Whether it’s the African family happily reuniting over Tim Horton’s coffee or the glossy magazine rankings of successful émigrés, narratives about the immigrant experience permeate Canadian media and popular culture. But, though ubiquitous, these scripts rarely speak to the nuances of immigration, and hardly ever touch on its quiet trauma.
A flash of red socks punctuated an impeccable suit as director Whit Stillman took the stage at Toronto’s Royal Cinema last December. He was about to address an audience which had just watched his 1998 film The Last Days of Disco–the second feature in a two-night event honouring the American filmmaker–and seemed jarred by the beaming faces filling the College Street theatre.