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1980s – today

Canadian Cinema

Filmmakers from Canada, from the Toronto New Wave and Winnipeg's silent-film dreamers to Quebec's young auteurs and directors who work in Hollywood.

Canadian film has long lived in the shadow of Hollywood, and it has often turned that distance into a style: cool, ironic and a little strange. The National Film Board, founded in 1939, built a world-leading tradition of documentary and animation. In the 1970s and 80s David Cronenberg created body horror in Toronto, Atom Egoyan made cool studies of grief and memory, and Guy Maddin imitated the shadows of silent cinema from Winnipeg. French-speaking Quebec gave Denys Arcand, Xavier Dolan and Denis Villeneuve, and Sarah Polley and Deepa Mehta show a continuing range of voices.

Where
Canada, mainly Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg
When
1960s to the present
Key figures
David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan, Guy Maddin, Xavier Dolan, Sarah Polley, Denis Villeneuve, Deepa Mehta
Landmark films
Videodrome (1983), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Mommy (2014), Women Talking (2022)
Legacy
A cool, intelligent cinema of difference, with the National Film Board as an international model

What to look for

  • Cool, ironic tone with a sense of distance
  • Memory, the body, technology and identity as themes
  • Strong documentary and animation roots

Famous Directors

David CronenbergCanadaAtom EgoyanCanadaGuy MaddinCanadaXavier DolanCanadaSarah PolleyCanadaDenis VilleneuveCanadaDeepa MehtaCanada / India

Top films · 54 films

  1. Incendies 2010 · Denis Villeneuve · IMDb 8.3
  2. Prisoners 2013 · Denis Villeneuve · IMDb 8.2
  3. Blade Runner 2049 2017 · Denis Villeneuve · IMDb 8.0
  4. Dune 2021 · Denis Villeneuve · IMDb 8.0
  5. Mommy 2014 · Xavier Dolan · IMDb 8.0
  6. Arrival 2016 · Denis Villeneuve · IMDb 7.9
  7. Water 2005 · Deepa Mehta · IMDb 7.7
  8. The Fly 1986 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 7.6
  9. Eastern Promises 2007 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 7.6
  10. Laurence Anyways 2012 · Xavier Dolan · IMDb 7.6
  11. Earth (1998) 1998 · Deepa Mehta · IMDb 7.6
  12. My Winnipeg 2008 · Guy Maddin · IMDb 7.5
  13. Away from Her 2006 · Sarah Polley · IMDb 7.5
  14. Stories We Tell 2012 · Sarah Polley · IMDb 7.5
  15. A History of Violence 2005 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 7.4
  16. I Killed My Mother 2009 · Xavier Dolan · IMDb 7.4
  17. The Sweet Hereafter 1997 · Atom Egoyan · IMDb 7.4
  18. Brand Upon the Brain! 2006 · Guy Maddin · IMDb 7.3
  19. Dead Ringers 1988 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 7.2
  20. Videodrome 1983 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 7.1
  21. The Dead Zone 1983 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 7.1
  22. Fire 1996 · Deepa Mehta · IMDb 7.1
  23. Heartbeats 2010 · Xavier Dolan · IMDb 7.0
  24. Exotica 1994 · Atom Egoyan · IMDb 7.0
  25. Careful 1992 · Guy Maddin · IMDb 7.0
  26. The Saddest Music in the World 2003 · Guy Maddin · IMDb 7.0
  27. Naked Lunch 1991 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 6.9
  28. Tom at the Farm 2013 · Xavier Dolan · IMDb 6.9
  29. Next of Kin 1984 · Atom Egoyan · IMDb 6.9
  30. Women Talking 2022 · Sarah Polley · IMDb 6.9
  31. The Brood 1979 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 6.8
  32. It's Only the End of the World 2016 · Xavier Dolan · IMDb 6.8
  33. Matthias & Maxime 2019 · Xavier Dolan · IMDb 6.8
  34. Scanners 1981 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 6.7
  35. Spider 2002 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 6.7
  36. Tales from the Gimli Hospital 1988 · Guy Maddin · IMDb 6.6
  37. The Adjuster 1991 · Atom Egoyan · IMDb 6.5
  38. Take This Waltz 2011 · Sarah Polley · IMDb 6.5
  39. Funny Boy 2020 · Deepa Mehta · IMDb 6.5
  40. Crash 1996 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 6.4
  41. A Dangerous Method 2011 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 6.4
  42. Where the Truth Lies 2005 · Atom Egoyan · IMDb 6.4
  43. Shivers 1975 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 6.3
  44. Rabid 1977 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 6.3
  45. Archangel 1990 · Guy Maddin · IMDb 6.3
  46. Heaven on Earth 2008 · Deepa Mehta · IMDb 6.3
  47. The Forbidden Room 2015 · Guy Maddin · IMDb 6.2
  48. Sam & Me 1991 · Deepa Mehta · IMDb 6.2
  49. Midnight's Children 2012 · Deepa Mehta · IMDb 6.2
  50. Camilla 1994 · Deepa Mehta · IMDb 6.0
  51. Bollywood/Hollywood 2002 · Deepa Mehta · IMDb 6.0
  52. The Captive 2014 · Atom Egoyan · IMDb 5.9
  53. Crimes of the Future 2022 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 5.8
  54. Beeba Boys 2015 · Deepa Mehta · IMDb 4.9