Canadian Film Research Articles

Ireland Bros.’ Pan-American Electric Carnival: Canadians’ border-crossing circuits of early cinema

ABSTRACT Early cinema exhibitors George H. and Egerton L. Ireland were better known in Jamaica and Trinidad than in their homeland of Canada. Named the Pan-American Electric Carnival, after a failed bid to show moving pictures at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, between 1900 and 1908 they toured Canada, the United States, across the Caribbean and into South America. Almost absent from Canadian film history, los hermanos Ireland are mentioned in at least eight national and local film histories from across Latin America, and even in a US history. Yet, few of these recognize connections to each other, let alone the brothers’ roots in Canada. I take the Ireland brothers’ peripatetic travels throughout the Western hemisphere as a curious case that is uniquely Canadian. Although Ireland Bros.’ motivations are unknowable, their inter-colonial journeys can only partly be explained by wanderlust, seeking escape from rural Canadian roots. I propose their significance is the provision of modern entertainment that was not simply a conduit of British colonialism nor merely a channel for American imperialism. Instead, I conclude speculatively that the brothers’ circuits of cinema along Pan-American trade routes reflect an ethos of Pan-Americanism emergent at the turn of the twentieth century.

“Something to Fall Through”: Grid Forms in The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood (1986)

Abstract: This article revisits Mike and Andy Jones’ 1986 feature film The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood, a landmark Newfoundland film that has appeared in too few accounts of Canadian cinema besides Darrell Varga’s groundbreaking treatise on Atlantic Canadian regional cinema, to analyze its pervasive use of grid forms, themes, and metaphors. It discusses the grid’s significance in the film beyond grid-reality, a theory that Faustus’s boss, Fred-Bonia Coombes, develops after seeing an expansive grid suspended in the sky when a friend gets fatally struck by a falling bag of frozen soup. In dialogue with writings on the grid as a form by thinkers such as Eugenie Brinkema and Rosalind Krauss, it examines the film’s graphic grids and metaphors—windows, chain-link fences, ceiling tiles, crosses, modernist architecture, television monitors, and a grape seed catcher—as crucial meeting points for structure and contingency. In doing so, this article not only makes an argument for the film’s historical or political importance for a culturally modernizing province or the Newfoundland Renaissance but also offers an in-depth reading of the film that argues for its historiographic and theoretical importance as a film that formally engages with questions of structure and contingency and cinema’s role therein.

Early Cronenberg and the Anarchist-Apocalypse

The anarchistic and apocalyptic vein in Canadian cinema, and even in the larger context of Canadian art in general, takes a particular turn with the films of David Cronenberg. Such early Cronenberg films as Shivers (1975) and Rabid (1977) betray an almost prurient desire for the destruction of bourgeois social harmony and the annihilation of patriarchal social relations in the context of apocalypse. Even Cronenberg's earliest experimental films such as Stereo (1969) and Crimes of the Future (1970) make use of post-apocalyptic settings in building towards his more explicitly apocalyptic early commercial films to explore what might be identified as specifically anarchist social considerations. However, while the themes of anarchism and apocalypse permeate almost all of Cronenberg's works, these are almost universally overlooked in favour of traditional analyses of his 'Canadian weirdness' or his unique brand of body horror. This article looks back to the origins of Cronenberg's avant-garde anarchist-apocalyptic sensibilities to begin to recover their recognition in scholarship.

Climate Refugees or Future Migrant Labour Force: A Decolonial Critique of Matthieu Rytz’s Anote’s Ark (2018) and Climate Displacement Discourse in the Pacific

