It’s National Canadian Film Day!
A list of my favourite homegrown films
Happy National Canadian Film Day! It’s an easy holiday to celebrate: you just watch a Canadian film.
I myself will celebrate the 16-year-old holiday by attending a NCFD-organized screening of It Feeds at my local cinema tonight. The Canadian film about a clairvoyant therapist fending off both real and metaphorical demons sounds horrifying, but I’ll risk the nightmares to watch it with other Canadian cinephiles.
If you’d rather stay home, Reel Canada — the organization behind NCFD — created a database of Canadian movies and where you can stream them. If the 38 pages of films overwhelms you, I listed seven of my homegrown favourites so you can pick a flick that best suits your Wednesday mood.
BlackBerry
I watched BlackBerry on a plane and thought I might throw up during it, partially because of turbulence and partially because director Matthew Johnson employs mildly nauseating camera angles and cuts (they make the movie funnier, I just have a weak stomach, you’ll be fine). But I loved the film so much that I chose to swallow my vomit and keep watching the rise and fall of the BlackBerry smartphone. Jay Baruchel plays the role of the co-founder and CEO, seamlessly transitioning from awkward nerd to hubristic asshole as the company’s stock literally rises.
Where to watch: CBC Gem
Brooklyn
I watch Saoirse Ronan’s heartbreaking performance as an Irish immigrant in 1950s New York every time I want to cry. But I just discovered that they filmed most of the New York parts of the movie in Montreal, making it a co-production between Ireland and Canada*! Who knew that I’d inadvertently supported Canadian filmmaking while working through my emotions?
Where to watch: CBC Gem
The Fly
David Cronenberg lives up to the hype. He somehow makes a gross yet sexy movie about a guy turning into a fly. Though he may have Jeff Goldblum to thank for that, who makes flies seem not totally disgusting.
Where to watch: Crave and Disney+
I Like Movies
A coming-of-age story about an obnoxious kid working in a video store who can’t wait to get out of Canada and attend NYU to study film. The film perfectly embodies the hilarious and heartbreaking tensions of being a teenager, but also pushes my newsletter’s agenda that many Canadians look down on our own culture.
Where to watch: Netflix
Riceboy Sleeps
This movie made me cry the most out of all the films on this list. But don’t worry, I did it while watching the film’s stunning shots of British Columbia. This sad yet hopeful movie follows a Korean immigrant raising her son in suburban B.C. in the ’90s. It’s one of those slice-of-life stories whose characters and imagery stay with you for a long, long time.
Where to watch: Rent it on Apple, Amazon Prime or YouTube
Scarborough
I can’t even describe this movie without giving the ending away, but once again, prepare to sob watching the lives of three kids in Scarborough. I cried more than Brooklyn, but slightly less than Riceboy Sleeps. Catherine Hernandez wrote both the novel of the same name and the screenplay, so the movie remains faithful — and just as sad and beautiful — as the book.
Where to watch: Tubi
Seeds
An influencer gets revenge on one of her sponsors because they want to steal precious seeds from her family, who have farmed them for generations. It’s campy, it’s fun, it’s horror without horrifying you. If you love Letterkenny, Tanis (Kaniehtiio Horn) wrote, directed and stars in Seeds.
Where to watch: Rent on Amazon, Apple
Happy National Canadian Film Day!
Sabina
*The official definition of what qualifies a movie as “Canadian” is blurry. Reel Canada seems to count movies that are Canadian co-productions, such as Brooklyn, as well as movies that are filmed in Canada, despite having no Canadian talent in the film or behind-the scenes (for example, they list A Christmas Story in their database because parts of it were filmed in Toronto and St. Catharines, Ontario). I’ll keep looking into this.