Best Canadian Films by Year
Best feature film from Canadian Film Awards, Genie Awards, and Canadian Screen Awards.
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- DirectorF.R. CrawleyStarsGeorge GormanThe Tsimshian legend of a blind old medicine man and the origin of the distinctive white pattern on the neck of the loon.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorF.R. CrawleyStarsFrank PeddieGordon PinsentA portrait of Newfoundland that records a way of life that has all but disappeared.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorRené DelacroixGratien GélinasStarsFred BarryMonique MillerDenise PelletierAfter returning home from war, an ill-tempered young soldier must deal with his sweetheart having married another man.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorChristopher ChapmanA documentary film on the subtle and changing seasons through the passing year in one small part of Ontario.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorMorten ParkerStarsJohn DrainieMichael BatesLloyd BochnerThe story of the founding, by Stratford-born journalist Tom Patterson, of the Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada, which opened in July of 1953 with a performance of "Richard III" starring Alec Guinness. Expanding in the years since to include many other great works of the theatre other than Shakespeare, it is now known simply as the Stratford Festival of Canada and is the largest classical repertory theatre in North America.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorWolf KoenigColin LowStarsPierre BertonAuthor Pierre Berton tells the history of his hometown of Dawson City at its heyday during the Klondike Gold Rush.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorRoman KroitorColin LowStarsDonald MacRaeDouglas RainA journey through the universe as it would appear to a space traveler beginning at the David Dunlap Observatory on Earth.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorWolf KoenigRoman KroitorStarsPaul AnkaJules PodellA documentary chronicling the career of teen singing star Paul Anka (the title is taken from one of his hit songs).Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorClaude JutraStarsClaude JutraJohanne HarelleVictor DésyA man struggles with his identity, his life choices, his interracial relationship, and his latent homosexuality. A portrait of some young intellectuals in early sixties Montreal.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorMichel BraultPierre PerraultStarsLéopold TremblayAlexis TremblayAbel HarveyAt the instigation of the filmmakers, the young men of the Ile-aux-Coudres in the middle of the St-Lawrence River try as a memorial to their ancestors to revive the fishing of the belugas interrupted in 1924.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsRobert ShawMary UreLiam RedmondAn out-of-work Irish immigrant in Montreal remains hopeful that his luck is about to change but his disillusioned family grow tired of his pigheadedness and instability.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorFernand DansereauStarsAlain CunyJean-Guy SabourinJacques GodinA young Jesuit missionary reflects on his life and his faith while awaiting his execution at the hands of the Native Americans he came to convert.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorBeryl FoxStarsBernard FallThai NguyenA documentary on the war in South Vietnam shot entirely on location. There is no narration and no use of archive footage. The participants speak for themselves. The filmmakers spend time with units from many services: army, tanks, marines, ARVN, air cavalry. They accompany an air force napalm and strafing attack on a Viet Cong bunker complex. There are many scenes both of Saigon streets and of peasant village life. Soldiers speak of their experiences and their mission to fight Communism in Vietnam. One American informant says that the Vietnamese peasant is not interested in ideology, but in social justice, a piece of land, fair taxation, and to be left alone. Some interviews are used as voice-over. Participants, American and Vietnamese, are very natural, with little or no posturing for the camera. There are scenes of dead Viet Cong, and one showing a VC suspect being drowned to aid interrogation.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorAllan KingStarsMartin FischerChronicles 7-weeks in the lives of 12 emotionally disturbed children and their therapist's experimental method of treatment at the Toronto-area Warrendale facility.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorDon OwenStarsAlexis KannerJudith GaultJackie BurroughsSet in mid-winter Montreal, a mentally unstable young man becomes involved with 2 women, which fuels his paranoia, forcing him to commit criminal acts.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorChristopher ChapmanA multi-image large-format film showcasing life in Ontario without narration and dialogue.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorPeter PearsonStarsChris WigginsKate ReidMargot KidderA poor bush worker refuses to sacrifice his dignity to provide his family with a better life.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorBretislav PojarStarsSevern DardenA scientist develops an unusual pair of eyeglasses which allows the wearer's mind to see things objectively rather than the usual subjective manner.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorDonald ShebibStarsDoug McGrathPaul BradleyJayne EastwoodTwo friends leave the picturesque yet rural province of Nova Scotia for the nightlife and culture of Toronto. They soon end up wistful and nostalgic about Nova Scotia though after finding out that Toronto isn't as fun as they'd hoped.
