Top Canadian Films (TIFF 2015)[Runners Up]
This companion list to Top Canadian Films (TIFF 2015) contains the films which received only two (first 57) or one (the rest) votes.
Some films are missing from imdb, will be added later.
Some films are missing from imdb, will be added later.
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- DirectorMichael SnowStarsAndré AlcasidJacqueline AndersonBerj BannayanA surreal and comic exploration of an office space and the decorations of a living room.
- DirectorHollis FramptonJoyce WielandStarsHollis FramptonJoyce WielandTwo filmmakers spy upon each-other in various locations, each trying to capture the other on film.
- DirectorPaul AlmondStarsGeneviève BujoldDonald SutherlandMonique LeyracA woman's peculiar religious convictions lead her on a self-destructive path.
- DirectorRichard J. LewisStarsPaul GiamattiRosamund PikeJake HoffmanThe picaresque and touching story of the politically incorrect, fully lived life of the impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky.
- DirectorMarie-Hélène CousineauMadeline IvaluStarsPeter-Henry ArnatsiaqMadeline IvaluPaul-Dylan IvaluAn Inuit child and his grandmother are left to fend for themselves when their family perishes from illness.
- DirectorDenis CôtéAlong the rhythm of the seasons, beasts and humans regard each other. 'Bestiary' unfolds like a picture book about mutual observation. A contemplation of a stable imbalance, and of loose, tranquil and indefinable elements.
- DirectorJacques LeducCourt métrage documentaire de la série 'Chronique de la vie quotidienne' réalisée par Jacques Leduc dans les années 1970. Les séquences du film Granit ont pour pivot la gravure d'une pierre tombale. Celle-ci sert de lien entre l'éloge qu'on fait aux vivants et celui qu'on réserve aux morts.
- DirectorRoger FrappierJacques LeducDocumentaire établissant un parallèle entre les efforts, les outils et l'investissement monétaire nécessaires à la construction d'un bungalow et ceux investis dans la recherche de l'âme soeur. Des hommes travaillent sur un chantier, pendant qu'une femme s'informe des coûts reliés aux services d'une agence de rencontres de qualité. Ce film fait partie de la série 'Chronique d'une vie quotidienne', tournée dans les années 1970, pour laquelle Jacques Leduc, de concert avec quelques autres réalisateurs, a filmé un film pour chaque jour de la semaine, caméra à l'épaule, afin de rapporter des événements du quotidien.
- DirectorJacques Leduc
- DirectorJacques Leduc
- DirectorRon MannStarsLynda BarryCharles BurnsSue CoeA survey of the artistic history of the comic book medium and some of the major talents associated with it.
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsNicole de BoerMaurice Dean WintDavid HewlettA group of strangers awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps.
- DirectorDenis CôtéStarsEmmanuel BilodeauPhilomène BilodeauRoc LafortuneOn the fringe of society in a remote part of the French-Canadian countryside, the fragile relationship and unusual private life of a father and daughter is jeopardized by dreary, unforeseen circumstances.
- DirectorBruce SweeneyStarsTom ScholteBabs ChulaBen ImmanuelAngie is a middle-aged drug dealer, who fulfills the masochistic fantasies of young student David. David shares a residence with lonely log company worker Tony. Other characters - Angie's roommate Nancy, Angie's son Ethan and her old mother Abbie are also very lonely and desperate for human communication.
- DirectorLouise ArchambaultStarsSylvie MoreauMacha GrenonJuliette GosselinThis emotionally-charged story of mothers and daughters explores beauty, addiction, and family. It asks the question--is it possible to change your destiny? Canada. French w/Eng. subtitles. Winner - Toronto FF, Winner Canadian Oscars.
- DirectorLouise ArchambaultStarsGabrielle Marion-RivardAlexandre LandryMélissa Désormeaux-PoulinGabrielle is a young woman with Williams syndrome who has a contagious joie de vivre and an exceptional musical gift. Since she met her boyfriend Martin, at the recreation centre where they are choir members, they have been inseparable. However, because they are "different," their loved ones are fearful of their relationship. As the choir prepares for an important music festival, Gabrielle does everything she can to gain her independence. As determined as she is, Gabrielle must still confront other people's prejudices as well as her own limitations in the hope of experiencing a love far from the "ordinary".
