Northern lights: Canada's top filmmakers in the spotlight

 

By: Constance Droganes, CTV.ca

Date: Tue. Sep. 1 2009 10:10 AM ET

Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan ("Chloe") won't be alone in the limelight at the 34th Toronto International Film Festival. From Guy Maddin's latest world premiere to a new gem from two-time Oscar nominee Cordell Barker, these "made-in-Canada" moviemakers are also poised to make Hollywood North Shine.

Night Mayor
Guy Maddin, director

The National Film Board of Canada celebrates its 70th anniversary in style at TIFF, serving up a stellar selection of must-see flicks. Topping the list is the world premiere of "Night Mayor," the latest film from Genie-winning director Guy Maddin.

Set in 1939, the year Scots immigrant John Grierson founded the National Film Board of Canada, "Night Mayor" bears all the vivid, dream-like whimsy this Winnipeg auteur does best.

Nihad Ademi, a Bosnian immigrant, is the star of this fantastical tale. Serving as Winnipeg's "night mayor," Nihad recruits his large family to harness the multi-coloured waves of the Aurora Borealis. With untold power now at his fingertips this inventor retreats to his drab little apartment-cum-laboratory. There he concocts a device to broadcast images of his cherished adoptive land all across Canada.

Before you can down a toasty Beaver Tail Nihad's invention plumbs the depths of his subconscious and transmits his thoughts into the unpredictable ethers. The ensuing spectacle gives Canadian citizens a coast-to-coast sense of connection and wonder.

"I followed my first impulse. I knew this had to be typically Canadian tale," says Maddin, the director of such acclaimed films as "My Winnipeg," "Heart of the World," "The Saddest Music in the World" and the cult classic "Tales from the Gimli Hospital."

Putting his signature spin on the Canadian immigrant experience, "Night Mayor's" hero comes to Canada and unites the country in a unique way, says Maddin. "I think of this as a little musical allegory on how people struggle to knit together and define themselves as Canadian."

Runaway
Cordell Barker, director

In his visionary new short "Runaway" Cordell Barker makes a big departure from his earlier Oscar-nominated flicks "The Cat Came Back" (1988) and "Strange Invaders" (2001). Ditching madcap whimsy for black comedy, "Runaway" presents today's crazy, mixed-up world like a driverless train. As it hurtles over bumpy tracks towards disaster the flick's inventive animation style sweep us along for the ride.

"I was thinking about society spinning out of control," Barker told CTV.ca. "I found myself looking at the news and hearing people say 'We have to change to make this world better.' But they didn't change their lives or make any real concessions to do it. I was like Cassandra the prophetess in those Greek myths," he laughs. "I was constantly asking myself 'Am I the only one who sees all this?'"

"Runaway's" dizzying chaos is made more compelling with its musical score by Benoît Charest ("The Triplets of Belleville").

Whether "Runaway" earns Barker a third Oscar nod remains to be seen. But the ride on this crazy iron horse earned him a big thumbs-up at the Cannes Film Festival.

"The audience applauded when the credits came up and at the end of the movie," says Barker. Surprised and overwhelmed, the Canadian filmmaker says, "I walked on the city streets and had strangers come up and say 'We love your work.' It doesn't get any better than that."

The Spine
Chris Landreth, director

Blending CGI animation with his unique, surreal styling, Landreth makes the marital woes of a long-wed couple the star of "The Spine." A man who is figuratively and literally spineless is the hero in Landreth's follow-up to his 2004 Oscar winner, "Ryan." Facing the breakdown of his 26-year-long marriage this weak-kneed hubby whimpers and moans about his troubles. But his plight and Landreth's animation genius keeps us hooked. Winner of the Best of the Festival award at 2009's Melbourne International Animation Festival.

Vive la Rose
Bruce Alcock, director

Debuting in Toronto, "Vive la Rose uses a unique tryptych visual design to dramatize an old Canadian song about loss. Inspired by the 18th-century song by late Newfoundland musician Émile Benoit, a simple man sings a last farewell to the woman he loves after she dies. Alcock brilliantly uses their enduring love and this song to pay homage to the land, sea and harsh lives of the local fisherman.

Reel Injun
Neil Diamond, director

Making its world premiere in TIFF's Real to Reel section, Neil Diamond's "Reel Injun" serves up a witty look at Native American Indians in Hollywood movies. Typecast for decades, this entertaining documentary delves into America's myth-like perceptions of North American Natives. From Hollywood's earliest days and beyond, "Reel Injun" spotlights the many ways showbiz shaped pop culture's understanding and misconceptions about Native Americans Indians all around the world.

Deadman
Chelsea McMullan, director

Like Don Quixote Matt Sandvoss, the hero of Chelsea McMullan's new documentary, sets out on an all-consuming quest to build a ghost town in remote British Columbia. But his self-ordained mission quickly riles one Native inhabitant. An intriguing documentary take on passion and delusion. Produced as part of the NFB-TVO Calling Card Program for emerging filmmakers.

Man v Minivan
Spencer Maybee, director

The Canadian Film Centre also brings a new film of note to TIFF 09. In "Man v Minivan" Spencer Maybe sheds a sparkling light on youthful, pre-marital jitters. On the brink of "happy" wedlock, Shane (Marc Bendavid ("Murdock Mysteries," "Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning") gets a fully-loaded minivan as a gift from his in-laws. The surprise backfires, forcing Shane to admit that he doesn't want to get married. With his best man urging him to the altar and a psychic stripper begging him to reconsider, Shane's last hour as a single man forces him to choose between the wedded life laid out for him and his real true love.

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