- DirectorClaude JutraStarsJacques GagnonLyne ChampagneJean DuceppeSet in cold rural Quebec at Christmas time, we follow the coming of age of a young boy and the life of his family which owns the town's general store and undertaking business.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorWilliam FruetStarsDonald PleasenceCarol KaneDoris PetrieA father will do anything to protect his family's reputation when his unmarried teenage daughter becomes pregnant because she was raped by her brother's friend.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorDavid AcombaStarsLuke AskewPatti OatmanEli RillA reclusive Albertan DJ runs his popular pirate radio station in a remote farmhouse but begins to feel pressure from his romantic relationship with a fan and his producer who wants more mainstream content.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsRichard DreyfussMicheline LanctôtJack WardenIn a bid to gain respect, the neglected younger son of a working class Jewish family in Montréal embarks on a series of get-rich-quick schemes to buy land surrounding a lake.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorMichel BraultStarsHélène LoiselleJean LapointeGuy ProvostA fact-based account of ordinary citizens who found themselves arrested and imprisoned without charge for weeks during the October Crisis in 1970 Quebec.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorJán KadárStarsYossi YadinLen BirmanMarilyn LightstoneA Jewish boy grows up in 1920s Montreal with a grandfather who tells stories and a father who won't work.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorJean BeaudinStarsMarcel SabourinMonique MercureMarthe ThierryThe wife of photographer J. A. Martin decides to go with him in his tour of the hard Canadian countryside at the turn of the century. She hopes the intimacy will revive their marriage.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorDaryl DukeCurtis HansonStarsElliott GouldChristopher PlummerSusannah YorkA timid bank teller anticipates a bank robbery and steals the money himself before the crook arrives. When the sadistic crook realizes he's been fooled, he tracks down the teller and engages him in a cat-and-mouse chase for the cash.Canadian Film Awards
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGeorge C. ScottTrish Van DevereMelvyn DouglasAfter experiencing tragic personal losses, a music professor rents a Seattle mansion, haunted by a slain boy.Genie Awards
- DirectorFrancis MankiewiczStarsCharlotte LaurierMarie TifoGermain HoudeA woman is overwhelmed with having to deal with her emotionally unstable daughter, mentally-challenged brother and two suitors while simultaneously trying to run her small firewood business.Genie Awards
- DirectorRalph L. ThomasStarsNick MancusoSaul RubinekMeg FosterDavid is a young man seduced by a religious cult that uses starvation, exhaustion, and brainwashing to mold recruits into money hustling disciples of a messiah-like leader. Chronicles David's chilling transformation into a gaunt, mindless shadow of his former self...and his ultimate salvation when friends and family launch a plan to kidnap and deprogram him.Genie Awards
- DirectorPhillip BorsosStarsRichard FarnsworthJackie BurroughsKen PogueWhen an aging, but gentlemanly stagecoach robber is released from prison, he decides to go to Canada to become a train robber.Genie Awards
- DirectorRalph L. ThomasStarsEric FryerRobert DuvallChris MakepeaceThe true story about the Canadian cancer amputee hero who decided to run across Canada on only one leg to raise money for cancer research.Genie Awards
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsLiv UllmannKiefer SutherlandPeter DonatA teenage boy living in a Cape Breton coal mining community during the 1930's finds himself contemplating life and is haunted by a murder he witnessed in town.Genie Awards
- DirectorSandy WilsonStarsMargaret LangrickJohn WildmanRichard DonatAdding an intriguing Canadian twist to a universally appealing story of teenage trials, My American Cousin begins as bored 12-year-old Sandy (Margaret Langrick) is preparing for another long summer of cherry picking when suddenly her older, James Dean-cool cousin Butch (John Wildman) arrives unexpectedly from California in a red Cadillac convertible. Sandy and her pre-teen friends fall madly for Butch's rock 'n' roll swagger, but he's more interested in making time with the local girls and getting in fistfights than in playing chauffeur to Sandy. Both have a lot to learn about life and each other, but united under the strict parental rule of Sandy's dad, they vow to make this summer a truly unforgettable experience. Capturing the restlessness of youth with a fresh and funny perspective, Wilson's genuinely charming period piece is forever reaching for lost innocence as it playfully contrasts Canadian and American attitudes. My American Cousin has remained a consistent favourite for Canadians and non-Canadians.Genie Awards
