We (heart) Canadian movies
Pauline Hadfield, Associate Staff Writer
The First Weekend Club Forum can be found at www.forum.firstweekendclub.ca
For most people, trying to think of any Canadian film draws a bit of a blank. Fubar? Was that Canadian? Canadian actors, maybe . . . Michael J. Fox . . . Pamela Anderson . . . the skanky one from Sex and the City? Thinking of Canadian films draws images of anything low budget, really. Nothing like the giant over-the-top blockbuster movies from Hollywood, with their damn special effects.
However, like most things Canadian, once you are acquainted with the world of Canadian film, you will find it quite charming.
A good place to start is not the "We're Canadian" section of your Roger's Video or - if your local Roger's is as embarrassingly lame as mine - at the bottom of the "We're Foreign" section. Rather, a good place to start is the First Weekend Club.
The First Weekend Club is a Vancouver-based organisation that works to promote Canadian film. The number of people that attend a film's opening weekend determines how long the film will play in theatres. So, the FWC promotes Canadian films like crazy right before their opening weekend in hopes of ensuring longer runs for our country's films.
The FWC has recently started holding live Question & Answer sessions with Canadian movie stars. These sessions, happening on its website's forum, are going to be held once a month. To submit a question, you have to join the forum and go to the "Question and Answer with" whoever link. On the day of the event the questions to be answered are flagged, so you know if your question is in.
This month Don McKellar, whose films include Highway 61, Last Night, and Childstar, joined the First Weekend Club's forum.
I heart Don McKellar, the well-known/unknown Canadian film writer/director/actor. I like his crazy left eye, his fly-away haircut, and his quiet wit. And in the FWC's Question & Answer forum, he answered my question. That's right. We're in love.
I asked if Childstar was inspired by a character in his film Highway 61, who sold her soul to the devil to become famous. If you haven't seen either film, read this and then watch them both. At the end of my question I mentioned that I was writing an article for the SFU student newspaper, and would appreciate it if he answered it.
Don McKellar: "Sure. I thought your question was pretty lame, but if it'll help your article I'll happily reply.
"Seriously though, I think your question is pretty interesting. I'd never thought of that connection. I guess I have a long history of torturing children in my work . . . There is definitely something about the American dream that I find terribly sad and mortifying. It tends to oppresses creativity and individuality rather than foster it. And it seems much sadder and more moving when it is imposed on children.
Sometimes I think these thoughts came to me after watching tons of TV (I was watching The 700 Club daily when I wrote Highway 61). Sometimes I think they were nurtured in my family home; I remember the torture my sister went through as a competitive gymnast. Maybe these thoughts are a kind self-loathing that developed as a defense against my own childish longings for attention. In any case, they are feelings that have only multiplied with each glimpse I have stolen into the core of the entertainment complex."
I was so excited when I saw that he answered me! And that was only part of the response. What a man.
Seriously though, this is quite the opportunity to show those Canadians involved in the film industry that we are interested in something beyond anything involving Lindsay Lohan. And who knows - you might get a chance to interact with your Canadian celebrity sweetheart.
The next Question & Answer forum will be with Martin Short, to discuss his film Jiminy Glick in La La Wood. See www.forum.firstweekendclub.ca for more information.