National Canadian Film Day (CanFilmDay) will celebrate its 10th anniversary on April 19 with over 1,300 live events taking place from coast-to-coast and another 120 events internationally.
Among this year’s highlights, late Canadian screen legend Gordon Pinsent will be celebrated with multiple screenings of John and the Missus, the award-winning 1987 feature he wrote, directed and starred in. The film’s producer Peter O’Brian will be in attendance at a Vancouver screening at Vancity Theatre, while an all-day Gordon Pinsent marathon (including 1972’s The Rowdyman and 2006 drama Away From Her) will be held in Toronto at Scotiabank Theatre, with the evening screening hosted by Colm Feore. A screening will also take place at the Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts in Grand Falls-Windsor, NL. John and the Missus will be available to stream free on the CanFilmDay website across the country.
Groundbreaking Mi’kmaw filmmaker Jeff Barnaby, who died last October following a battle with cancer, will also be honoured with a tribute supported by Netflix. A special screening of Barnaby’s 2019 horror feature, Blood Quantum, will happen in Toronto at Scotiabank Theatre, followed by a live Q&A with star Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. Screenings will also take place in Halifax, Thunder Bay, Calgary, and Vancouver, in addition to being made available for free streaming.
Founding Sponsor Cineplex is providing cinema screens across the country, in addition to the Landmark Cinemas chain, and the Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE), as well as Quebec-based MediaFilm. Participating broadcasters this year include Hollywood Suite, APTN, Bell Media, Corus, Superchannel, CBC, APTN, Cinépop, CHCH, Out TV, Blue Ant Media, Wild Brain, VisionTV, Uvagut TV and Game TV, as well as Netflix, CBC Gem, Crave, The Roku Channel, and the National Film Board with their programming yet to be announced.
CanFilmDay screenings will take place in 45 countries, including a special screening of Chandler Levack’s I Like Movies at BAFICI (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente) in Argentina. Beans director Tracey Deer will also visit South Carolina for a Q&A and panel discussion with representatives from local Indigenous nations.
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