Between 2010 to 2020, the global media generally had a very positive view of the voluntary migration schemes or humanitarian refugee visas promised by their Pacific allies (e.g., Australia and New Zealand). However, the actual implementation of climate migrants’ relocation tells a different story, particularly in the case of I-Kiribati people. This paper examines Australian and New Zealand’s governmental policies of immigration for the Pacific islanders over the last two decades. Drawing on a decolonial theoretical approach inspired by Jonathan Pugh, David Chandler and Elizabeth DeLoughrey, in conjunction with Prem Kumar Rajaram’s post-Marxist migrant economy theory, this paper argues that the Australian and New Zealand governments ultimately only paid lip service to humanitarian aid for climate displaced people. In fact, the proposed schemes for I-Kiribati people or other Pacific climate migrants ultimately serve to convert the migrant populations into the host country’s labour force, of use for its neoliberal economy. The second half of the paper turns to an analysis of an award-winning climate documentary produced by a Canadian film maker, Matthieu Rytz. Rytz’s Anote’s Ark (2018) aligns with the “migrating with dignity” policy proposed by the former I-Kiribati president, Anote Tong. Bringing in Malcom Ferdinand’s decolonial analysis of the figure of Noah’s ark in the climate discourse, the paper problematises the general political consensus advanced by this particular type of contemporary climate documentary and challenges the feasibility of the “migrating with dignity” approach. Most importantly, it questions whether climate migrants can truly build a future with dignity in their host country if they are conditioned to supply the migrant labour market.

Projecting a Critique of Stigma Associated With Dementia on Screen: The Impact of a Canadian Film on the Importance of Relational Caring in the Community.

Relational caring has the capacity to reduce stigma associated with dementia by shifting the focus from dysfunction and behavior management, to attending to the interdependencies and reciprocities that underpin caring relationships, and making explicit the centrality of relationships to quality care, growth, and quality of life. Education, particularly arts-based approaches, has been identified as a key strategy to decrease stigma. Yet rarely are the arts utilized in educational initiatives, and particularly so in community care settings. With an interest in redressing this, our team evaluated the impact of a Canadian filmed research-based drama-Cracked: new light on dementia-about stigma associated with people living with dementia and their families. We conducted interviews with family carers of people living with dementia and formal care providers affiliated with community-based dementia care, and also the general public at 3 and 8 months postscreening. Our analysis of participants' perceptions/experiences illustrates the effectiveness of Cracked in reducing stigma by demonstrating changes in the understanding of dementia and changes in practice. Our analysis also includes attention to how the film, as a form of cultural production, deepened engagement and facilitated transformation. Our evaluation of Cracked demonstrates that it is an effective strategy for decreasing the stigma associated with dementia by promoting relational caring. It also importantly contributes to the theoretical literature that supports film-based approaches to stigma reduction.

Memoria—Home, Value, and Meaning in two Italian Canadian films: In Bocca al Lupo and Fellini and Me

Memoria—Home, Value, and Meaning in two Italian Canadian films: In Bocca al Lupo and Fellini and Me

Sovereign Bodies: From Turtle Island to Abya Yala

Abstract Women’s bodies, spirits and struggles all intermingle, as underscored in a comparative, and intersectional analysis of a Brazilian and Canadian film. I put into dialogue the film Teko Haxy, Being Imperfect (2018) with the film The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2019). I investigate what these films communicate about their worlds; what alternative lifeways they propose; how these diverse women’s struggles interlink across ethnicities, cultures, and hemispheres. My focus is on the encounters, confrontations, and convergences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women; between two Indigenous women from distinct class backgrounds and between intersecting Indigenous women’s struggles. Both films are representative of distinct subject positions, geo-politics, colonial processes, and cinematically divergent languages, genres, and production budgets. Nonetheless, I discuss how both films creatively make use of documentary strategies to underscore the sovereignty of Indigenous and women’s bodies as sites of power and resistance to heteropatriarchy, capitalism, and settler colonialism.