- DirectorJohn FawcettStarsEmily PerkinsKatharine IsabelleKris LemcheTwo death-obsessed sisters, outcasts in their suburban neighborhood, must deal with the tragic consequences when one of them is bitten by a deadly werewolf.
- DirectorJoyce Wieland
- DirectorGerald PottertonJohn BrunoJohn HalasStarsRichard RomanusJohn CandyJoe FlahertyA glowing green orb that embodies ultimate evil terrorizes a young girl with an anthology of bizarre and fantastic stories.
- DirectorJanis ColeHolly DaleFilmmakers Holly Dale and Janis Cole explore the culture of Davie Street, located in the underbelly of Vancouver, where dozens of prostitutes work and live every day. Surprisingly, they find that the sex trade there is stable and largely non-violent, and that the women who work on Davie Street meet daily to discuss safety and health issues and don't use pimps. The film also includes candid interviews with the prostitutes and footage of negotiations with potential clients.
- DirectorFrédéric BackStarsPhilippe NoiretChristopher PlummerThe story of a shepherd's single handed quest to re-forest a barren valley.
- DirectorMireille DansereauStarsLiliane Lemaître-AugerVéronique Le FlaguaisJean-François GuitéTwo twenty-something women dream of the ideal man and slowly realize that reality is very different from their fantasies.
- DirectorLixin FanStarsChanghua ZhangYang ZhangSuqin ChenA couple embarks on a journey home for Chinese new year along with 130 million other migrant workers, to reunite with their children and struggle for a future. Their unseen story plays out as China soars towards being a world superpower.
- DirectorJean Pierre LefebvreStarsMarcel SabourinAnouk FerjacMyriam BoyerA middle-aged man travels to France and is discouraged by the attitudes of the people concerning his native land until he meets and begins relationships with two lonely women.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsXavier DolanMonia ChokriNiels SchneiderThe story of three close friends who are involved in a love-triangle.
- DirectorJohn WeldonStarsAnna McGarrigleKate McGarrigleA short illustrating a traditional Canadian folk song about a woman's admiration for the agility for her boyfriend, the log driver.
- DirectorPatricia RozemaStarsFrances O'ConnorJonny Lee MillerAlessandro NivolaFanny, born into a poor family, is sent away to live with wealthy uncle Sir Thomas, his wife and their four children, where she'll be brought up for a proper introduction to society.
- DirectorCatherine MartinStarsMarie-Ève BertrandGuylaine TremblayHélène LoiselleA 19th century ghost story set in French Canada. When Yvonne's young romance is thwarted by her sister, she heads to the woods in search of a supernatural solution.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsSimone ChevalotLuc-Martial DagenaisKenneth FernandezDuring an opulent banquet, eleven pampered guests participate in what appears to be a ritualistic gastronomic carnage. In this grotesque universe, an unexpected sequence of events destabilizes the endless symphony of abundance.
- DirectorCatherine Martin
- DirectorPhilippe BaylaucqStarsLindsey Renée DerrySarah FregeauAlexandre JolicoeurORA is a stunning meeting between the artistic worlds of choreographer José Navas and filmmaker Philippe Baylaucq. It is the first film to use 3D thermal imaging, producing visuals like none that have ever been seen before: the luminous variations of body heat seen on skin, bodies emitting a multitude of colours, a space filled with movement that transforms itself.
- DirectorRichard BennerStarsCraig RussellHollis McLarenRichert EasleyA story about a female impersonator who rooms with a pregnant schizophrenic.
- DirectorAndrea DorfmanStarsMegan DunlopMichael LeBlancBruce GodfreeA pregnant woman, Kate, questions whether or not she should leave her husband, Ollie, despite him being the object of envy for many of Kate's friends.
- DirectorRobert LepageStarsTilda SwintonTom McCamusSean McCannA man lives in parallel worlds, falling in love with the same woman, while the police hunt down a serial killer who steals brains.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsEverett McGillRon PerlmanNicholas KadiThis story takes place in prehistoric time when three tribesmen search for a new fire source.
