Reel Canada
Reel Canada (stylized as REEL CANADA) is a non-profit organization based in Toronto dedicated to the presentation of Canadian films in Canadian schools.[1] It is the organization behind National Canadian Film Day, an event in April, inaugurated in 2014.[2]
History
[edit]Reel Canada was founded in 2005 by Jack Blum and Sharon Corder[3] along with a committee of filmmakers and other prominent members of the Canadian film and TV industry, including Colm Feore[4] and Atom Egoyan.[5] The organization was conceived as a way to engage young people in Canadian arts and culture and build an audience for Canadian film by bringing those films to high school classrooms.[6][7] To date, the organization has held over 1000 screenings across the country, expanding to include ESL screenings to new Canadians through a program called "Welcome to Canada" and National Canadian Film Day.[8]
National Canadian Film Day
[edit]Beginning in 2014 and held every April, National Canadian Film Day is an effort to promote Canadian film across Canada through synchronized screenings, events, and panel discussions.[9][10] The inaugural event, held April 29, 2014, was officially recognized in the House of Commons of Canada.[11] The 2017 edition, a special sesquicentennial celebration, is on April 19, 2017.[12] In 2019, the organization held the sixth annual National Canadian Film Day (NCFD) celebrating 100 years of Canadian cinema, with more than 1,000 events held in 600 Canadian communities and 25 countries.[13]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the 2020 edition of National Canadian Film Day was staged online, including film screenings on various streaming video on demand platforms and television channels, and a four-hour livestreamed broadcast featuring interviews with Canadian actors and filmmakers.[14] The hosts of the livestream, Ali Hassan and Peter Keleghan, received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Host in a Web Program or Series at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021.[15]
In 2022, for the first time a National Canadian Film Day event was held outside Canada, with professor Brad Warren and his Canadian wife Tanja organizing a screening of the films Indian Horse, My Internship in Canada (Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre), The Red Violin and Bon Cop, Bad Cop at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ Taylor, Kate (11 December 2015). "Why TIFF's Canada's Top Ten initiative is so smart". The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ CBC, The. "7 films to watch on National Canadian Film Day". CBC. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ Gorber, Jason (29 April 2015). "It's National Canadian Film Day". torontofilmcritics.com. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ Jancelewicz, Chis (28 July 2014). "Colm Feore, Canadian Actor, talks TIFF Spotlight and his Vast Career". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ Egoyan, Atom. "Biography of Atom Egoyan". Ego Film Arts. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "CTV Toronto | News Video - Latest Toronto News Headlines, Breaking News and Live Reports". toronto.ctvnews.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
- ^ DeMara, Bruce (16 February 2007). "Canadian movies now playing in school gyms". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ "Canadian Film Day 2015". Point of View. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ Crouse, Richard. "National Canadian Film Day: What homegrown cinema lovers can expect on". Toronto Metro. Free Daily News Group Inc. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ Monk, Katherine. "Canadian Film Day celebrates with 44 homegrown movies". canada.com. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "Official Report * Table of Contents * Number 076 (Official Version)". www.parl.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
- ^ "National Canadian Film Day". National Canadian Film Day. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ Hertz, Barry (April 17, 2019). "Happy National Canadian Film Day! Here's what you should be celebrating and worrying about this year". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "Canuck movies to be celebrated virtually on National Canadian Film Day". CBC News, April 21, 2020.
- ^ Brent Furdyk, "Television Nominees Announced For 2021 Canadian Screen Awards, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Leads The Pack With 21 Nominations". ET Canada, March 30, 2021.
- ^ "Why a South Carolina university is hosting a Canadian film festival". As It Happens, April 20, 2022.