By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

A character drama disguised as a procedural, Prodigals gives a fresh coat of paint to the proverbial return to the hometown, in this particular case, Sault Ste. Marie (The Soo). There are no plain heroes and villains in this story, just a group of people struggling to keep their head above water. Friendships have grown complicated by familiarity, resentment, and lies. A lot of lies.

Prodigals was directed by Michelle Ouellet and written by Nicholas Carella, who also co-stars in the film. Ouellet and Carella are married and have collaborated in numerous projects in the past, including the 2013 feature Afterparty and the digital series Paranormal Solutions Inc. 

I had the chance to talk at length with Michelle and Nick. We discussed the challenges of juggling multiple roles on set, how to make BC look like Northern Ontario, and how to best use screen testing to improve your film.

Prodigals will play at the Vancity Theatre in Vancouver this Saturday, July 21st, and Thursday the 24th.

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By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

Interior British Columbia is having a moment. Two indie thrillers shot in sleepy communities east of Vancouver are hitting the screen this winter. Sweet Virginia, filmed in Hope, and Hollow in the Land, shot in Castelgar.

The director of the latter, Scooter Corkle, grew up in the Kootenays, and used his inside knowledge to capture the milieu of the area. The setting gives the movie a realistic vibe and a degree of freshness. It's also a reminder that the BC tax credit works all the same within and outside Vancouver.

The Canadian Crew talked at length with Scooter Corkle. We discussed the casting of Dianna Agron (understated and superb as the lead), the challenges of shooting in Castelgar, and his other project currently shaping up across the border. 

Thank you for considering buying us a cup of coffee. Your support will be used to maintain and improve our coverage of the Canadian arts.

By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

The 42nd edition of Toronto International Film Festival gave a fresh and diverse crop of Canadian filmmakers a chance to showcase their work. The most notable success story was the winner of Best First Feature Film, Wayne Wapeemukwa’s Luk’ Luk’I. The Best Canadian Feature Award went rather unexpectedly to a genre film, the French-Canadian zombie flick Les Affamés.

Steve Gravestock was directly involved in the selection of these movies. Alongside Magali Simard, Gravestock is the festival’s senior Canadian programmer and has been involved with TIFF for most of his professional life. We talked with Steve about trends in Canadian cinema, best practices for festival hopefuls, and the most interesting Canadian voices out there today.

By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

A new edition of the HotDocs Film Festival is upon us. This year's affair includes 230 features from 58 countries, among them, films by Joe Berlinger, Alex Gibney and Nick Broomfield.

Ahead of the event, The Canadian Crew had the opportunity to talk with the festival’s Canadian programmer, Aisha Jamal. We discussed selection criteria, common mistakes and how to capture a programmer’s attention. 

By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

A superb animated drama that proves you don’t need piles of money or Pixar-like precision to trigger an emotional response, Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming is my favorite Canadian film from last year.

The aforementioned Rosie (voiced by Sandra Oh) is a young writer with little life experience who gets the surprise of a lifetime when she is invited to a poetry festival in Iran. It’s not entirely out of the blue: Rosie is of Persian and Chinese descent, and is curious about her absent father’s land. The culture shock is considerable, but more so the discovery of how little she knows about her craft.

An already captivating plot is further improved by incorporating traditional Iranian poetry and dollops of history. The film’s look is deceptively simple and enables the participation of guest animators for the most lyrical sequences. There isn’t a weak link in this chain: Sandra Oh’s voice acting is on point, Don McKellar as a conceited German poet is a hoot and the narrative builds up to a powerful climax.

The Canadian Crew talked to the director of Window Horses, Ann Marie Fleming, who discusses the story’s long road to the big screen and how Sandra Oh was crucial for the movie to materialize.

By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

The Other Half is an intense drama starring Tom Cullen and Tatiana Maslany that follows two damaged people as they find their way to each other: One is a surly expat grief-stricken over his brother’s disappearance. The other one is a bipolar artist as compelling as troubled.

Despite a number of red flags, the two embark in a codependent relationship more resilient than anybody could have anticipated.

The Other Half is a ballsy film: It remains true to its characters, as difficult as they are. It nails bipolar disorder by keeping it grounded and renouncing to the hysterics American movies tend to use when depicting the condition.

The Other Half is Joey Klein first feature as writer/director. Up to now Klein was better known as a character actor. You may remember him for his stint as Dr. Jonathan Lyle in the CBC series This Life.

The Canadian Crew talked to Joey Klein about the film and how he convinced the very accomplished cast (including Maslany, Cullen, Henry Czerny and Suzanne Clément) to join him in this effort.

By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

A terrific feature debut by Canadian filmmaker Ashley McKenzie, Werewolf is a gritty look at a couple of opioid addicts trying to ‘get better’ in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. While not the most original idea, the film is interesting as it shows the twosome navigating Canadian bureaucracy as they try to attain a degree of normalcy.

While the female lead, Nessa, follows the often patronizing rules imposed by people in position of authority, her boyfriend Blaise becomes easily frustrated and lands in a vicious circle that prevents him from getting better. The relationship suffers because of it and, as painful and unfair as it sounds, cutting a loved one loose may be the only way out.

McKenzie used non-professional actors for Werewolf. The strategy pays off handsomely. Andrew Gillis and Bhreagh MacNeil give fresh and unassuming performances, captured in tight, oppressive shots.

The Canadian Crew talked to Ashley McKenzie during the latest Toronto Film Festival. During our conversation, the filmmaker discussed her relationship with Cape Breton, why she decided to go with amateur actors and how American Cinematographer magazine has shaped her work. 

Hannibal's food consultant, Janice Poon joins us in this week's Canadian Crew podcast. Poon discusses her career, her experience on set, how food presentation became a staple on the show and her upcoming book, "Feeding Hannibal". Bon appetit! 

The director and the lead actor of Closet Monster visit The Canadian Crew Podcast this week. Stephen Dunn and Connor Jessup discuss the challenges of tackling a coming-of-age story with surrealistic undertones and psychological baggage. Closet Monster is now playing in Toronto, and opens on July 22nd in Vancouver, St. John and Halifax.

The director of the documentary The Missing Ingredient: What Is the Recipe for Success, Michael Sparaga joins us in a new edition of The Canadian Crew podcast. Not long ago a producer and scriptwriter of fiction (Servitude, Sidekick), Sparaga has veered into documentary filmmaking. We talk about restaurants, wallpaper and how fandom is now more powerful than ever. The Missing Ingredient opens this Friday, July 15th, at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema.

The writer-director of the superb Quebecois drama Les Étres Chers (Our Loved Ones), Anne Émond, visits The Canadian Crew podcast. We discuss how to get a complex family drama off the ground, distribution woes and her upcoming film, Nelly, already in post-production.