- DirectorJim BrownGary BurnsStarsDaniel JefferyBob LegareJane MacFarlaneAn examination of the nature of modern suburbia.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJennifer O'NeillStephen LackPatrick McGoohanA scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called "scanning" to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners.
- DirectorRichie MehtaStarsRajesh TailangTannishtha ChatterjeeAnurag AroraA chain-wallah from Delhi travels across India in search of his missing son, in the hopes that whoever took him, returns him unharmed.
- DirectorZale DalenStarsDavid PetersenJohn LazarusRudy SzaboA repo man skips town after his life is threatened.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsKyle McCullochMichael GottliAngela HeckWhile their mother is dying in the modern Gimli, Manitoba hospital, two young children are told a tale by their Icelandic grandmother about Einar the Lonely, his friend Gunnar, and the angelic Snjofridur in a Gimli of old.
- DirectorRichard CondieStarsJay BrazeauIda OslerRandy WoodsA couple have a fight over a scrabble game unaware that a full scale nuclear war has started.
- DirectorJohn N. SmithStarsHenry CzernyJohnny MorinaBrian DooleyThe true story of boys being sexually abused at their orphanage ran by a religious community in Newfoundland.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsOliver ReedSamantha EggarArt HindleA man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, amidst a series of brutal murders.
- DirectorCynthia ScottStarsAlice DiaboConstance GarneauBeth WebberA busload of women become stranded in an isolated part of the Canadian countryside. As they await rescue, they reflect on their lives.
- DirectorJoyce WielandStarsCéline LomezFrank MooreLawrence BenedictA young woman marries a wealthy man she isn't in love with, but finds romance instead with the couples' painter friend.
- DirectorJeremy PodeswaStarsMolly ParkerGabrielle RoseElize Frances StolkInterconnected stories examine situations involving the five senses. Touch is represented by a massage therapist who is treating a woman, while her daughter accidentally loses the woman's pre-school daughter in the park. The older daughter meets a voyeur (vision), a professional house-cleaner has an acute sense of smell, a cake maker has lost her sense of taste, and an older man is losing his hearing.
- DirectorDon McKellarStarsTaylor KitschBrendan GleesonLiane BalabanTo survive, a dying Newfoundland fishing village must convince a young doctor to take up residence by any means necessary.
- DirectorBeryl FoxStarsBernard FallThai NguyenA documentary on the war in South Vietnam shot entirely on location. There is no narration and no use of archive footage. The participants speak for themselves. The filmmakers spend time with units from many services: army, tanks, marines, ARVN, air cavalry. They accompany an air force napalm and strafing attack on a Viet Cong bunker complex. There are many scenes both of Saigon streets and of peasant village life. Soldiers speak of their experiences and their mission to fight Communism in Vietnam. One American informant says that the Vietnamese peasant is not interested in ideology, but in social justice, a piece of land, fair taxation, and to be left alone. Some interviews are used as voice-over. Participants, American and Vietnamese, are very natural, with little or no posturing for the camera. There are scenes of dead Viet Cong, and one showing a VC suspect being drowned to aid interrogation.
- DirectorSheldon CohenStarsRoch CarrierJean-Guy MoreauA French Canadian boy endures the terrible shame when he receives the hockey sweater of the wrong team.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsPascale BussièresAlexis MartinSerge ThériaultAfter surviving a car wreck virtually unscathed, a young model compels her best friend to impregnate her at the salt flats in Utah.
- DirectorJennifer BaichwalEdward BurtynskyStarsInocencia González SainzMarcus SchubertBill NanceA documentary on how water shapes humanity.
- DirectorAlan ZweigStarsMarc MaronGilbert GottfriedRodney DangerfieldSurveys the history of Jewish comedy.
- DirectorJohn GreysonStarsJohn RobinsonNormand FauteuxDianne HeatheringtonAn immortal, bigoted, unethical taxidermist is doing research on "Patient Zero", the gay flight attendant who allegedly was the first to bring AIDS to North America, for a museum show about contagious diseases, helped by the man's ghost.
- DirectorJoyce WielandA single shot, repeated between intervals, of pedestrians and traffic on a street with the caption '1933' occasionally displayed.
