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Category: Film

  • Iconic movie and TV characters played by Canadians to recreate this Halloween

    If you haven’t picked your Halloween costume for this year yet, here’s a list of characters notorious for their unique style. By: Anna Maria Moubayed (Abby Grant / CanCulture) As Halloween slowly begins to approach, many people go through their existing wardrobe to put together a fun costume, while others start hunting for costume ideas…

  • Whatever it takes: Degrassi’s impact in Canada’s television legacy

    A look into how Degrassi tackled the realities of high school By Severina Chu (Degrassi/Facebook) Usually when people remember Degrassi, what comes to mind is its tumultuous on-and-off relationships as told with a soap-opera style of narrative. When I think of Degrassi, I get flashbacks to my memories of watching Degrassi, laughing with my friends…

  • Hollywood North 2021 Look Ahead: What’s filming in Canada?

    From Vancouver to Toronto, productions are still on the go bringing in stars like Jason Mamoa and Halle Berry to Canada throughout 2021. By, Alya Stationwala With many productions shutting down across the U.S., Canada continues COVID precautionary productions on multiple feature films across the country. Masked-up and temperature checks on-site, Hollywood North is up…

  • Films that will make it a very Canadian Valentine’s Day

    Exploring some of the best Canadian contributions to romantic films  By, Aishah Ashraf This year welcomes our first experience with Valentine’s Day in the midst of a global pandemic, leaving us all to our lonesome. Whether it be because you and your significant other are restricted by social distancing or that you’re just enjoying the…

  • In memoriam Christopher Plummer 1929 – 2021

    Toronto-born actor Christopher Plummer passed away on Friday morning.  By, Federico S. Gutierrez Actor Christopher Plummer is photographed at the Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills (a Four Season Hotel), on Jan. 10, 2014. (Liz O. Baylen/Los Angeles Times).  A dedicated artist, Plummer’s career spanned for over 60 years, gracing both the stage and the silver screen…

  • 2021 Watchlist: Canadian Must See Movies

    The cinema experience is taking a whole different route this year with pandemic restrictions on a high, but it doesn’t mean we are short of any new releases in the up-coming months.  By, Alya Stationwala With COVID-19 still taking a toll on events and social life, the movie industry has taken a major hit, with…

  • Retro review: The Dead Zone

    David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Stephen King’s prophetic novel By, Federico S. Gutierrez (Still image of The Dead Zone, courtesy of IMDB.) What if you had a chance to change destiny? Such is the dilemma the hero of The Dead Zone is faced with.  Johnny Smith was your average elementary school English teacher who seemed to…

  • The lack of representation in Canada’s TV and film industry is failing BIPOC creatives

    Canada still falls behind in representing those from racialized communities in key roles on screen and behind the camera By Serena Lopez  Photo Courtesy of Smart Incentives  In 2018, Samora Smallwood had just given her all in an audition for a role in a crime show. It was an eight-episode series shooting in Bulgaria that…

  • Art in motion: 5 Canadian films that intersect with art

    These five contemporary Canadian films marry moviemaking and visual storytelling to produce stimulating experiences for art and film lovers.  By: Madeline Liao Films are often considered works of art. There are some, however, with more visually artistic aspects than others. Some films incorporate extraordinary efforts of creative directions in methods of costume, makeup, cinematography, and…

  • TV Shows You Didn’t Know Were Filmed in Toronto

    Toronto, the city of TV-filming hotspots By Alyssa Bravo The on-going COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of us to stay home but fortunately, we have several forms of entertainment at our disposal to keep us at bay. Whether it be through cable, a streaming service, or even Blu-ray/DVD boxsets, many of us have turned to…

  • Canada at War: Remembering Our Veterans through Film

    6 movies to watch in honour of Remembrance Day By Federico Sierra In Flanders fields, the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row,     That mark our place; and in the sky     The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.   Remembrance Day is the day where we remember all of…

  • The answer is: the world will miss Alex Trebek

    Following the death of “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, Canada has begun to process the loss of an icon and a beacon of positivity. By Shannon Schaefer A memorial set up outside of Alex Trebek’s Canadian Star of Fame, near  Simcoe and King St., Toronto on Nov. 8, 2020. (Shannon Schaefer/CanCulture) Longtime “Jeopardy!” host and Canadian-born…

  • LGBTQIA+ people can’t stay in the Canadian film industry’s closet

    The LGBTQIA+ community has worked for decades to be seen, stop shutting the door By Devon Harvey  (Shannon Schaefer/ CanCulture) Have you ever found yourself sitting on the couch with your snacks perusing the seemingly endless options of Netflix, Amazon Prime, or other streaming services? You take your time choosing the perfect film just to…

  • 5 Horror Movies you didn’t know were filmed in Canada

    Canada: a hotspot for Hollywood’s horror season By: Ruby Asgedome Fall has always been a well-loved season. The changing colors of leaves on trees, the cold breeze, the pumpkin spice lattes, it’s no wonder the season is so appealing to many. Of course, with fall comes the Halloween season. During the spooky season, many of…

  • Review: Possessor

    An unforgiving stomach-churning thriller about identity crisis and corporate espionage (Photo courtesy IMDB) By, Federico S. Gutierrez The name Cronenberg is synonymous with the body-horror genre that exploded during the 1980s, and that is not a coincidence. Brandon is the son of legendary Canadian director David Cronenberg, and his 2020 film Possessor exhibits an indisputable…

