Call me a film fanatic, but I think we’re overdue for a Canadian movie appreciation day.
There is a whole community of filmmakers on our doorsteps, making great films every year, but most people never get to see any of them thanks to the fact that there’s no real funding for big promotion. (Not to mention that most cinemas won’t make room for a Canadian film that they know audiences aren’t going to see… because they don’t get promoted enough.)
Over the past few years I’ve seen some great movies. Some of them would premier at the Toronto International Film Festival and get some buzz, but when it came time for an actual release, they would get released at some out-of-the-way cinema, and then vanish. I’m talking about good films like Weirdsville, Fido, Bon Cop Bad Cop, C.R.A.Z.Y., The Tracey Fragments, or how about the Academy Award-nominated Away from Her?
This is just a brief list from the last couple of years, and there are lots of others out there. I know the big fight is to get more Canadian films in more cinemas, but I think the baby step is to pick a day (or maybe even a week) each year and get people across the country interested in picking up DVDs, going out to a cinema, or even just browsing through The Movie Network on Demand to see one of these great films.
Quebec has a vibrant filmmaking community that is appreciated by the public, so why can’t the rest of Canada find a few films to support? Anyone else with me on this?
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