- DirectorPhilip Hoffman
- DirectorMichael SnowStarsAllan KaprowEmmett WilliamsMax NeuhausA camera in a classroom continuously sways back and forth at various speeds as people occasionally move around the setting.
- DirectorAlan ZweigStarsJack BreakfastHoward EngelWhat gives your life meaning? Family, yoga, good food, those shoes that were on sale? Ray Robertson outlines this own list in his non-fiction book "Why Not: Fifteen Reasons To Live?" And that has inspired Alan Zweig's documentary feature 15 Reasons To Live, which takes up that list as a call to adventure. The 15 reasons are: Love, Solitude, Critical Mind, Art, Individuality, Home, Work, Humor, Friendship, Intoxication, Praise, Meaning, Body, Duty and Death.
- DirectorBernard ÉmondStarsLuc PicardDiane LavalléeZhenhu HanThis is the story of Gerard, a man who miraculously survived an explosion that destroyed his apartment and killed a lot of people. During the next few days he tries to find out why he survived and others died.
- DirectorLéa PoolStarsMatthias HabichJohanne-Marie TremblayMichel VoïtaA war photographer returns home to Montréal to discover that his two partners have left him to be together. Alone in the city, he photographs what he sees, trying to heal both his war memories and a broken heart.
- DirectorEric TillStarsJerry OrbachPatricia CollinsBurgess MeredithA writer has a mental breakdown, unable to deal with the society around him. Based on Frederick Exley's novel.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsViggo MortensenMaria BelloEd HarrisA mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core.
- DirectorRobin AubertStarsTrystan BouthillierRichard RobitaillePatrick HivonA disturbed young man pairs up with his grumpy grandfather for a road trip in search of his father who left town after digging up the corpse of his wife.
- DirectorChristopher ChapmanA multi-image large-format film showcasing life in Ontario without narration and dialogue.
- DirectorHubert AquinStarsJacques Godbout-Documentary made by Hubert Aquin in 1962 about a 24-hour tour of the popular Saint-Henri district in Montreal (in the province of Quebec, Canada). We discover the simplicity of this uninhibited population, neither very rich nor absolutely poor, which has begun to decline as Saint-Henri is no longer the kingdom of the tanneries it once was. The film was inspired by the novel Bonheur d'occasion by Gabrielle Roy.
- DirectorArthur LipsettStarsKonrad AdenauerVannevar BushReginald CudlippFrom Arthur Lipsett, another incisive short film that looks at human might, majesty and mayhem. Compiled from some peculiar newsreel items of the last 50 years, the filmmaker calls this a time capsule, yet his arrangement of pictures makes it almost explosive. There are hundreds of items, once front-page stuff, but all wryly grotesque when seen in this reshuffle of the past.
- DirectorPhilip HoffmanStarsGeorge Lachlan BrownBill FitzgeraldMike HoolboomAn experimental documentary that takes as its starting point a nineteenth century farmhouse in Southern Ontario, Canada, and asks the question "what has been here before?"
- DirectorRichie MehtaStarsRupinder NagraNaseeruddin ShahSeema BiswasWhen Amal impresses an eccentric millionaire with his humility and humanity, he unknowingly becomes the old man's beneficiary.
- DirectorJen SoskaSylvia SoskaStarsKatharine IsabelleAntonio CupoTristan RiskThe allure of easy money sends Mary Mason, a medical student, into the world of underground surgeries which ends up leaving more marks on her than her so-called "freakish" clients.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsCharles AznavourBrent CarverEric BogosianInterrogated by a customs officer, a young man recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the Armenian genocide.
- DirectorBrigitte BermanStarsArtie ShawJohn BestLee CastleDocumentary cataloging the life and music of the band leader and clarinetist, Artie Shaw.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsBurt LancasterSusan SarandonKate ReidIn a corrupt city, a small-time gangster and the estranged wife of a pot dealer find themselves thrown together in an escapade of love, money, drugs and danger.
- DirectorTahani RachedIn a poor eastern quarter of Montreal, a restaurant is dedicated for the poors only: le Chic Resto Pop. It used the surplus of some merchants to offer cheap meals. The young people who work there for free get a lot of satisfaction in their work in spite of the difficulties. The movie is build around six songs written by them.
