Wednesday, September 27, 2017

100 Best Canadian Films – Olena Decock

My first memories of Olena are from our undergrad in Canadian cinema classes back at the University of Ottawa – a period of taking Gary Evans courses on the NFB and John Grierson, and going through the classic Canadian cinema books like those by Leach and Melnyk.
I’m no longer sure how exactly we got there but I have a nice memory of attending that year's Genies (now the Canadian Screen Awards) where we got to meet Dave Foley and one of the Passchendaele producers (this was before either of us have seen it).
Fast-forward a few years and we’re both living in Toronto working in the industry and it’s good to know that the passion is still going strong. For Olena this includes working for both TIFF and Hot Docs in their Industry Programming.
Finally, I’m really impressed with the selection and variety on Olena’s list as it reflects a deep knowledge of Canadian cinema and a sincere appreciation. Thanks for contributing!
Here’s hoping, what with all of the current changes in film funding and production in this country, that new and interesting works will keep on getting made. Though I’m sure that it will!
100 Best Canadian Films is an open series of personal surveys of the history of Canadian cinema. Other lists includes those by Dan Browne, Réalisatrices Équitables and Films Fatales Montréal, Helen Faradji, Fabrice Montal, Stephen Broomer, Paul Corupe, David L. Pike, Jerry White, André Loiselle, Paul WilliamsGreg Klymkiw, Pat MullenJason AndersonDaniel KremerYves Lever, Piers HandlingMarcel JeanMike Hoolboom and myself. Please let me know if you’re interested in contributing. – D.D.

***
Confessions of a Canadianaphile 
I started off with good intentions. “I know a hundred essential Canadian works”, I said with conviction. But my list of titles scribbled on a piece of paper amounted to much more than a hundred. 
I tried to eliminate titles. “Perhaps I could neglect some of the classic films”, I said to myself. Many names will surely be repeated on other lists in this blog. But in re-watching works by Roman Kroiter, Arthur Lispett or Ryan Larkin online, they still elicit wonder. 
I tried to compromise. “Perhaps, I'll just list feature films instead of essential works”, I said in desperation. But denying that Kids in the Hall, Emily Kai Bock or Simon Olivier Fecteau had any influence on the Canadian cinema zeitgeist felt neglectful. Denying these works as essential reimagines cinema as a silo, rather than a complex weave of references and influences.
I resolved to cheat. And here we are: 150 essential works to mark what they say is a 150 years, in chronological order to map the changing tides of the cultural landscape. Everything from a harrowing doc showcasing the pov of a rape victim; an Oscar-winning animated short film; a CBC television series concentrated around mocking the CBC itself; and even an unnecessarily controversial comedy (remember when that federal bureaucrat was fired for organizing a screening of Young People Fucking?); there's something for everyone. Some are the best; some are the most influential; but all are not-to-be-missed. – O.D.

Olena Decock’s 150 Best Canadian Films

Year
Title
Director
Format
1952
Neighbours
Norman McLaren
Short
1954
Corral
Colin Low
Short
1954
Paul Tomkowicz: Street-railway Switchman
Roman Kroiter
Short
1957
Chairy Tale, A
Norman McLaren, Claude Jutra
Short
1958
Days Before Christimas, The
Wolf Koenig, Terence Macartney-Filgate, Stanley Jackson
Short
1958
raquetteurs, Les
Michel Brault, Gilles Groulx
Short
1961
Very Nice, Very Nice
Arthur Lispett
Short
1962
Lonely Boy
Wolf Koenig, Roman Kroitor
Short
1963
Pour la suite du monde
Pierre Perrault, Michel Brault
Documentary
1964
À tout prendre
Claude Jutra
Feature Length
1964
Nobody Waved Goodbye
Don Owen
Feature Length
1965
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen
Donald Brittain, Don Owen
Documentary
1967
In the Labyrinth
Roman Kroitor, Colin Low, Hugh O’Connor
Documentary
1967
Things I Cannot Change, The
Tanya Ballantyne Tree
Documentary
1967
Warrendale
Allan King
Documentary
1968
Pas de deux
Norman McLaren
Short
1968
Walking
Ryan Larkin
Short
1969
A Married Couple
Allan King
Documentary
1970
Goin' Down the Road
Don Shebib
Feature Length
1970
On est au coton
Denys Arcand
Documentary
1971
Acadie, l'Acadie?!
Pierre Perrault, Michel Brault
Documentary
1971
Mon oncle Antoine
Claude Jutra
Feature Length
1972
Street Musique
Ryan Larkin
Short
1975
Shivers
David Cronenberg
Feature Length
1977 - 1993
Passe-Partout

TV Series
1979
Brood, The
David Cronenberg
Feature Length
1979
Fast Company
David Cronenberg
Feature Length
1979
Mourir à tue-tête
Anne-Claire Poirier
Feature Length
1980
Sweater, The/Le chandail
Sheldon Cohen
Short
1981
Not a Love Story: A Film About Pornography
Bonnie Sherr Klein
Documentary
1981
confort et l'indiférence, Le
Denys Arcand
Documentary
1983
Videodrome
David Cronenberg
Feature Length
1984
Sonatine
Micheline Lanctôt
Feature Length
1985
Anne of Green Gables
-
TV Series
1986
déclin de l'empire américain, Le
Denys Arcand
Feature Length
1986
Fly, The
David Cronenberg
Feature Length
1987
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
Patricia Rozema
Feature Length
1988
Dead Ringers
David Cronenberg
Feature Length
1988 - 1994
Kids in the Hall
-
TV Series
1989
Jésus de Montréal
Denys Arcand
Feature Length
1990 - 1996
Road to Avonlea
-
TV Series
1991
Highway 61
Bruce McDonald
Feature Length
1991
Montréal vu par...
multiple directors
Feature Length
1992
Léolo
Jean-Claude Lauzon
Feature Length
1993
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
Alanis Obomsawin
Documentary
1993
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
François Girard
Feature Length
1993 - 2008
Royal Canadian Air Farce
-
TV Series
1993 - present
This Hours Has 22 Minutes
-
TV Series
1994
Double Happiness
Mina Shum
Feature Length
1994
Exotica
Atom Egoyan
Feature Length
1994
Yes Sir! Madame...
Robert Morin
Feature Length
1995
confessionnal, Le
Robert Lepage
Feature Length
1995
When Night is Falling
Patricia Rozema
Feature Length
1996 - 1997; 2003 - 2005
The Newsroom
-
TV Series
1996
Hard Core Logo
Bruce McDonald
Feature Length
1996
Kissed
Lynne Stopkewich
Feature Length
1996
Tu as crié LET ME GO
Anne-Claire Poirier
Documentary
1997
Cube
Vincenzo Natali
Feature Length
1997
Project Grizzly
Peter Lynch
Documentary
1997
Sweet Hereafter, The
Atom Egoyan
Feature Length
1998
violon rouge, Le
Francois Girard
Feature Length
1998 - 2000
Twitch City
-
TV Series
1999
Emporte-moi
Léa Pool
Feature Length
1999
Last Night
Don McKellar
Feature Length
1999
New Waterford Girl
Allan Moyle
Feature Length
2000
Maelstrom
Denis Villeneuve
Feature Length
2000
waydowntown
Gary Burns
Feature Length
2001
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
Zacharias Kunuk
Feature Length
2001
invasions barbares, Les
Denys Arcand
Feature Length
2001
Un crabe dans la tête
André Turpin
Feature Length
2001-2018
Trailer Park Boys
-
TV Series
2002
Bollywood/Hollywood
Deepa Mehta
Feature Length
2002
FUBAR
Mike Dowse
Feature Length
2003
La grande seduction
Jean-François Pouliot
Feature Length
2003
Love that Boy
Andrea Dorfman
Feature Length
2003
Mambo Italiano
Émile Gaudreault
Feature Length
2003
Saddest Music in the World, The
Guy Maddin
Feature Length
2004
Ryan
Chris Landreth
Short
2004
Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire
Peter Raymont
Documentary
2005
C.R.A.Z.Y.
Jean-Marc Vallée
Feature Length
2005
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen, Jessica Joy Wise
Documentary
2005
Water
Deepa Mehta
Feature Length
2006
Away From Her
Sarah Polley
Feature Length
2006
Manufactured Landscapes
Jennifer Baichwal
Documentary
2006
Monkey Warfare
Reg Harkema
Feature Length
2006
Une dimanche à Kigali
Robert Favreau
Feature Length
2007
Eastern Promises
David Cronenberg
Feature Length
2007
My Winnipeg
Guy Maddin
Documentary
2007
Up the Yangtze
Yung Chang
Documentary
2007
Young People Fucking
Martin Gero
Feature Length
2009
Cairo Time
Ruba Nadda
Feature Length
2009
Carcasses
Denis Côté
Documentary
2009
Invisible City
Hubert Davis
Documentary
2009
J'ai tué ma mère
Xavier Dolan
Feature Length
2009
Polytechnique
Denis Villeneuve
Feature Length
2009
Reel Injun
Neil Diamond
Documentary
2010
Hard Core Logo 2
Bruce McDonald
Feature Length
2010
High Cost of Living, The
Deborah Chow
Feature Length
2010
How to Be Alone
Andrea Dorfman
Short
2010
Incendies
Denis Villeneuve
Feature Length
2010
Modra
Ingrid Veninger
Feature Length
2010
Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen
Documentary
2010
This Movie is Broken
Bruce McDonald
Feature Length
2011
Café de Flore
Jean-Marc Vallée
Feature Length
2011
Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster
Nathan Morlando
Feature Length
2011
Hobo With a Shotgun
Jason Eisener
Feature Length
2011
Monsieur Lazhar
Phillippe Falardeau
Feature Length
2011
"Niagara Falls" by Ohbijou
Jared Raab
Music video
2011 - 2014
En audition avec Simon
-
Web series
2012
100 Musicians
Charles Officer
Short
2012
Boxing Girls of Kabul
Ariel Nasr
Documentary
2012
Crackin' Down Hard
Mike Clattenburg
Short
2012
End of Time, The
Peter Mettler
Documentary
2012
Goon
Mike Dowse
Feature Length
2012
Laurence Anyways
Xavier Dolan
Feature Length
2012
Lesser Blessed, The
Anita Doron
Feature Length
2012
Liverpool
Manon Briand
Feature Length
2012
"Oblivion" by Grimes
Emily Kai Bock
Music video
2012
Rebelle
Kim Nguyen
Feature Length
2012
Stories We Tell
Sarah Polley
Documentary
2012
World Before Her, The
Nisha Pahuja
Documentary
2013
Asphalt Watches
Shayne Ehman and Seth Scriver
Feature Length
2013
F Word, The
Mike Dowse
Feature Length
2013
Grand Seduction, The
Don McKellar
Feature Length
2013
Noah
Walter Woodman, Patrick Cederberg
Short
2013
Rhymes for Young Ghouls
Jeff Barnaby
Feature Length
2013
Sarah préfère la course
Chloé Robichaud
Feature Length
2013
Vic + Flo Saw a Bear
Denis Côté
Feature Length
2013
When Jews Were Funny
Alan Zweig
Documentary
2014
"Beat the Drum Slowly" by Timber Timbre
Chad Vangaalen
Music video
2014
Heartbeat
Andrea Dorfman
Feature Length
2014
In Her Place
Albert Shin
Feature Length
2014
My Prairie Home
Chelsea McMullan
Documentary
2014
Porch Stories
Sarah Goodman
Feature Length
2014
Tu dors Nicole
Stéphane Lafleur
Feature Length
2014
Valley Below, The
Kyle Thomas
Feature Length
2015
Bacon & God's Wrath
Sol Friedman
Short
2015
Closet Monster
Stephen Dunn
Feature Length
2015
How Heavy This Hammer
Kazik Radwanski
Feature Length
2015
HURT
Alan Zweig
Documentary
2015
Ninth Floor
Mina Shum
Documentary
2015
o negative
Steve McCarthy
Short
2015
Sleeping Giant
Andrew Cividino
Feature Length
2016
Angry Inuk
Alethea Arnaquq-Baril
Documentary
2016
Jean of the Joneses
Stella Meghie
Feature Length
2016
Old Stone
Johnny Ma
Feature Length
2016
Operation Avalanche
Matt Johnson
Feature Length
2016
Stairs, The
Hugh Gibson
Documentary
2016
"Miniskirt" by Braids
Kevan Funk
Music video
2017
Unarmed Verses
Charles Officer
Documentary