David Davidson is another lover of the impossible. He asked me for a list of the best 100 Canadian films. I had to ask him twice. 100? Yes, 100. Let’s watch as another Sunday floats past.
I’m going to leave this list short, to leave room for all the movies that I’ve left out. The names that don’t appear below must be the most important ones, part of the avalanche of offscreen moments, the pictures waiting on the fringe. Is it too much to call them the unconscious? The unnamed that are forever calling us back. As opposed to the too obvious sirens, the ones dressed in their gaudy clothes, pronouncing their excellence.
Primiti Too Taa by Ed Ackerman
Excess is What I Came For by Kathleen Pirrie Adams and Paula Gignac
Death in the Garden of Paradise by Nurjahan Akhlaq
Bunte Kuh by Parastoo Anoushahpour, Faraz Anoushapour, Ryan Ferko
Pretending We Are Indians by Katherine Asals
I Am Always Connected by Phillip Barker
Winnipeg Babysitter by Daniel Barrow
Being Fucked Up by Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby
Love Hurts by Susan Britton
Full Moon Darkness by Carl Brown
Su Naa (My Big Brother) by Helen Haig-Brown
Life is Pornography by Jubal Brown
In the form of the letter ‘X’ by Mike Cartmell
Wanda and Miles by Leslie Loksi Chan
Sackville I’m Yours by Colin Campbell
Eight Frames per Second by Chuck Clark
Buffalo Bone China by Dana Claxton
Metronome by Daniel Cockburn
A Documentary by Frank Cole
The Mountenays by Frank Cole
Minimum Charge No Cover by Holly Dale and Janis Cole
P4W: Prison for Women by Holly Dale and Janis Cole
Ready to Cope by Aleesa Cohene
The Encyclopedia of Natural Defects by Sharon Cook
Reading Between the Lines by Martha Davis
Maltese Cross Movement by Keewatin Dewdney
Eye of the Mask by Judith Doyle
1857 (Fool’s Gold) by Bruce Elder
A Knight’s Walk by Clint Enns
Trapline by Ellie Epp
Under Chad Valley by Jeff Erbach
Candy Kisses by Jane Farrow and Allyson Mitchell
You Take Care Now by Ann Marie Fleming
Sea in the Blood by Richard Fung
Undivided Attention by Chris Gallagher
Borders/Bordes by Alexandra Gelis
A Simple Rhythm by Tess Girard
Fig Trees by John Greyson
Mary Mary by Anna Gronau
House Movie by Rick Hancox
Waterworx (A Clear Day and No Memories) by Rick Hancox
There is a Rally by Keith Hlady
passing through/torn formations by Phil Hoffman
Hello Ingmar. Have You Seen Me? by Gunilla Josephson
Shooting Indians: a Journey with Jeffrey Thomas by Ali Kazimi
Continuous Journey by Ali Kazimi
Dunmovin by Jim Kelly
Dinky Menace by Robert Kennedy
The Last Days of Contrition by Richard Kerr
Does the Sand Hear the Waves? by Taravat Khalili
We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties. Regular Programming Will Resume Momentarily by John Kneller
Paul Tomkowicz: Street-railway Switchman by Roman Kroiter
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner by Zacharias Kunuk
The Street by Caroline Leaf
Sub Rosa by Helen Lee
Minima Moralia by Robert Lee
The Orientation Express by Francis Leeming
Very Nice, Very Nice by Arthur Lipsett
Everything Everywhere Again Alive by Keith Lock
Enlightened Nonsense by Deirdre Logue
City of Gold by Colin Low and Wolf Koenig
Tampon Thieves by Jorge Lozano
illegal_its impact on the body by Jorge Lozano
Escape Velocity by Alex Mackenzie
My Winnipeg by Guy Maddin
Iconography of Venus by Annette Mangaard
Second Impressions by Lorne Marin
Pure Sin by Tanya Mars
Pas de deux by Norman McLaren
Frostbite by Wrik Mead
Gambling, Gods and LSD by Peter Mettler
Mobilize by Caroline Monnet
Joan and Stephen by Monique Moumblow
Wee Requiem by Jenn E. Norton
Softening by Kelly O’Brien
Light Magic by Izabella Pruska-Oldenhof
Ville? Quelle Ville? by Midi Onodera
Basic Motel by Andrew Paterson
Springtime in Greenland by John Paizs
Kris Chews Spaghetti by Jeffrey Paull
Midnight Reader by Jan Peacock
Archaeology of Memory by Gary Popovich
Firefly by John Porter
Work by Paulette Phillips and Geoffrey Shea
Animated Self-Portraits by Madi Piller
View of the Falls from the Canadian Side by John Price
Up to the South (Taleen a Junuub) by Walid Ra’ad and Jayce Salloum
Live to Tell by Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay
Amerika by Al Razutis
Sad Disco Fantasia by Steve Reinke
Ask the Insects by Steve Reinke
Al Neil/A Portrait by David Rimmer
This is Not Beirut (There Was and There Was Not) by Jayce Salloum
Sweetblood by Steve Sanguedolce
Anti-Sleekness Was Always My Weakness by Nadia Sistonen
New York Eye and Ear Control by Michael Snow
Chroniques by Mirha Soleil-Ross
How the Hell Are You? by Veronica Soul
The Blood Records: written and annotated by Lisa Steele and Kim Tomczak
At Present by Barbara Sternberg
In Still Time by Leslie Supnet
Songstress by Althea Thauberger
Francesca Woodman by Kate Thomas
Whatever by Kika Thorne
October 25th + 26th by Kika Thorne
Tables of Content by Wendy Tilby
Girl from Moush by Gariné Torossian
Watersark by Joyce Wieland
60 Unit Bruise Paul Wong
Angel by Wayne Yung
Vinyl by Alan Zweig