HAPPY CANADIAN NATIONAL FILM DAY! Enjoy some great Canadian CINEMA AT HOME
Here’s the second installment of The Film House’s recommendations for films worth seeing at home, coming to you every Wednesday from now until, uh, who knows…
The community of independent filmmakers and distributors has banded together in remarkable ways to create new methods for films to find audiences. It’s a testament to the passion people have for this art form that so much is happening to keep cinema alive and relevant. The Film House Programming Group is part of this network and as always, we’re searching for those rare titles where excellence and the extraordinary meet. Whether it’s a freshly released feature, an insightful documentary, an inimitable classic, or something off-beat and far-out, we continue to search for titles to share with our unique community of film-lovers.
Today is National Canadian Film Day, a massive one-day, coast-to-coast-to-coast celebration of Canadian cinema and we’ve got you connected to a couple of great Film Day events.
Crave subscribers should head to Sophie Deraspe’s modern adaptation of the classic Greek tragedy Antigone. It took home the prize for Best Canadian Film at last fall’s TIFF and The Toronto Star’s Peter Howell raves, “Antigone is one of the best films of 2019 and not just here at home … Deraspe settles into a gripping portrait of a family in crisis, a heroic tale of sibling loyalty, and a searing indictment of an immigration and justice system that is big on law and order but short on compassion.”
Also, The Grey Fox has been restored and re-released for virtual cinema rental after years of languishing in a morass of distributor entanglement. It is considered by many critics to be Canada’s greatest film. Real life former rodeo-rider and stuntman Richard Farnsworth gets his first crack at being in the centre of the frame at 60 years and then some. He gives a performance that is understated and in matched step with director Phillip Borsos’ authentic depiction of the Canadian West. It’s available to screen for a limited time, from today to the end of April for $7.99 CDN. Here’s how to watch The Grey Fox. Half of your purchase price goes to support The Film House at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.
Today is also Earth Day, made more significant as we reorient ourselves to this often inexplicable life-supporting place. Wonders of the Arctic is a cinematic journey through this vast landscape. It tells of our explorations and how we are coming to terms with this mysterious place while also bringing a unifying message about the state of the Arctic today. This free screening is offered through the Canadian Museum of History until the 24th of April.
Visit The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre’s Film House web page for a listing of films available for virtual screening, updated regularly.
Stephen Remus,
Member of the Film House Programming Group
The Film House Programming Group is: Barry K. Grant, Joan Nicks, Sara Palmieri, Natasha Pedros, Stephen Remus, Kasia Smuga, and Annie Wilson
