaningful approach to a very serious problem. She takes great care to show examples of why harm reduction is a working option.

Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy is also a personal documentary when she tells us that her cousin passed away from an overdose. Personal when her mother Esther forms a detox centre as a transition step to see if the patients want to go to a rehab centre.

There is a concern in taking such a personal interest in a story in a documentary. Tailfeathers helps us see the personification in what is mostly are faceless tragedies.

The film is surprisingly easy to follow and you feel the concerns of these people. This should be required viewing in Canada and the United States.

CanadianCrossing.com Indigenous coverage

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Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy won the Canadian Screen Award earlier this year for Best Feature Length Documentary. The documentary also received 2 other Canadian Screen Award nominations for Best Cinematography in a Documentary and Best Editing in a Documentary. The film was 1 of 5 winners of the Rogers Audience Award at the 2021 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.

Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy is available via the National Film Board in Canada.

video credit: YouTube/NFB
photo credit: Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy

TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2022

From new voices in fiction and documentary to some of our most storied and award-winning filmmakers.

Announcing TIFF’s annual Canada’s Top Ten list of features and shorts for 2022: https://t.co/jP5NP89pn8 #SeeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/hUULZwW2p2

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) December 8, 2022

The TIFF Top 10 list of Canadian films in 2022 feels like a return to normal in that your humble narrator has seen quite a few films on the list thanks to the Windsor International Film Festival.

Then again, there are titles that may be difficult to find, even for Canadians. Ste. Anne made the 2021 list but hasn't had a theatrical release anywhere, according to IMDb.

Let's get acquainted with the list of Canadian films. Here is the 2022 Top Ten list with the directors:

Black Ice (Hubert Davis)
Brother (Clement Virgo)
Cette Maison (Miryam Charles)
Crimes of the Future (David Cronenberg)
I Like Movies (Chandler Levack)
Something You Said Last Night (Luis De Filippis)
To Kill a Tiger (Nisha Pahuja)
Riceboy Sleeps (Anthony Shim)
Rosie (Gail Maurice)
Viking (Stéphane Lafleur)

To Kill a Tiger won Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Viking received Special Mention for Best Canadian Feature Film.

Riceboy Sleeps won the Platform Prize at TIFF 2022. Black Ice won the People's Choice Documentary Award at TIFF 2022.

The only 2 films on the list that didn't play at TIFF are Cette Maison and Crimes of the Future. The latter film is available in the United States on Hulu.

Your humble narrator has seen 5 of the Canadian films on the list: Brother, I Like Movies, Something You Said Last Night, Riceboy Sleeps, and Rosie. We have previously weighed in on these films in our 2022 Windsor International Film Festival reviews.

Of the remaining 5 films, Viking and Black Ice would be at the top of my list. To Kill a Tiger might be fine. We have an open mind for Cette Maison and Crimes of the Future.

Eternal Spring, Canada's Oscars entry for Best International Feature Film, which didn't play at TIFF, did not make the list. Perhaps more subjective than objective but North of Normal deserved to be on the list.

TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2021

TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2020

Your humble narrator has seen 7 of the 10 films from the 2021 TIFF Top 10 Canadian film list: All My Puny Sorrows, Drunken Birds, Learn To Swim, Night Raiders, Maria Chapdelaine, Scarborough, and Subjects of Desire.

Charlotte, a Canadian film in name only, is on Hulu in the States. Ste. Anne may be impossible to find. The White Fortress looks intriguing but not really Canadian.

We've only seen 6 of the films on the 2020 list while we have seen every film on the 2019 list.

2022 TIFF wrapup

2022 WIFF Canadian films in review

One way for those in Toronto to see the Canada’s Top Ten selections is to watch them January 26-29 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. We also have the list of Top 10 short films from TIFF for 2022.

Riceboy Sleeps wins the 2022 WIFF Prize in Canadian Film

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The great thing about the list is that we have Canadian film options to find to watch over the holidays and into the winter. We also have a source for potential conversations about what films would belong on our list.

Twitter capture: @TIFF_NET
photo credit: I Like Movies

Thanks Trevor Noah and The Daily Show for your pokes at Canada

While Jon Stewart made the most impact of The Daily Show on Canada, Trevor Noah and his version of the program did talk about Canada a few times. Noah's last show as host airs tonight so we thought to look back.

