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| Les êtres chers. Photo by Yannick Grandmont, courtesy of Les Films Séville |
The films submitted must have been produced outside the United States in a language other than English and released commercially in theatres for at least seven consecutive days in Canada between October 1, 2015 and September 30, 2016. Canada’s previous submissions of Felix and Meira (2015), Mommy (2014), and Gabrielle (2013) were all worthy but ultimately failed to make the crucial December shortlist, while we had three consecutive nominees in Incendies (2010), Monsieur Lazhar (2011), and War Witch (2012). The Oscar race is arguably the most high-profile opportunity for Canadian films to receive exposure with the awards broadcast traditionally bringing in approximately 100 million viewers worldwide according to The Hollywood Reporter in 2015.
This year’s race to be Canada’s Oscar bid is wide open. The
likely frontrunner is still Xavier Dolan’s It’s
Only the End of the World given its prestigious (and much derided) Grand Prix win at Cannes. Given the film’s critical sad trombone, it needs to hit
with the North American audience to be a viable submission. Other contenders
include Monsieur Lazhar director
Philippe Falardeau’s My Internship in Canada, Philippe Lesage’s critical hit The Demons, Denis Côté’s Boris Sans Beatrice,
animated box-office hit La Guerre Des
Toques 3D, André Turpin’s Endorphine, and my personal favourite so
far, Anne Émond’s Les êtres chers.
The submission will be announced by Oct. 1, 2016. Stay tuned
for the annual preview of additional contenders on the festival circuit prior
to TIFF! (I seem to have some catching up to do, too!)
Please visit www.telefilm.ca
for more information.
