Returning on April 17th, 2024, National Canadian Film Day (CanFilmDay), presented by REEL CANADA, will shine a Spotlight on Canadian films so distinct, delightful, eccentric, and profoundly human that even the most advanced Artificial Intelligence couldn’t conceive them!

The beating heart of CanFilmDay celebrations are the more than 1,000 screenings, in every province and territory, and in more than 39 countries around the world and hundreds of offerings on broadcast and streaming services for every human to enjoy.

Programming highlights across the country include many things. Here they are!

Premieres and Sneak peeks

A lineup of pre-release screenings, giving audiences nationwide a chance to see the top new offerings before their official release. Films include:

• Ally Pankiw’s debut feature, I Used to Be Funny, in a cross-Canada sneak preview ahead of its June 7th release date on more than 20 screens thanks to the Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE).
• The red carpet premiere of The King Tide in St. John’s, NL, featuring members of the cast and director Christian Sparkes.
• In Toronto, the World premiere of Caitlin Cronenberg’s film Humane, with special guest stars Jay Baruchel and Emily Hampshire.
• A sneak preview of the new Highball.TV film Mother of All Shows at the Stirling Festival Theatre in Stirling, ON, where the film was shot with director Melissa D’Agostino.
• In Vancouver, a sneak of The Great Salish Heist, Darrell Dennis’ hilarious new no-budget Indigenous caper flick.

In Memoriam

Three major English Canadian figures have sadly passed since the last CanFilmDay. They will be honoured with tributes spotlighting their legacies.

• To honour the passing of acclaimed filmmaker Charles Officer, also a CanFilmDay board member, there will be a special screening of Akilla’s Escape, and a discussion with filmmakers he inspired, hosted in Toronto by Regent Park Film Festival and BIPOC Film & TV.
• VIFF will host a rare presentation of the biographic documentary The Life & Times of Norman Jewison to honour the passing of the legendary director.
• Two major partners – Vancouver International Film Festival and the Canadian Film Institute in Ottawa – will pay tribute to the late pioneer Don Shebib, with screenings of his groundbreaking feature, Goin’ Down the Road. A live Q&A with Jayne Eastwood and DGC Ontario chair Annie Bradley will follow the CFI screening, his friend and colleague.

Film Festival Partner Screenings

• In Toronto, writer/director Matt Johnson joins The Canadian Film Festival for a special screening of his smash-hit comedy Blackberry, which recently earned a record-setting 17 Canadian Screen Award nominations.
• The Vancouver International Film Festival is going all out for CanFilmDay! Programming includes a special 30th-anniversary screening of Double Happiness with director Mina Shum, a tribute to the late iconic director Norman Jewison, and more.
• The Oakville Festival of Film and Art presents Barney’s Version, the adaptation of the beloved Mordecai Richler novel, featuring a discussion of the film with producer Robert Lantos hosted by Daniel Richler.
• Reelworld Screen Institute presents a special 25th-anniversary screening of the landmark film Another Planet, the first Canadian feature film directed by a Black woman, followed by a Q&A with the film’s director, Christene Browne. This screening is proudly supported by Ontario Creates.
• imagineNATIVE presents a special screening of their 2023 Audience Choice Award winner, Café Daughter, followed by a Q&A with director Shelley Niro (Mohawk), all happening in her home community.
• 35th-anniversary screening of ROADKILL by Bruce McDonald, followed by a Q&A with co-writer & star Don McKellar, at the recently opened Redwood Theatre in Toronto
• A 25th-anniversary screening of the landmark film Another Planet, the first Canadian feature film directed by a Black woman, followed by a Q&A with the film’s director, Christene Browne. (Toronto)
• TIFF presents a special screening of Philippe Falardeau’s breakout hit, La moitié gauche du frigo (The Left-Hand Side of the Fridge). The screening will be followed by a virtual Q&A with Philippe Falardeau about the film.
• Calgary Underground Film Festival presents a rare 35mm presentation of the classic Alberta-shot horror film Ghostkeeper, with a Q&A with director Jim Makichuk, screenwriter Doug Macleod, story consultant Dave Makichuk and the lead of the film, Murray Ord.

Plus, these highlights

• A partnership with Global Affairs Canada will bring Canadian films to 39 countries worldwide! Special events range in size from the Argentinian premiere of Intercepted at the Buenos Aires International Film Festival with the director in attendance to a charity screening of Tu te souviendras de moi benefiting the Alzheimer Society of Ireland.
• An estimated 20,000 high school students from more than 200 schools from every province and territory will engage in RCtv, our annual interactive livestream event. This year, journalist Kelly Boutsalis (Mohawk) will host a discussion with Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki) to discuss her film, Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair, and will facilitate a nationwide student conversation reflecting on Canada’s legacy of Indian Residential Schools and pathways towards reconciliation.
• Friends of Canadian Media presents a virtual screening of Sarah Polley’s documentary Stories We Tell, followed by a conversation between REEL CANADA Executive Director, Jack Blum, and Marla Boltman, Executive Director of Friends of Canadian Media.

In the end, more than two dozen major broadcast and streaming partners will be scheduling Canadian programming in honour of CanFilmDay.

We can’t help but notice that Quebec is practically absent from this day of Canadian cinema…