100 Best Canadian Films - Mike Hoolboom

The first guest contribution to 100 Best Canadian Films (after my own) by the author of the most recent Underground: The Untold Story of the Funnel Film Collective and recipient of the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts, Mike Hoolboom. These lists are meant to be subjective assessments of Canadian cinema’s film history. – D.D.

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I’m going to leave this list short, to leave room for all the movies that I’ve left out. The names that don’t appear below must be the most important ones, part of the avalanche of offscreen moments, the pictures waiting on the fringe. Is it too much to call them the unconscious? The unnamed that are forever calling us back. As opposed to the too obvious sirens, the ones dressed in their gaudy clothes, pronouncing their excellence. – M.H.

Mike Hoolboom’s 111 Best Canadian Films

- Primiti Too Taa by Ed Ackerman (1986)

- Excess is What I Came For by Kathleen Pirrie Adams and Paula Gignac (1994)

- Death in the Garden of Paradise by Nurjahan Akhlaq (2004)

- Bunte Kuh by Ryan Ferko, Parastoo Anoushahpour, Faraz Anoushapour (2015)

- Pretending We Are Indians by Katherine Asals (1988) 

- I Am Always Connected by Phillip Barker (1998)

- Winnipeg Babysitter by Daniel Barrow (2005-2006)

- Being Fucked Up by Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby (2000)

- Love Hurts by Susan Britton (1977)

- Full Moon Darkness by Carl Brown (1985)

- Su Naa (My Big Brother) by Helen Haig-Brown (2005)

- Life is Pornography by Jubal Brown (2005)

- In the form of the letter ‘X’ by Mike Cartmell (1985) 

- Wanda and Miles by Leslie Loksi Chan (2007)

- Sackville I’m Yours by Colin Campbell (1972)

- Eight Frames per Second by Chuck Clark (1987) 

- Buffalo Bone China by Dana Claxton (1997)

- Metronome by Daniel Cockburn (2002)

- A Documentary by Frank Cole (1979)

- The Mountenays by Frank Cole (1981)

- Minimum Charge No Cover by Holly Dale and Janis Cole (1976)

- P4W: Prison for Women by Holly Dale and Janis Cole (1981)

- Ready to Cope by Aleesa Cohene (2006)

- The Encyclopedia of Natural Defects by Sharon Cook (1986)

- Reading Between the Lines by Martha Davis (1989)

- Maltese Cross Movement by Keewatin Dewdney (1967)

- Eye of the Mask by Judith Doyle (1985)

- 1857 (Fool’s Gold) by Bruce Elder (1981)

- A Knight’s Walk by Clint Enns (2014)

- Trapline by Ellie Epp (1976)

- Under Chad Valley by Jeff Erbach (1998)

- Candy Kisses by Jane Farrow and Allyson Mitchell (1999)

- You Take Care Now by Ann Marie Fleming (1989)

- Sea in the Blood by Richard Fung (2000)

- Undivided Attention by Chris Gallagher (1987)

- Borders/Bordes by Alexandra Gelis (2010)

- A Simple Rhythm by Tess Girard (2011)

- Fig Trees by John Greyson (2009)

- Mary Mary by Anna Gronau (1989)

- House Movie by Rick Hancox (1972)

- Waterworx (A Clear Day and No Memories) by Rick Hancox (1982) 

- There is a Rally by Keith Hlady (1986)

- passing through/torn formations by Phil Hoffman (1988)

- Hello Ingmar. Have You Seen Me? by Gunilla Josephson (2000)

- Shooting Indians: a Journey with Jeffrey Thomas by Ali Kazimi (1997)

- Continuous Journey by Ali Kazimi (2004)

- Dunmovin by Jim Kelly (1970)

- Dinky Menace by Robert Kennedy (2000)

- The Last Days of Contrition by Richard Kerr (1988)

- Does the Sand Hear the Waves? by Taravat Khalili (2016)

- We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties. Regular Programming Will Resume Momentarily by John Kneller (1997) 

- Paul Tomkowicz: Street-railway Switchman by Roman Kroitor (1954)

- Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner by Zacharias Kunuk (2001)

- The Street by Caroline Leaf (1976)

- Subrosa by Helen Lee (2000)

- Minima Moralia by Robert Lee (1998) 

- The Orientation Express by Francis Leeming (1987)

- Very Nice, Very Nice by Arthur Lipsett (1961)

- Everything Everywhere Again Alive by Keith Lock (1974)

- Enlightened Nonsense by Deirdre Logue (1997-2000) 

- City of Gold by Wolf Koenig and Colin Low (1957)

- Tampon Thieves by Jorge Lozano (1996)

- illegal_its impact on the body by Jorge Lozano (2016)

- Escape Velocity by Alex Mackenzie (2000)

- My Winnipeg by Guy Maddin (2007)

- Iconography of Venus by Annette Mangaard (1987)

- Second Impressions by Lorne Marin (1975)

- Pure Sin by Tanya Mars (1986) 

- Pas de deux by Norman McLaren (1968)

- Frostbite by Wrik Mead (1996)

- Gambling, Gods and LSD by Peter Mettler (2002) 

- Mobilize by Caroline Monnet (2015)

- Joan and Stephen by Monique Moumblow (1996)

- Wee Requiem by Jenn E. Norton (2010)

- Softening by Kelly O’Brien (2012)

- Light Magic by Izabella Pruska-Oldenhof (2001)

- Ville? Quelle Ville? by Midi Onodera (1984)

- Basic Motel by Andrew Paterson (1980)

- Springtime in Greenland by John Paizs (1981)

- Kris Chews Spaghetti by Jeffrey Paull (1997) 

- Midnight Reader by Jan Peacock (2004)

- Archaeology of Memory by Gary Popovich (1992)

- Firefly by John Porter (1980) 

- Work by Paulette Phillips and Geoffrey Shea (1987)

- Animated Self-Portraits by Madi Piller (2012)

- View of the Falls from the Canadian Side by John Price (2006)

- Up to the South (Taleen a Junuub) by Walid Ra’ad and Jayce Salloum (1993)

- Live to Tell by Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay (2002)

- Amerika by Al Razutis (1972-1983)

- Sad Disco Fantasia by Steve Reinke (2001)

- Ask the Insects by Steve Reinke (2005)

- Al Neil/A Portrait by David Rimmer (1979)

- This is Not Beirut (There Was and There Was Not) by Jayce Salloum (1994)

- Sweetblood by Steve Sanguedolce (1993)

- Anti-Sleekness Was Always My Weakness by Nadia Sistonen (1991)

- New York Eye and Ear Control by Michael Snow (1964)

- Chroniques by Mirha Soleil-Ross (1992)

- How the Hell Are You? by Veronika Soul (1972)

- The Blood Records: written and annotated by Kim Tomczak and Lisa Steele (1999)

- At Present by Barbara Sternberg (1990)

- In Still Time by Leslie Supnet (2015)

- Songstress by Althea Thauberger (2002)

- Francesca Woodman by Kate Thomas (1990)

- Whatever by Kika Thorne (1994)

- October 25th + 26th by Kika Thorne (1996)

- Tables of Content by Wendy Tilby (1986)

- Girl from Moush by Gariné Torossian (1993)

- Watersark by Joyce Wieland (1965)

- 60 Unit Bruise by Paul Wong (1976)

- Angel by Wayne Yung (1999)

- Vinyl by Alan Zweig (2000)