The Quiet Power of Canadian Cinema and Its Global Stars

By the ULTIMATE Toronto Editorial Team

From the National Film Board to Villeneuve

The National Film Board of Canada, founded in 1939 under John Grierson, made the country a world leader in documentary and animation. Norman McLaren’s Neighbours won the Oscar in 1953, and NFB films have won many more since. In 1971 Claude Jutra’s Mon oncle Antoine, a winter tale from a Quebec mining town, became a landmark.

Quebec’s Denys Arcand followed The Decline of the American Empire with The Barbarian Invasions, the first Canadian winner of the Oscar for best foreign-language film. In English Canada, David Cronenberg made Toronto the home of his singular films, and Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter won the Grand Prix at Cannes. Today Denis Villeneuve, from Incendies to Dune, is one of the world’s most admired directors.

Must-watch films

To understand Canadian cinema, start with these.

• Mon oncle Antoine (1971): Claude Jutra’s coming-of-age story, often voted the finest Canadian film.
• The Decline of the American Empire (1986): Denys Arcand’s witty talk-filled weekend among Quebec academics.
• The Sweet Hereafter (1997): Atom Egoyan’s moving drama of a town after a school-bus accident.
• The Barbarian Invasions (2003): Arcand’s sequel, winner of the Oscar.
• Incendies (2010): Denis Villeneuve’s powerful mystery of twins tracing their mother’s past, an Oscar nominee.

The stars

Canadians have been Hollywood stars since the silent age.

• Mary Pickford (1892–1979): born in Toronto, “America’s Sweetheart” and a co-founder of United Artists and the Academy.
• Christopher Plummer (1929–2021): Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music, who won an Oscar at 82 for Beginners.
• Donald Sutherland (1935–2024): from M*A*S*H and Don’t Look Now to The Hunger Games.
• Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams and Keanu Reeves: today’s Canadian stars of Hollywood.
• Sarah Polley: actress turned director, winner of the Oscar for the screenplay of Women Talking.

Where to watch in Toronto

Every September the Toronto International Film Festival, founded in 1976, brings the world’s stars to King Street, and its audience award is watched closely for Oscar winners. All year, TIFF Lightbox shows classics and new films, Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on Bloor Street is devoted to documentaries, and the Revue in Roncesvalles is a much-loved neighbourhood cinema.

Our advice: see a film at TIFF Lightbox, then read our Toronto on Film feature on the city’s many screen roles.

TIFF Lightbox →   Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema →   Revue Cinema →   Toronto on film →

The Canadians who built Hollywood

Canada helped build Hollywood itself. Jack L. Warner, one of the Warner brothers, was born in London, Ontario; Louis B. Mayer, the M of MGM, grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick; and Mary Pickford came from Toronto. Later came the directors Norman Jewison, of In the Heat of the Night, and James Cameron, of Titanic and Avatar.

Questions and answers