Genre: Thriller
Incendies
Incendies is the kind of film you’ll want to watch more than once. With intricate timelines and a family drama spanning two very different continents, the twists and turns of Denis Villeneuve’s celebrated adaptation of Wajdi Mouawad’s award-winning play are explosive, frightening and emotionally intense.
Winner of eight Genie Awards and nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Director
Denis Villeneuve
Writer
Denis Villeneuve
Cast
Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard
Producers
Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Global Experiences, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
French
Akilla’s Escape
Akilla’s Escape premiered at TIFF in 2020 and went on to win 5 Canadian Screen Awards.
“Akilla’s Escape is a profound, tender reworking of the crime thriller” – Melissa Vincent, The Globe and Mail
Director
Charles Officer
Actor, writer and filmmaker Officer’s first feature, Nurse.Fighter.Boy, was nominated for 10 Genies, winning one. Officer also directed the docs Mighty Jerome, The Skin We're In, Unarmed Verses, and Invisible Essence: The Little Prince, as well as the feature Akilla's Escape, which won five CSAs. He has recently directed episodes of Coroner, and executive produced and co-directed The Porter. He’s also the executive producer of the upcoming docs The Art of Dance and Emmanuel.
Writers
Charles Officer, Wendy Motion Braithwaite
Cast
Saul Williams, Thamela Mpumlwana, Donisha Rita Claire Prendergast, Colm Feore
Producer
Jake Yanowski
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Black Filmmaker, Family Relationships, Newcomer Stories, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Hyena Road
Under the command of Captain Pete Mitchell (Gross), ace sniper Ryan Sanders (Sutherland) has caught wind of a dangerous insurgency. Stopping it will take the cooperation of Afghan locals and the dogged efforts of Canadian troops. Showing how forces on either side can work together to prevent senseless tragedy, Hyena Road goes down a dusty, dirty, thunderous path.
Hyena Road won three Canadian Screen Awards.
“The goal of the movie is truth-telling rather than flag-waving, but it also succeeds as impactful storytelling.”
— Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Director
Paul Gross
Gross starred in the hit TV series Due South and Slings & Arrows. He directed, wrote and starred in Men With Brooms, which won a Canadian Comedy Award, as well as Hyena Road and Passchendaele, which won a Genie for best film. Gross also starred in the mini-series Alias Grace and Caught, the series Tales of the City and Y: The Last Man, and the films Falling and The Middle Man.
Writer
Paul Gross
Cast
Allan Hawco, Rossif Sutherland, Paul Gross, Christine Horne
Producers
Paul Gross, Niv Fichman
Genres
Action/Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Interests
Global Experiences, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Elevated
Director
Vincenzo Natali
Writers
Vincenzo Natali, Karen Walton
Cast
David Hewlett, Vicki Papavs, Bruce McFee
Producers
Steven Hoban, Vanessa C. Laufer
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Original Language
English
Kajutaijuq: The Spirit That Comes
Director
Scott Brachmayer
Writer
Scott Brachmayer
Cast
Johnny Issaluk
Producer
Nyla Innuksuk (Inuk)
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Environment, Family Relationships, Indigenous Filmmaker
Original Language
Inuktitut
Le confessionnal (The Confessional)
Unfolding in flashbacks between the past and the present, the film follows the story of an adopted man on a search for his true identity, as recounted by his mother to a priest in a private confessional. Family secrets are on the line, blurred by the filming of I Confess. Further, lies and intrigue are clouding the air with mystery — and the foreshadowed sparks of the Quiet Revolution are growing louder.
Winner of the Genie for Best Film, Best Director and several others.
Director
Robert Lepage
Writer
Robert Lepage
Cast
Lothaire Bluteau, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Kristin Scott Thomas, Patrick Goyette
Producers
Philippe Carcassonne, David Puttnam, Denise Robert
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Interests
Arts and Culture, Family Relationships
Original Language
French
A riveting journey that will keep you guessing until the very end, Remember’s engrossing twists and incredible performances are simply unforgettable.
“This is one of those rare mainstream releases that gets everything right, right down to its knockout ending.”
— Scott Marks, San Diego Reader
Director
Atom Egoyan
Egoyan received the Governor General’s award in 2015 for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. He was the first-ever Canadian director to earn two Oscar nominations (for The Sweet Hereafter). His award-winning films include Exotica, Ararat and The Captive. His most recent film, Guest of Honour, premiered at TIFF 2019.
Writer
Benjamin August
Cast
Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Henry Czerny, Bruno Ganz
Producers
Ari Lantos, Robert Lantos
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Interests
Discrimination, ESL, Family Relationships, History
Original Language
English
Bon Cop Bad Cop
Ward (Feore) and Boucher (Huard) couldn’t be more different: one is an English-speaker from Toronto, the other is a French-speaker from Montreal; one never deviates from established procedure, the other is a rebel who refuses to play by the rules. The detectives soon learn that if they are to solve this lurid crime, which is linked to the world of hockey, they need to stop bickering and work together.
With uproarious performances from both leads, Bon Cop, Bad Cop is a genuinely clever take on the buddy-cop genre that will keep you captivated throughout.
Director
Érik Canuel
Canuel made music videos and TV commercials before turning to film. His features include Nez rouge and Le dernier tunnel, Barrymore, starring Christopher Plummer, and the recent Undercover Grandpa. Bon Cop Bad Cop won a Genie for Best Motion Picture and the Golden Reel Award. Next, Canuel will direct the feature film The Burning Man.
Writers
Leila Basen, Alex Epstein, Patrick Huard, Kevin Tierney
Cast
Colm Feore, Patrick Huard
Producer
Kevin Tierney
Genres
Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Interest
Family Relationships
Original Languages
English, French
After hitting Dr. Helen Remington (Hunter)’s vehicle in a critical car accident, film producer James Ballard (Spader), a man in an open marriage, and Remington, whose husband died in the crash, begin an unlikely affair that seems to take place exclusively in and around automobiles. While he is recovering, Ballard meets Vaughan (Koteas), a man who leads a bizarre subculture of people who fetishize car crashes, car safety tests and traffic accidents in general. As Vaughan’s unusual cult meetings intersect with their lives, Ballard finds deeper meaning not just in his marriage, but in mankind’s increasingly intertwined and disturbing relationship to technology.
Director
David Cronenberg
Writer
David Cronenberg
Cast
James Spader, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas, Deborah Unger
Producers
David Cronenberg, Robert Lantos, Jeremy Thomas
Genres
Drama, Horror, Romance, Thriller
Interest
Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
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Director
Zale Dalen
Writer
Zale Dalen
Cast
David Petersen, John Lazarus, Rudy Szabo
Producer
Laara Dalen
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Interest
Classics
Original Language
English