- DirectorDenys ArcandStarsDominique MichelDorothée BerrymanLouise PortalSexual revelations emerge when a group of academics and their partners spend a weekend at a country retreat.Genie Awards
- DirectorJean-Claude LauzonStarsGilles MaheuRoger LebelCorrado MastropasquaMarcel, recently released from prison, attempt to rebuild his relationship with his girlfriend Julie (now a prostitute) and especially his father Albert (who thinks he's been away on a long trip abroad), while being pursued by two corrupt cops (one of whom bears a longstanding grudge against him) for drug money he's alleged to possess...Genie Awards
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeremy IronsGeneviève BujoldHeidi von PalleskeTwin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.Genie Awards
- DirectorDenys ArcandStarsLothaire BluteauCatherine WilkeningJohanne-Marie TremblayA group of actors put on an unorthodox, but acclaimed Passion Play which incites the opposition of the Catholic Church while the actors' lives themselves begin to mirror the Passion itself.Genie Awards
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsLothaire BluteauAden YoungSandrine HoltIn the 17th century, a Jesuit missionary nicknamed Black Robe by the natives and his small party of companions try reaching the Huron tribe in Canada all while facing mistrust, Iroquois warring parties and harsh winter conditions.Genie Awards
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsPeter WellerJudy DavisIan HolmAfter developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills his wife and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in a port town in North Africa.Genie Awards
- DirectorFrançois GirardStarsColm FeoreDerek KeurvorstKatya LadanA collection of vignettes highlighting different aspects of the life, work, and character of the acclaimed Canadian classical pianist.Genie Awards
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsBruce GreenwoodElias KoteasDon McKellarA man plagued by neuroses frequents the club Exotica in an attempt to find solace, but even there his past is never far away.Genie Awards
- DirectorRobert LepageStarsLothaire BluteauPatrick GoyetteJean-Louis MilletteThe year is 1952, in Québec City, Québec. Rachel (Suzanne Clément), sixteen, unmarried, and pregnant, works in the church. Filled with shame, she unburdens her guilt to a young Priest under the confidentiality of the confessional. In the present year of 1994, Pierre Lamontagne (Lothaire Bluteau) has returned to Québec to attend his father's funeral. He meets up with his adopted brother, Marc (Patrick Goyette), who has begun questioning his identity and has embarked on a quest for his roots that would lead them to the Québec of the 1950s. Past and present converge in a complex web of intrinque where the answer to the mystery lies.Genie Awards
- DirectorJohn GreysonStarsIan D. ClarkMarcel SabourinAubert PallascioWhen a bishop comes to a prison to hear the confession of an old friend he is forced to watch a play, performed by the inmates, about their youth together, love and betrayal.Genie Awards
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsIan HolmSarah PolleyCaerthan BanksA bus crash in a small town brings a lawyer to defend the families, but he discovers everything isn't what it seems.Genie Awards
- DirectorFrançois GirardStarsCarlo CecchiJean-Luc BideauChristoph KonczA red-colored violin inspires passion, making its way through three centuries over several owners and countries, eventually ending up at an auction where it may find a new owner.Genie Awards
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsRalph FiennesRosemary HarrisRachel WeiszThe fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century.Genie Awards
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsMarie-Josée CrozeJean-Nicolas VerreaultStephanie MorgensternAfter plunging her car into a river, a woman encounters a man who helps her come to terms with her life.Genie Awards
- DirectorZacharias KunukStarsNatar UngalaaqSylvia IvaluPeter-Henry ArnatsiaqThe telling of an Inuit legend of an evil spirit causing strife in the community and one warrior's endurance and battle of its menace.Genie Awards
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsCharles AznavourBrent CarverEric BogosianInterrogated by a customs officer, a young man recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the Armenian genocide.Genie Awards
- DirectorDenys ArcandStarsRémy GirardDorothée BerrymanStéphane RousseauDuring his final days, a dying man is reunited with old friends, former lovers, his ex-wife, and his estranged son.Genie Awards