- DirectorAndré ForcierStarsGuy L'EcuyerMichel CôtéPierre GiardA friendship between a good man with bowling as his only passion and a queer albino.
- DirectorJean Pierre LefebvreStarsEric BeauséjourYves BenoîtSylvie BrousseauA teenager rebels against an oppressive ideology enforced by the authoritarian administration of his school and is committed to a mental institution.
- DirectorAlan BunceStarsGordon PinsentGavin MagrathElizabeth HannaIn his spectacular film debut, young Babar, King of the Elephants, must save his homeland from certain destruction by Rataxes and his band of invading rhinos.
- DirectorTim SouthamStarsPeter OuterbridgeJonathan ScarfeJoanne KellyTragedy strikes the young people of a rural New Brunswick community when they become involved with a scheming and violent ex-con.
- DirectorJean BeaudinStarsRoy DupuisJacques GodinJean-François PichetteIt's hard to review this movie without giving anything away. Suffice it to say that it depicts the crime of one member of a gay male relationship and the desperate struggle for the lead character to make those around him understand the reason for his crime.
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsAnnette BeningMichael GambonMaury ChaykinSet in 1930s London, this movie involves stage actors and actresses and their experiences with love and revenge.
- DirectorJason BuxtonStarsConnor JessupAlexia FastMichael BuieAn alienated teenager's posturing online threat ignites a firestorm of fear in a small community.
- DirectorNorman McLarenThe surreal story of a bird and its cage with both their conflict and union.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsGretchen KrichSullivan BrownMaya LawsonReturned home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
- DirectorMichael SnowThe camera slowly advances across an overladen breakfast table, knocking objects out of shot, followed by an ironic commentary.
- DirectorAnne WheelerStarsRebecca JenkinsLuke ReillyMichael OntkeanStory about a WWII wife & mother who joins a local dance band to provide for family while husband at war. Romantic involvement with one of the band members make her decisions difficult when husband returns from war. Story watches the progression of the band as it grows into a popular, successful recording and touring group. Excellent music and soundtrack.
- DirectorRuba NaddaStarsPatricia ClarksonAlexander SiddigElena AnayaA romantic drama about a brief, unexpected love affair that catches two people completely off-guard.
- DirectorDavid Rimmer
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsEugene LevyAndrea MartinRonald UlrichA young couple spend the night in an old farmhouse owned by a reverend, only to find out that it is also lived in by beautiful women who hunger after human flesh.
- DirectorMort RansenStarsGraham BournsJan CassonMalcolm DeanWhen a camera crew are sent to document hippie protests in Yorkville, Canada's counter-culture capital, they are charmed by a group of misunderstood kids with their own ideas about what kind of movie to make.
- DirectorJack ChambersA fixed aperture records the circular passing of a year, focused on one point in the filmmaker's backyard, recording changes in light and color for four seconds daily at 10 a.m.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsAtom EgoyanArsinée KhanjianHome video documentary on director Atom Egoyan and his wife, Arsinée Khanjian's visit to her home city of Beirut, Lebanon.
- DirectorBruce McDonaldStarsJuliette LewisGina GershonMickey RourkeA woman gets in way over her head when she's in the wrong place at the wrong time.
- DirectorWarren P. SonodaStarsBoyd BanksJennifer BaxterMike BeaverUsing a professional-grade video camera, a dysfunctional family records their Christmas Day 1985, which descends into total chaos.
- DirectorSherry WhiteStarsMary WalshMeghan GreeleyCheryl WellsLife in a small town isn't easy and for Mitsy, it's especially rough.
- DirectorRichard KerrShot during the opening stages of the First Gulf War, Kerr's "Cruel Rhythm" revisits the American desert for a cinematic tone poem in the vein of 'The Last Days of Contrition' A canopy of sound bites of media coverage on the build
- DirectorBruce McDonaldStarsRyan Rajendra BlackAdam BeachJennifer PodemskiA story of life on a First Nations reserve in Ontario: Silas and Frank are trying to get into college to train to be mechanics but they find themselves having to deal with girls, family - and murder.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsJohn MarleyLynn CarlinRichard BackusA young soldier killed in the Vietnam War inexplicably shows up at his family home on the night of his death.