Containing 24 essays, each on a different film, this work provides a fascinating historical account of the development of film and documentary traditions across the diverse national and regional communities in Canada.
A history of the Canadian film industry from its inception to 1980s, providing a chronological record of the conflicting priorities between American capital, which seeks to shape the Canadian film industry to its own image, and Canada's stated goal, which is to serve the Canadian people with films autonomously conceived, produced, and exhibited.
Award-winning author David L. Pike offers a unique focus on the crucial quarter-century in Canadian filmmaking when the industry became a viable force on the international stage. Pike provides a lively, personal, and accessible history of the most influential filmmakers and movements of both Anglo-Canadian and Quebecois cinema, from popular movies to art film and everything in between. Along with in-depth studies of key directors, including David Cronenberg, Patricia Rozema and Denys Arcand, Jean-Claude Lauzon, Robert Lepage, Léa Pool, Atom Egoyan, and Guy Maddin, Canadian Cinema since the 1980s reflects on major themes and genres and explores the regional and cultural diversity of the period. Pike positions Canadian filmmaking at the frontlines of a profound cinematic transformation in the age of global media and presents fresh perspectives on both its local and international contexts. Making a significant advance in the study of the film industry of the period, Canadian Cinema since the 1980s is also an ideal text for students, researchers, and Canadian film enthusiasts.
British Columbia’s billion-dollar film industry trails behind only those of California and New York. This book recounts the story of British Columbia’s rapid rise from relative obscurity in the film world to its current status as " Hollywood North." Gasher positions the industry as a model for commercial film production in the twenty-first century -- one strongly shaped by a perception of cinema as a medium, not of culture, but of regional industrial development. He addresses the specific economic and geographic factors that contribute to the province’s success, such as the low Canadian dollar and BC’s proximity to Los Angeles. Hollywood North is an important book that brings into focus the tension between globalization and localization in the film industry.
Melnyk argues passionately that Canadian cinema has never been a singular entity, but has continued to speak in the languages and in the voices of Canada's diverse population.
Canadian National Cinema explores the idea of the nation across Canada's film history, from early films of colonisation and white settlement such as The Wheatfields of Canada and Back to God's Country, to recent films like Nô, LE ConfessionalMon Oncle Antoine, Grey Fox, Highway 61, Kanehsatake, and I've Heard the Mermaids Singing.
Vancouver is now North America’s third largest center for film and television production, recently witnessing the filming of Halle Berry’s Catwoman and Will Smith’s I, Robot, among others. But Vancouver has been hosting filmmakers for years, coming into its own in the early 1970s when Robert Altman, Warren Beatty and Julie Christie made McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Mike Nichols, Jack Nicholson and Candice Bergen filmed Carnal Knowlege. Dreaming in the Rain tells the story of how Vancouver became North by Northwest, from its early days as a Hollywood studio backlot to its becoming home to a vibrant indigenous scene that is among the most acclaimed, provocative, independent filmmaking communities anywhere. But with Hollywood’s growing concern over “runaway” productions, Vancouver’s growing filmmaking scene is wrought with controversy. The city’s American-based film industry is powerful enough to inspire loathing and threats from Hollywood. Along with tracing the art and commerce of Vancouver filmmaking, Vancouver Province movie critic David Spaner brings to life the flamboyant film personalities who left their marks. From visitors like Errol Flynn and Robert Altman, to local heroes such as The Matrix’s Carrie Anne Moss, who grew up in Vancouver, and Kissed star Molly Parker and director Lynne Stopkewich, vital players in the groundbreaking Vancouver indie scene. Includes more than 40 black and white photographs. “. . . [Spaner] has . . . scrupulous attention to detail and an obvious curiosity and passion for both Vancouver and its film industry.”—Entertainment Today David Spaner is a movie critic for the Vancouver Province.
Volume 1 focuses on the markets for film products and includes sections on the theatrical commercial market, television, sponsored films, the educational market, and the federal and provincial government markets. Volume 2 presents a profile of the film-production industry. Volume 3 presents a profile of the structure and operations of film distributors and exhibitors operating in Canada. Volume 4 covers the labour structure of the industry and includes labour profiles for performers, writers, musicians, film directors and technicians.
Story Money Impact: Funding Media for Social Change by Tracey Friesen is a practical guide for media-makers, funders, and activists who share the common goal of creating an impact with their work. Today, social-issues storytellers are sharpening their craft, while funders with finite resources focus on reach, and strategic innovators bring more robust evaluation tools. Friesen illuminates the spark at the core of these three pursuits. Structured around stories from the front lines, Story Money Impact reveals best practices in the areas of documentary, digital content, and independent journalism. Here you will find: • Twenty-one stories from people behind such powerful works as CITIZENFOUR, The Corporation, Virunga, Being Caribou, Age of Stupid, and Food Inc. • Six key story ingredients for creating compelling content. • Six possible money sources for financing your work. • Six impact outcome goals to further your reach. • Seven practical worksheets for your own projects. • A companion website located at www.storymoneyimpact.com containing up-to-date information for those seeking the tools and inspiration to use media for social change.
No horror film is truly mainstream, David Cronenberg has said, and it is for this reason that even the lowliest of them may be worth consideration. In this tenth anniversary revised and updated edition of They Came From Within, Caelum Vatnsdal adjusts the focus in Canadian horror films, and unwinds the history of this neglected genre to learn "why we fear what we fear and how it came to be that way." From the early Canadian infiltration of Hollywood in the thirties, to the flowering of Canuck horror films in the sixties and seventies, to the surreal products of the "tax-shelter" eighties and beyond, Vatnsdal shows how the Canadian horror film industry has, unwittingly or not, created a complex social, economic, and political portrait of a nation. Engagingly written, extensively researched, and lavishly illustrated with rare stills and poster art, They Came From Within is an invaluable addition of Canadian film criticism.