  • Review: Boreal to Barrenlands – Crossing Labrador

    A documentary capturing the beauty of Canadian landscapes Photo: Alex Traynor/Northern Scavenger via Canadian Geographic By Minh Truong In the summer of 2019, four paddlers traversed through the Canadian last natural frontiers of Labrador. Their story did not go untold, however, as Boreal and Barrenlands – Crossing Labrador captures their expedition filled with joys, pains…

  • Social distancing got you down? Here’s 3 Canadian movies on Netflix to keep you company

    By Alya Stationwala With a worldwide pandemic on our hands, the Canadian government has urged people to avoid large gatherings and stay close to home. Streets empty and events cancelled, COVID-19 has very abruptly changed our lives into entering a health crisis quarantine. So, while you are stuck in your room getting through another canned…

  • Best of Female Directors at Carlton Cinema

    As part of one of the many film festivals sponsored by WILDsound, the Female Directors Short Film Festival at Carlton Cinema in Toronto included films from Canada, Australia and the U.S. By Ivonne Flores Kauffman WILDsound Festival accomplished to bring together Toronto’s cinephiles for a night of great short films, directed by and starring women,…

  • Review: Polytechnique – In memory and reflection on International Women’s Day

    By Federico Sierra On March 8, women and their stories are celebrated worldwide to remind us to constantly strive towards equality in our communities. Women have come a long way to gain rights and equality; however, as Denis Villeneuve’s 2009 film Polytechnique shows us, women in modern society are still victims of misogyny. On a…

  • Canada at the 2020 Academy Awards

    View this post on Instagram Congratulations to this year’s #Oscars nominees! Click the link in our bio for the full list. A post shared by The Academy (@theacademy) on Jan 13, 2020 at 5:45am PST Photo: theacademy via Instagram By Alya Stationwala The biggest night in Hollywood is coming up on Feb. 9 and within…

  • Review: Incendies – A family’s legacy scarred by war

    Lubna Azabal as Nawal in Incendies (Courtesy of Scope Cast via YouTube) By Federico Sierra An immigrant tale disguised as a family drama, Incendies follows twins Jeanne (Melisa Desormeaux-Poulin) and Simon Marwan (Maxim Gaudette) in a journey to discover the mysteries of their family’s past. The movie opens when the twins are called by their…

  • Review: She Never Died

    By Alya Stationwala After the cult-horror success of He Never Died in 2015, this Canadian sequel brings a female centric twist to the gory noir comedy that brought Henry Rollins his lead actor debut in a feature film.  Produced and directed by Canadian Audrey Cummings (Berkshire County), a scary movie veteran, She Never Died reintroduces…

  • Remembering the victims of the Holocaust through film

    By Ivonne Flores Kauffman It has been over 70 years since the world witnessed one of the darkest chapters of human history — the Holocaust. Even though the Holocaust led to the killing of over six million Jews, today its testimony is beginning to fade. According to a survey released in January by the Azrieli…

  • Review: Honey Bee – A Canadian film about human trafficking

    Director Rama Rau’s first fictional feature is a beautiful, raw and honest piece about an alarming issue within Canadian society Photo courtesy A71 Entertainment By Ivonne Flores Kauffman Rama Rau, an award-winning director best known for her documentaries League of Exotique Dancers and The Daughter Tree makes her transition into fiction with Honey Bee. Honey…

  • Canadian horror movies to watch this Halloween

    By Alya Stationwala Spooky season is finally here! If you’re looking for something to watch in the dark, look no further. While Freddy Krueger and Michael Meyers may be wandering the streets of the U.S., here are some purely Canadian features that will have you begging for a Timmies Double Double to keep you from…

  • TIFF 2019 Review: There’s Something in the Water

    A still from Canadian documentary film There’s Something in the Water. (Courtesy of TIFF) By Federico Sierra Released at TIFF 2019, Ellen Page and Ian Daniel’s brave documentary There’s Something in the Water aims to expose corporations polluting the East-Canadian landscape.  This film shows Page, a Canadian award-winning actress, stepping behind the camera in a…

  • TIFF 2019 Review: Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger

    A still from Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger. (Courtesy of TIFF) By Bree Duwyn Alanis Obomsawin’s latest documentary is an eloquently produced film that shines a light on Jordan’s Principle, a law that states Canada must provide necessary and vital services to Indigenous children who require it. “Everything is important to me that I’ve worked…

  • TIFF 2019 Review: Guest of Honour

    David Thewlis as Jim in Guest of Honour. (Courtesy of TIFF) By Maria Paglinawan Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan fails to live up to his Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter success in this multi-layered film that attempts to be like a psychological melodrama, but is really just a headache of multiple flashback after flashback. Guest of…

  • TIFF 2019 Review: Clifton Hill

    Tuppence Middleton as Abby in Clifton Hill. (Courtesy of TIFF) By Ivonne Flores Kauffman Albert Shin, award-winning Canadian director of In Her Place and Point Traverse, presented his third feature Clifton Hill at TIFF 2019. The film, a psychological thriller, tells the story of Abby (Tuppence Middleton), a perturbed young woman, who returns to her…

  • TIFF 2019 Review: American Woman

    Hong Chau as Jenny Shimada in American Woman. (Courtesy of TIFF) Revisiting the 70s heated American political landscape By Federico Sierra Canadian-American screenwriter Semi Chellas makes her feature directorial debut at TIFF 2019 with American Woman. A-two-time Emmy nominee, Chellas is best known for her work on TV as a writer for the The Eleventh…