IT MUST BE SPRING: NATIONAL CANADIAN FILM DAY RETURNS TO SUDBURY

In Wiarton, they have a groundhog who predicts spring based on seeing his shadow or not: Willy where are you?

In Sudbury, for me anyway, spring has come to be associated with the annual #CanFilmDay April 18^th. Bring on a dose up of great Canadian-made movies on the big screen. It feels like the start of many great things to come that are grassroots and local as the weather warms up.

Normally, I‘ve finished exams and still don’t have my summer job routine set, so I can slow down and smell the -not exactly roses- but the grit in the streets, feeling the war has been won over the sidewalk snow banks for another year. By the 3^rd week of April, we welcome the first of the loons returning to the backcountry lakes and sweet songs of robins, and the start of days on outdoor patios if the sun is shining. Okay- so not this year, but “generally.”

Snow or not, this coming Wednesday April 18^th, Sudbury Indie Cinema Co-op is hosting the 5th edition of National Canadian Film Day. I remember the first: they packed The Grand playing Bruce McDonald’s iconic ROADKILL, shot in Northern Ontario back in the late 1980s. It was a balmy 20 degrees that day. Fast-forward 3 years later and finally Indie Cinema has the government backing to renovate and open up shop at 162 Mackenzie St in the gym of a defunct school across the street from Sudbury Sec. In six months time, assuming all stays on track, we will be able to enjoy the best of Canadian comedy and drama including Quebec films, ground-breaking world class documentary films, foreign films, underground, classics and so much more! What will happen with the giant rock pile on that property now is anyone’s guess?

Canada Film Day runs coast-to-coast and screens Canadian content from living rooms to big screens. This year locally, Sudbury Indie Cinema has booked the lecture hall at The School of Architecture on Elm St. This sweet venue seats 150, and Indie Cinema has been screening there exclusively since the fall.

They’ve brought Stack Brewing on board so before the show, you can enjoy a cold one, free munchies and then saddle up for two Northern Ontario premieres at $12.50 a piece. I’m tickled we get to taste these cinematic gems on Canada Film Day, when so many other #CanFilmDay screenings in other cities show movies from decades ago instead of the newest, hottest, and freshest. Thanks Sudbury Indie Cinema Co-op!

DIM THE FLUORESCENTS is an offbeat comedy written directed and produced by Daniel Warth who will join for a Q&A. This film made the Globe’s Top Ten List, and won Best Feature at Slamdance in 2017. It’s the story of two struggling actor roommates who channel their intense creativity into corporate training scenarios to compensate for their lack of successful auditions, script sales, or arts grants.

 

C’EST LE COEUR QUI MEURT EN DERNIER… THE HEART IS THE LAST TO DIE. Again, this movie shot in Quebec hasn’t before played in Sudbury but it was nominated as Best Picture at the recent Screen Awards. The story follows a complex and troubled relationship between an emotionally withdrawn son and his flamboyant mother. No spoilers.

So get your favourite toque ready, pour a shot of maple syrup down your throat for courage against the storm, and head over to 85 Elm St with your cash in hand for the movies and the bar. The bar is open 30 min. ahead of each screening.

More about the screenings: http://www.sudburyindiecinema.com/cfd.html

You can also grab tickets ahead of time: https://canfilmday-2018.eventbrite.ca