- DirectorSylvain ChometStarsMichèle CaucheteuxJean-Claude DondaMichel RobinWhen her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters--an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire--to rescue him.Genie Awards
- DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsMichel CôtéMarc-André GrondinDanielle ProulxA young French Canadian, one of five boys in a conservative family in the 1960s and 1970s, struggles to reconcile his emerging identity with his father's values.Genie Awards
- DirectorErik CanuelStarsMichel BeaudryPatrice BélangerPierre BoudreauTwo Canadian detectives, one from Ontario and the other from Quebec, must work together when a murdered victim is found on the Ontario-Quebec border.Genie Awards
- DirectorSarah PolleyStarsJulie ChristieMichael MurphyGordon PinsentA man coping with the institutionalization of his wife because of Alzheimer's disease faces an epiphany when she transfers her affections to another man, Aubrey, a wheelchair-bound mute who also is a patient at the nursing home.Genie Awards
- DirectorPaul GrossStarsPaul GrossMichael GreyeyesJames KotThe lives of a troubled veteran, his nurse girlfriend and a naive boy intersect first in Alberta and then in Belgium during the bloody World War I battle of Passchendaele.Genie Awards
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsMaxim GaudetteSébastien HuberdeauKarine VanasseA dramatization of the 1989 Montréal Massacre, during which several female engineering students were murdered by an unstable misogynist.Genie Awards
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsLubna AzabalMélissa Désormeaux-PoulinMaxim GaudetteTwins journey to the Middle East to discover their family history and fulfill their mother's last wishes.Genie Awards
- DirectorPhilippe FalardeauStarsMohamed FellagSophie NélisseÉmilien NéronAt a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom. While helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed.Genie Awards
- DirectorKim NguyenStarsRachel MwanzaAlain Lino Mic Eli BastienSerge KanyindaSomewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, Komona, a 14-year-old girl, tells her unborn child growing inside her the story of her life since she has been at war. Everything started when she was abducted by the rebel army at the age of 12.Canadian Screen Awards
- DirectorLouise ArchambaultStarsGabrielle Marion-RivardAlexandre LandryMélissa Désormeaux-PoulinGabrielle is a young woman with Williams syndrome who has a contagious joie de vivre and an exceptional musical gift. Since she met her boyfriend Martin, at the recreation centre where they are choir members, they have been inseparable. However, because they are "different," their loved ones are fearful of their relationship. As the choir prepares for an important music festival, Gabrielle does everything she can to gain her independence. As determined as she is, Gabrielle must still confront other people's prejudices as well as her own limitations in the hope of experiencing a love far from the "ordinary".Canadian Screen Awards
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsAnne DorvalAntoine Olivier PilonSuzanne ClémentA widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household.Canadian Screen Awards
- DirectorLenny AbrahamsonStarsBrie LarsonJacob TremblaySean BridgersA little boy is held captive in a room with his mother since his birth, so he has never known the world outside.Canadian Screen Awards
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsGaspard UllielMarion CotillardLéa SeydouxLouis (Gaspard Ulliel), a terminally ill writer, returns home after a long absence to tell his family that he is dying.Canadian Screen Awards
- DirectorAisling WalshStarsSally HawkinsEthan HawkeZachary BennettAn arthritic Nova Scotia woman works as a housekeeper while she hones her skills as an artist and eventually becomes a beloved figure in the community.Canadian Screen Awards
- DirectorGeneviève Dulude-De CellesStarsRobin AubertJosée BeaulieuEmilie BierreBetween high school pressure and family disorganisation, Mylia is trying to find her bearings. Meeting Jacinthe and Jimmy will lead her to outline a new life.Canadian Screen Awards
- DirectorSophie DeraspeStarsNahéma RicciRachida OussaadaNour BelkhiriaA modern adaptation of the classic Greek tragedy which falls within a social realism. To the law of men, the young Antigone apposes her own sets of values.
- DirectorTracey DeerStarsKiawentiioRainbow DickersonViolah BeauvaisBased on true events, Tracey Deer's debut feature chronicles the 78-day standoff between two Mohawk communities and government forces in 1990 Quebec.
- DirectorShasha NakhaiRich WilliamsonStarsLiam DiazMekiya FoxAnna Claire BeitelScarborough is the film adaptation of the award-winning novel by Catherine Hernandez. Over the course of a school year, 3 kids in a low-income neighbourhood find community and friendship at a drop-in reading program.