Craig Kilborn is the answer to the trivia question: "Who was the first host of The Daily Show?" Don't feel bad if you don't remember those days or the job he did before he flipped to Comedy Central (SportsCenter on ESPN). Kilborn was the host from the start in 1996 to 1999.

The Daily Show will have a new host and possibly a format change on January 17, 2023. Let's go back and check out the Canada highlights on the Trevor Noah, who has been the host since 2015, version of the program.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah had a Canadian talking about a Canadian film

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

Tatiana Maslany makes her debut on The Daily Show

Daily Show explores why refugees are fleeing U.S. for Canada

P.K. Subban talks charity work with Trevor Noah on the Daily Show

Daily Show shows how Canada is more mature about accepting Syrian refugees

Daily Show with Trevor Noah discovers its love for Justin Trudeau

The show had some quality coverage of the Syrian refugees coming to Canada. The idea of having a Canadian discuss a Canadian film on U.S. television was marvelous: that moment was wasted on an absolutely terrible film that had little to do with Rob Ford, despite the hype.

Tatiana Maslany should have been on to discuss Orphan Black during its run.

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee reminds us what The Daily Show is missing

Canadian election 2015: Stephen Harper and 5 Questions

Thanks Jon Stewart and The Daily Show for your pokes on Canada

Samantha Bee and John Oliver were in many ways the true heirs to what Jon Stewart was doing. The idea of doing this montage for Samantha Bee was put on hold, figuring someone would have picked up her show. That was a bit naive on our part. 7 years was a really good run for a show killed for arbitrary reasons. Discovery has a lot of terrible moves in the takeover of Warner Brothers.

We might do a tribute to Samantha Bee's show. We were hoping she would find another outlet for her program.

CanadianCrossing.com Daily Show coverage

Canada is technically international from the United States, though sometimes Canada is treating as the domestic market (think cars and motion pictures). Trevor Noah didn't grow up in the United States so there was hope that he would approach Canada differently. The best work from this edition of the program came when refugees were involved: Syrians to Canada and refugees within the United States heading to Canada.

Good luck to the show and its new host. Thanks to Trevor Noah and the rest of the people for giving us your take on Canada.

The Daily Show runs on Comedy Central in the United States and CTV Comedy Channel in Canada.

photos credit: The Daily Show

Canadian film review: Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine

Triumph was one of the many Canadian bands that popped up in the United States between 1979-1981. Lay It on the Line was a decent hit for the band in 1979. Magic Power from Allied Forces along with Fight the Good Fight were huge songs in 1981.

Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine shows us that the band was a lot more than just those moments. Triumph was a major force in the band's live shows where they developed a loyal fanbase. The documentary leads up to a moment where they will play in front of their superfans as well as looks back to how Triumph came together.

Most bands don't understand the business end of rock and roll. Gil Moore (drums, lead/backing vocals) and Mike Levine (bass, keyboards, backing vocals) were rare exceptions. In fact, Moore and Levine had a record deal early on in the process, a proverbial golden ticket back in the day. Rik Emmett (guitar, lead/backing vocals) was the last person to join the group. Even though Emmett sang the band's best known songs, Moore sang a lot of the songs in the group.

They produced their early albums, again something you almost never hear a band doing for themselves.

Directors Sam Dunn and Marc Ricciardelli make good use of animation to help tell the story, especially in the early days of the band. We learn a lot about the nuances of the stage show that made the band legendary in concert with lots of explosions.

The documentary also explores another solid reason why Triumph made such as impact. Their lyrics were positive and uplifting. Fans tell many stories about how the lyrics got them through rough times.

The Trailer Park Boys make cameos in the documentary, adding some more Canadian flavour to the fandom.

Turns out Triumph is in the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame (2007), Canadian Music Hall of Fame (2008), and Canada's Walk of Fame (2019).

Celebrating Canadian classic rock contributions

1981 was amazing year for Canadian classic rock artists

Some thoughts on what could go into a Canada music national playlist

CanadianCrossing.com music coverage

The story takes the almost necessary path of the breakup and reunion. Smartly, the documentary spends a good chunk of the film as the band formed and the bumps along the way. A much more interesting chapter.

If you think you know a little bit about this band, you will learn plenty in this documentary about Triumph.

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Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine is available on Crave in Canada.

video credit: YouTube/Banger Films
photo credit: Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine