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Canadian cinema refers to the filmmaking industry in Canada. Canada is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities: Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Industries and communities tend to be regional and niche in nature. Approximately 970 Anglophone-Canadian and 620 Francophone-Canadian feature-length films have been produced, or partially produced by the Canadian film industry since 1911.
The most critically acclaimed filmmakers from English Canada include David Cronenberg, Guy Maddin, Atom Egoyan, Allan King, and Michael Snow. The most critically acclaimed filmmakers from French Canada include Claude Jutra, Gilles Carle, Denys Arcand, Jean Beaudin, Robert Lepage, Denis Villeneuve and Michel Brault. Some Canadians migrate to the American industry in search of successful careers - Canadian filmmakers such as Norman Jewison, Jason Reitman, Paul Haggis and James Cameron have all received accolades and awards from the world's most prestigious honorary organizations, and have enjoyed commercial success as well. James Cameron, in particular, wrote and directed the highest and second-highest grossing films ever, Avatar and Titanic, respectively.
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The first films that were shot in Canada were made at Niagara Falls; Lumière, Edison, and Biograph all shot there in 1897. James Freer is recognized as the first Canadian filmmaker. A farmer from Manitoba, his documentaries were shown as early as 1897 and were toured across England in an effort to promote immigration to Manitoba.
The first fiction film, Hiawatha, The Messiah of the Ojibways, was made in 1903 by Joe Rosenthal and the first Canadian feature film, Evangeline, was produced by the Canadian Bioscope Company in 1913 and shot in Nova Scotia.
In 1917, the province of Ontario established the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau, "to carry out educational work for farmers, school children, factory workers, and other classes." The Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau followed in 1918.
In 1938, the Government of Canada invited John Grierson, a British film critic and film-maker, to study the state of the government's film production and this led to the National Film Act of 1939 and the establishment of the National Film Board of Canada, an agency of the Canadian government. In part, it was founded to create propaganda in support of the Second World War, and the National Film Act of 1950 gave it the mandate "to interpret Canada to Canadians and to other nations." In the late 1950s, Québécois filmmakers at the NFB and the NFB Candid Eye series of films pioneered the documentary processes that became known as "direct cinema" or cinema vérité.
Federal government measures as early as 1954, and through the 1960s and 1970s, aimed to foster the development of a feature film industry in Canada; in 1968 the Canadian Film Development Corporation was established (later to become Telefilm Canada) and an effort to stimulate domestic production through tax shelters peaked in the late 1970s (see Meatballs below).
As in all cinema, the line between broadcast and cinema continues to be blurred in Canada as the means of production and distribution converge.
A typical Canadian film production is made with money from a complex array of government funding and incentives, government mandated funds from broadcasters, broadcasters themselves, and film distributors. International co-productions are increasingly important for Canadian producers. Smaller films are often funded by arts councils (at all levels of government) and film collectives.
The National Film Board of Canada is internationally renowned for its animation and documentary production. More recently it has been criticized for its increasingly commercial orientation; only one third of its budget is now spent on the production of new films.
Much of Canada's film industry services American producers and films driven by American distribution, and this part of the industry has been nicknamed "Hollywood North".
The major production centres are Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver; Vancouver is the third largest film and television production centre in North America after Los Angeles and New York.
Alliance Atlantis (acquired by CanWest Global Communications in 2007) is the major Canadian distributor of American and international films and in 2003 it ceased to produce films (and almost all television) to focus almost exclusively on distribution. Lions Gate Entertainment has also become a major distributor in recent years.
Distribution continues to be a problem for Canadian filmmakers, though an established network of film festivals also provide important marketing and audience exposure for Canadian films. The major festival is the Toronto International Film Festival, considered one of the most important events in North American film, showcasing Hollywood films, cinema from around the world, and Canadian film. The smaller Vancouver International Film Festival features films from around the world, and festivals in Montreal, Sudbury (Cinéfest), and Halifax (Atlantic Film Festival)—among other cities—are also important opportunities for Canadian filmmakers to gain exposure among film audiences. Very often, however, a Canadian film's largest opportunity to achieve a significant audience comes from negotiating television carriage rights with a broadcaster such as CBC Television, TMN/Movie Central or Showcase.[1]
Of all Canadian cultural industries, English-Canadian cinema has the hardest time escaping the shadow of its American counterpart. Between the marketing budgets of mainstream films, and the largely US-controlled film distribution networks, it has been nearly impossible for most distinctively Canadian films to break through to a wide audience.[1] Although Canadian films have often received critical praise, and the National Film Board has won more Academy Awards than almost any other institution (for both their animation and documentary work), in many Canadian cities moviegoers do not even have the option of seeing such films, as they have poor distribution and are not shown at any theatres. One This Hour Has 22 Minutes sketch parodied an Atom Egoyan-like director whose films had won numerous international awards, but had never actually been released or exhibited.
Almost all Canadian films fail to make back their production costs at the box office. For example, Men With Brooms made CA$1,000,000 in its general domestic release, which by Canadian standards is fairly high. However, it was made on a budget of over CA$7,000,000. French-Canadian films, on the other hand, are often more successful—as with French-language television, the language difference makes Quebec audiences much more receptive to Canadian-produced films. In most years, the top-grossing Canadian film is a French-language film from Quebec. (See also Cinema of Quebec.) By comparison, Australian films, made in a country with a smaller population than Canada's, more frequently make their money back from the domestic market. Many do comparatively better; the best known example is Mad Max, made with the then unknown Mel Gibson, and with a budget of A$350,000, and which made A$5.6 million in its domestic release alone.
Although many Canadians have made their names in Hollywood, they have often started their careers in Los Angeles, despite Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal being thriving filmmaking centres in their own right. Some actors or directors who have started their early careers in Canada include: David Cronenberg, John Candy, Lorne Michaels, Dan Aykroyd, Michael J. Fox, Mike Myers, Ivan Reitman, Derek Harvie, Seth Rogen, Eugene Levy, Tom Green, Scott Mosier, and Paul Haggis. However, despite these successes, several actors have favoured moving to Los Angeles to further pursue their careers.
Canada's difficulties in the film industry are often difficult to explain. The following explanations have been proposed for why Canadian films and television have often failed completely to find an export market:
For many years the most successful Canadian film of all time at the Canadian box office was Porky's; it was produced by a Canadian team (though directed by an American and shot in Florida), but only with one of the major American studios backing distribution. (Porky's record was widely reported as broken in 2006 by the bilingual police comedy Bon Cop, Bad Cop, but that assessment does not take inflation into account. Porky's still retains its status as the most successful Canadian film internationally.)
Meatballs makes an excellent case study on common criticisms of the Canadian film industry. Produced and shot entirely in Canada on a budget of CA$1,600,000, it was a tremendous hit, one of the most financially successful Canadian films of all time.
As with Children of a Lesser God, although it takes place in a summer camp, there is nothing recognizably Canadian about the location or the characters, except for a Montreal Canadiens sweater.
The starring role went to American comedian Bill Murray in his earliest featured film role. The chief love interest was played by Canadian Kate Lynch, who won the Genie Award that year for Best Actress. The casting of Americans in the "Tax-Shelter Era", as well as today, often caters to an American audience. However, it provided Murray with his breakout role, which quickly led to major roles in Where the Buffalo Roam, Caddyshack, and Stripes.
Almost all of its box office gross was in the United States, where it took in US$43,000,000. It received a much more limited release in Canada. Despite its success, the sequel, Meatballs II, was made in the United States with a largely American cast. It was quickly forgotten, along with its Canadian produced follow-up, Meatballs III. None of the sequels even reached US$6 million in general release.
The Department of Canadian Heritage gave Telefilm Canada more funds in 2001 to help develop the Canadian film industry, with the goal of having Canadian feature films obtain 5% of the domestic box office by 2005.[1] Telefilm divided this between English films then capturing 4% of the market and French films at 12%. At first, the new initiative did not seem to be making much progress: at the end of 2003, English films represented only 1% of the domestic box office, while French films made up 20%. The overall goal of the Canada Feature Film Fund now is to have Canadian feature films capture 5% of the domestic box office by 2006, one year behind schedule.
According to Telefilm Canada, From Script to Screen, the two year old feature film policy created to improve the success rate of Canadian films, is seeing results. Before the initiative, the market share for Canadian films was 1.4% and is now 3.6%. Furthermore, the French-language cinema accounts for 20% of the market.
In recent years, there has been a cultural resurgence in Canada's aforementioned documentary stream. Films exploring Canada's identity and role on the world stage have become popular. Due to a political and social split between their American counterparts, Canadian independent documentaries have begun garnering a cult status. Current examples are Mark Achbar's award winning and top grossing Canadian feature documentary The Corporation, and Albert Nerenberg's underground hit Escape to Canada. These films not only nurture homegrown talent, inspiring local industry but also creating a unique voice for Canada itself.
For all the industry's challenges, quite a few Canadian films have succeeded in making a cultural impact. Some of the most famous or important Canadian films include:
See Also:
Canadian film tends to be more director-driven than star-driven, and have much more in common with the European auteur model of filmmaking than with the Hollywood star system. The most famous Canadian film directors are very often the real star power of their films, more so than the actors they cast.
Notable Canadian film directors include:
| Name | Lifetime | Notable works as Director |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Almond | b. 1931 | Isabel » The Act of the Heart » Journey |
| Denys Arcand | b. 1941 | La maudite galette » Réjeanne Padovani » Le déclin de l'empire américain » Jésus de Montréal » Les invasions barbares |
| Frédéric Back | b. 1924 | Tout rien » Crac » L'homme qui plantait des arbres » Le fleuve aux grandes eaux |
| Jean Beaudin | b. 1939 | Jeux de la XXIe olympiade » J.A. Martin, photographe » Cordélia » Le matou » Being at Home with Claude |
| Louis Bélanger | b. 1964 | Post Mortem » Gaz Bar Blues |
| Charles Binamé | b. 1949 | Eldorado » Le coeur au poing » Séraphin: un homme et son péché » Maurice Richard |
| Phillip Borsos | 1953–1995 | The Grey Fox » Bethune: The Making of a Hero |
| Michel Brault | b. 1928 | La lutte » Pour la suite du monde » Entre la mer et l'eau douce » Les ordres » Les noces de papier |
| Donald Brittain | 1928–1989 | Memorandum » Volcano » Paperland » The Champions » Canada's Sweetheart |
| Gary Burns | b. 1960 | Kitchen Party » waydowntown » Radiant City |
| Gilles Carle | 1928–2009 | La vie heureuse de Léopold Z » La vraie nature de Bernadette » La mort d'un bûcheron » La tête de Normande St-Onge » Les Plouffe |
| Marcel Carrière | b. 1935 | La lutte » Pour la suite du monde » Avec tambours et trompettes » O.K. ... Laliberté » Ti-mine, Bernie pis la gang... |
| Jack Chambers | 1931–1978 | Circle » The Hart of London |
| Denis Chouinard | b. 1964 | Clandestins » L'ange de goudron |
| F. R. Crawley | 1911–1987 | The Loon's Necklace » Newfoundland Scene |
| David Cronenberg | b. 1943 | Videodrome » Dead Ringers » Naked Lunch » Crash |
| Fernand Dansereau | b. 1928 | Astataïon ou Le festin des morts » Faut aller parmi l'monde pour le savoir » Doux aveux » La brunante |
| Xavier Dolan | b. 1989 | J'ai tué ma mère » Les amours imaginaires |
| Georges Dufaux | 1927–2008 | À votre santé » Au bout de mon âge » Les jardins d'hiver » Gui Daò - Sur la voie » 10 jours...48 heures |
| Christian Duguay | b. 1957 | Screamers » The Assignment » Joan of Arc » Hitler: The Rise of Evil |
| Atom Egoyan | b. 1960 | Speaking Parts » Exotica » The Sweet Hereafter » Felicia's Journey » Ararat » Chloe |
| Robert Favreau | b. 1948 | Les muses orphelines » Un dimanche à Kigali |
| Thom Fitzgerald | b. 1968 | The Hanging Garden » Beefcake » 3 Needles |
| André Forcier | b. 1947 | Bar Salon » Au clair de la lune » Une histoire inventée » Le vent du Wyoming |
| Beryl Fox | b. 1931 | One More River » Summer in Mississippi » The Mills of the Gods: Viet Nam » Saigon: Portrait of a City » Last Reflections on a War |
| François Girard | b. 1963 | Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould » The Red Violin |
| Jacques Godbout | b. 1933 | YUL 871 » Kid Sentiment » La gammick » Deux épisodes dans la vie d'Hubert Aquin » Alias Will James |
| John Greyson | b. 1960 | Zero Patience » Lilies » The Law of Enclosures » Fig Trees |
| Gilles Groulx | 1931–1994 | Golden Gloves » Le chat dans le sac » Où êtes-vous donc? » Entre tu et vous » 24 heures ou plus... |
| Claude Jutra | 1930–1986 | Les mains nettes » À tout prendre » Wow » Mon oncle Antoine » Kamouraska |
| Ron Kelly | b. 1929 | The Open Grave » The Gift » The Last Man in the World » Waiting for Caroline |
| Larry Kent | b. 1937 | The Bitter Ash » Sweet Substitute » When Tomorrow Dies » High » Mothers and Daughters |
| Allan King | 1930–2009 | Warrendale » A Married Couple » Who Has Seen the Wind » Termini Station » Dying at Grace |
| Wolf Koenig | b. 1927 | City of Gold » The Days Before Christmas » Glenn Gould: On & Off the Record » Lonely Boy » Stravinsky |
| Roman Kroitor | b. 1927 | Paul Tomkowicz: Street-railway Switchman » Universe » Lonely Boy » Stravinsky » Labyrinth |
| Jean-Claude Labrecque | b. 1938 | 60 cycles » La visite du général de Gaulle au Québec » Les smattes » Les vautours » La nuit de la poésie Trilogy |
| Arthur Lamothe | b. 1928 | Bûcherons de la Manouane » Poussière sur la ville » Le mépris n'aura qu'un temps » La conquête de l'Amérique |
| Micheline Lanctôt | b. 1947 | L'homme à tout faire » Sonatine » Deux actrices |
| Ryan Larkin | 1943–2007 | Syrinx » Cityscape » Walking » Street Musique |
| Jean-Claude Lauzon | 1953–1997 | Piwi » Un zoo la nuit » Léolo |
| Caroline Leaf | b. 1946 | The Owl Who Married a Goose » The Street » The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa » Two Sisters |
| Jacques Leduc | b. 1941 | On est loin du soleil » Tendresse ordinaire » Le dernier glacier » Trois pommes à côté du sommeil » La vie fantôme |
| Jean Pierre Lefebvre | b. 1941 | Abel Trilogy » Les maudits sauvages » Les dernières fiançailles » Avoir 16 ans » Les fleurs sauvages |
| Robert Lepage | b. 1957 | Le Confessional » Nô » Possible Worlds » La face cachée de la lune |
| Richard J. Lewis | Whale Music » Barney's Version | |
| Arthur Lipsett | 1936–1986 | Very Nice, Very Nice » Free Fall » 21-87 » A Trip Down Memory Lane » N-Zone |
| Colin Low | b. 1926 | The Romance of Transportation in Canada » Corral » City of Gold » Universe » Circle of the Sun |
| Guy Maddin | b. 1956 | Careful » The Heart of the World » The Saddest Music in the World » Brand Upon the Brain! » My Winnipeg |
| Francis Mankiewicz | 1944–1993 | Le temps d'une chasse » Les bons débarras » Les beaux souvenirs » Les portes tournantes |
| Bill Mason | 1929–1988 | Paddle to the Sea » The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes » Blake » Death of a Legend » Cry of the Wild » Song of the Paddle » Waterwalker |
| Bruce McDonald | b. 1959 | Roadkill » Highway 61 » Dance Me Outside » Hard Core Logo » The Tracey Fragments |
| Michael McGowan | b. 1966 | Saint Ralph » One Week |
| Norman McLaren | 1914–1987 | Begone Dull Care » Neighbours » Blinkity Blank » Rythmetic » A Chairy Tale » Mosaic » Pas de Deux |
| Deepa Mehta | b. 1950 | Sam and Me » Fire » Earth » Water » Heaven on Earth |
| Peter Mettler | b. 1958 | Scissere » The Top of His Head » Picture of Light » Gambling, Gods and LSD » Petropolis |
| Robert Morin | b. 1949 | Requiem pour un beau sans-coeur » Yes Sir! Madame... » Quiconque meurt, meurt à douleur » Le nèg' » Journal d'un coopérant |
| Allan Moyle | b. 1947 | The Rubber Gun » Pump Up the Volume » New Waterford Girl |
| Vincenzo Natali | b. 1947 | Cube » Cypher » Splice |
| Don Owen | b. 1935 | Nobody Waved Goodbye » Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen » Notes for a Film About Donna & Gail » The Ernie Game |
| Pierre Patry | b. 1933 | Trouble fête » Caïn » La corde au cou |
| Peter Pearson | b. 1938 | The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar » Paperback Hero |
| Pierre Perrault | 1927–1999 | L'Isle-aux-Coudres Trilogy » L'Acadie, l'Acadie » Un royaume vous attend » La bête lumineuse » L'oumigmag ou l'objectif documentaire |
| Clément Perron | 1929–1999 | Jour après jour » Taureau » Partis pour la gloire |
| Jeremy Podeswa | b. 1962 | The Five Senses » Fugitive Pieces |
| Sarah Polley | b. 1979 | I Shout Love » All I Want for Christmas » Away From Her |
| Anne Claire Poirier | b. 1932 | De mère en fille » Les filles du Roy » Le temps de l'avant » Mourir à tue-tête » Tu as crié: Let me go |
| Léa Pool | b. 1950 | La Femme de l'hôtel » Anne Trister » À corps perdu » Mouvements du désir » Emporte-moi » Lost and Delirious |
| David Rimmer | b. 1942 | Surfacing on the Thames » Variations on a Cellophane Wrapper » Canadian Pacific » Al Neil: A Portrait » As Seen on TV » Local Knowledge |
| Patricia Rozema | b. 1958 | I've Heard the Mermaids Singing » White Room » When Night is Falling |
| David Secter | b. 1943 | Winter Kept Us Warm » The Offering |
| Donald Shebib | b. 1938 | Goin' Down the Road » Between Friends » Heartaches » Running Brave » The Climb |
| Yves Simoneau | b. 1955 | Les yeux rouges » Pouvoir intime » Les fous de bassan » Perfectly Normal » Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee |
| John N. Smith | b. 1943 | First Winter » Train of Dreams » Welcome to Canada » The Boys of St. Vincent » Dieppe |
| Michael Snow | b. 1929 | Wavelength » <----> » La Région Centrale » Rameau's Nephew » Presents » So Is This » See You Later |
| Robin Spry | 1939–2005 | Flowers on a One-Way Street » Prologue » Action: The October Crisis of 1970 » One Man |
| Ralph L. Thomas | b. 1939 | Ticket to Heaven » The Terry Fox Story |
| Jean-Marc Vallée | b. 1963 | Les fleurs magiques » Liste noire » Les mots magiques » C.R.A.Z.Y. |
| Denis Villeneuve | b. 1967 | Un 32 août sur terre » Maelström » Next Floor » Polytechnique » Incendies |
| Clément Virgo | b. 1966 | Save My Lost Nigga Soul » Rude » The Planet of Junior Brown » Love Come Down » Poor Boy's Game |
| Anne Wheeler | b. 1946 | A War Story » Loyalties » Bye Bye Blues » Angel Square » The War Between Us |
| Sandy Wilson | b. 1947 | My American Cousin » My American Boyfriend » Harmony Cats |
Notable Canadian expatriate directors who are or have worked primarily in Hollywood include:
See also Category:Canadian film directors.
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