One major complaint film-goers have, is that there are not enough good movies made in Canada. That isn’t entirely true. There are good movies made here but most viewers don’t get to see them.
We published a lot of profiles from Canadian filmmakers in 2024. They all made amazing movies that are worth watching.
Let’s look back at some movies from last year that you should see.
In January we met with producers Jesse Boyco and Ryan Bright and discussed their psychological thriller, Zoe.mp4.
Zoe.MP4 is a brilliant psychological thriller. Emily Tennant is frightfully intense and convincing as Alina, the serial killer. The movie was shot in Vancouver and keep an eye out for streaming or broadcast options in the near future.
The next week in January, we met with Comedic performer, writer and director, Katie Burrell. She spoke with us about her feature length comedy Weak Layers.
Weak Layers is a throwback to those crazy and fun ski comedies from the 1980’s except from a modern, female perspective. If you missed it during it’s theatrical run, you can rent or buy it on Apple TV + as well as most streaming services.
January was a busy month, as we also spoke with director Kim Albright about her thought provoking, off-beat, dark comedy With Love and A Major Organ.
With Love And A Major Organ is surprisingly an adaptation of a play but you would never know it, as it’s very creative and cinematic. You can get the feature film, With Love And A Major Organ to rent and purchase on Apple TV +.
Kim Albright also has a website with all the information. If you scroll down to the “Watch Now” section, you’ll find all the viewing links.
Finally, at the end of January, we spoke with Ontario producers Aeschylus Poulos and John Galway about their compelling documentary The Graceless Age: The Ballad of John Murry.
This documentary tells the fascinating story of a musicians challenging journey, a surprising heritage connection and mental illness. You can rent or purchase The Graceless Age on Apple TV +
Director Rebecca Snow met with us at the Whistler Film Festival. She made the unbelievable adaptation of the true story of Max Smart and how he hid from Jew hunters in the woods, as a young boy in the Ukraine. You can read our conversation with Rebecca and the impressive young Vancouver actor Jett Klyne, about the must see The Boy In The Woods.
The Boy In The Woods is the best true story feature film released in 2024. We highly recommend it. You can buy or rent it on Apple TV +.
Queen of Bones was also a very well-made and entertaining period, supernatural feature film that we highly recommend. We spoke with Ontario producer and director Robert Budreau and Vancouver co-star Jacob Tremblay at the Whistler Film Festival.
Not only does Queen of Bones have an extremely unique and compelling story, the acting is exceptional. We are not sure where you can screen this movie currently but keep an eye out.
At Whistler, we also met with writer, director Laura Adkin and producer Krista Rand and discussed their award winning feature drama Re: Uniting.
Re: Uniting is like a modern Big Chill with some amazing performances from some Vancouver actors. It was filmed on Bowen Island and you can buy or rent it on Apple TV +.
BC Producer and Director Jason James spoke with us about his feature psychological thriller, Exile.
Exile keeps audiences in their seats the right way. It doesn’t use a lot of tricks in post but relies on a great story with very strong performances. Not just from the leads Adam Beach and Camille Sullivan but also from supporting roles like our friend Garry Chalk.
Rent or buy your copy on Apple TV +
The Hobby is a very fun documentary from Toronto filmmaker Simon Ennis who we met at South By SouthWest (SXSW) with many others from the team.
One element that set the TV show Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown apart from other travel shows was that the host was not a fish out of water. Food and restaurants was his world and he was exploring this amazing adventure from the inside, with his friends and peers. This is also what we loved about The Hobby. Simon and his friends are part of this amazing community. You get to meet excellent people and learn about some really intriguing and fun board games. We are hoping that this documentary about board games will be available to stream soon. There is another documentary, about card collecting, with the same name but from a filmmaker from Memphis.
Quebec has it’s own independent Film and Television industry and frankly, it makes the rest of us envious. Another director we met at SXSW was Annick Blanc to discuss her feature film Hunting Daze.
Although French should not be a foreign language in Canada, for most of us, it is. One test to know if a foreign language film is really good is when you no longer notice that you’re reading subtitles. Hunting Daze certainly does that. You can rent or buy this great movie on Apple TV +
Jackie Shane was an amazing singer/songwriter who had to move to Canada to escape persecution and be able to find an audience. At SWSW we sat down with the Canadian producing team behind Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story.
Just like Jackie, this documentary needs to find an audience because it’s very compelling, educational and entertaining. It was also made with the National Film Board (NFB) and has some incredible NFB animations that brings you into Jackie’s world. We hope you can watch Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane story in the near future.
Calgary raised actor, writer, producer, and director Caitlyn Sponheimer made her feature drama Wild Goat Surf which was nominated for a Leo award in 2024.
Wild Goat Surf is set in Penticton, BC in 2003. It’s a very well made coming of age drama with some terrific cinematography and performances. You can buy or rent it on Apple TV +
Calgary born and raised writer and director Gillian McKercher shot and set her feature film Lucky Star in her hometown.
Lucky Star is a dark drama that deals with family finances and addiction. Lucky Star did really well on the festival circuit and should have a theatrical release this year.
Filmmaker Jules Koostachin was born on Moose Factory Island in North Ontario. Her life experience is fascinating and was fashioned from a challenging history. Her feature film Angela’s Shadow is haunting, poignant and important.
Angela’s Shadow is a must see. After an award winning festival circuit in 2024, keep an eye out for Angela’s Shadow in theatres in Canada.
Jerome Yoo is a professional actor in Vancouver who also wrote and directed the feature film Mongrels. Jerome was praised for the movies screening at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF).
Mongrels is set in 1991 in the Canadian Prairies. A Korean family immigrates to a small town to help take care of a feral dog problem. Of course, the family has bigger internal demons to deal with. Another unique attribute is that the movie is mostly in Korean with English subtitles, although it’s set in English Canada.
Look for Mongrels in theatres this spring.
Conclave is certainly not a Canadian movie although it is one of the best movies to be released in 2024. Carlos Diehz was born and raised in Mexico City but he moved to Vancouver as a professional architect.
He learned to act for film & TV during the pandemic. He was able to use those skills to give one of the best and inspirational performances in an international award winning motion picture. If you don’t watch Conclave in the theatre, you can buy or rent it on Apple TV +
In 2024 we had conversations with many Canadian film and television professionals, recommended fifteen amazing Canadian feature films as well as the Oscar nominated Conclave with Vancouver permanent resident Carlos Diehz. Of course, especially in British Colombia, film & TV is mostly a service industry to Hollywood. It’s evident that we have the talent and content to do more. There is a lot of hope but for now, we’ll continue to humbly work as Hollywood North.