Dominant Discourses in Canadian Film School Program Websites

Dominant Discourses in Canadian Film School Program Websites

THE PHENOMENON OF UKRAINIAN DIASPORIC CINEMA IN THE CONTEXT OF CANADIAN MULTICULTURALISM POLICY

The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the genesis and development of Ukrainian cinema in the conditions of being outside the ethnic territory. The author explores cinema as one of the essential aspects of the national and cultural movement of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada from the second quarter of the 20th – to the beginning of the 21st century. Particular attention is paid to the phenomenon of Canadian multiculturalism and its role in the development of both Anglo-French and Ukrainian cultural traditions. The relevance of this work is related to the current geopolitical, economic and cultural state of Ukraine in the world. Today, in the conditions of military aggression, ethnic genocide, and information chauvinism, which caused a new wave of Ukrainian emigration, it is necessary to take steps to preserve the national heritage and acquaint the world community with the achievements and urgent needs of Ukraine. Therefore, cultural and strategic cooperation between Ukraine and Canada is too important. This publication summarizes the main aspects of the history of Ukrainian and Canadian cinema, formulates standard and distinctive features of Western – Anglo-Saxon, French, and East Slavic – Ukrainian film tradition, analyzes various manifestations of Ukrainian diaspora cinema in Canada, and studies acculturation trends. We included the necessary source base to achieve this goal, containing Canadian and Ukrainian periodicals, the vast majority of which were put into scientific circulation for the first time. Based on carefully studied relevant historiography, the author draws the appropriate conclusions necessary for the entire disclosure of the topic of the scientific article. It is essential to compare the vision of the creative process from the standpoint of historians, cultural study researchers, and artists - actors, directors, and screenwriters who have influenced the development of domestic and foreign cinema. The article's methodology consists of analysis, historical-comparative, and historical-genetic methods. The object of the work is the culture of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, and the subject is the analysis of the history and development of Ukrainian cinema in Canada as a multicultural state. This article attempts to supplement and summarize various aspects of the problem.

No Free Tickets

No Free Tickets

Acting the part: A thematic analysis of the experiences of actors with disabilities


 
 
 Portrayals of disability in film and television are often unauthentic and stereotypical, influenced by perceptions of disability in society and the lack of disability representation in the industry. Actors with disabilities encounter unique barriers in the industry that limit their acting opportunities. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of actors with disabilities in the Canadian film and television industry. Nine actors with physical or sensory disabilities who had experience acting in the Canadian film and television industry were recruited through social media posts. Participants completed individual semi-structured interviews discussing how their disability has affected their work as an actor. Interviews were transcribed, then coded using a thematic approach. Six participants engaged in a focus group to discuss and expand on preliminary findings. Two main themes were identified: (1) the unique experiences of actors with disabilities working in the industry; and (2) the impact of industry professionals' perceptions of disability on the experiences of actors with disabilities. Many actors experience inadequate accommodations, inaccessible work sites, stigma, and being limited to disability specific roles. As a result, actors with disabilities have implemented strategies to improve their success when faced with social and physical barriers in the industry. Authentic representation was identified as the necessary strategy to overcome barriers and create more equitable experiences for actors with disabilities. A transformation of current perceptions of disability within film and television is necessary to achieve authentic representation and create a more accurate perception of disability in society.
 
 

Introduction: Representing In/Justice in Canadian Film

Introduction: Representing In/Justice in Canadian Film

Screen Zombies, Alien Settlers, and Colonial Legacies

ABSTRACT You Are On Indian Land, a Challenge for Change documentary shot during a border-crossing blockade on Akwesasne territory (near Cornwall, Ontario) in 1969, helped interrupt the colonial legacy of Canadian cinema. Since then, activism in defense of Wet’suwet’en struggles to protect unceded territory, including remarkable uses of video and social media, carry on the transformative spark of this and other Indigenous films. Until recently, Indigenous filmmaking in Canada has mostly been relegated to informational and documentary programming because this is the genre sanctioned by colonial institutions. The commercial success of Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), disrupted this gatekeeping, and the release of Mi’kmaq filmmaker Jeff Barnaby’s Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013) and Blood Quantum (2019) completely shattered the imposed barrier. Barnaby’s films are about the crimes of colonialism inflected through the zombie-horror and revenge-fantasy genres. This article weaves together these formative moments of Canadian documentary and fiction filmmaking with respect to issues of justice, land claims, and visual sovereignty, raising the question of what it means to represent Indigenous social struggles in popular film genres and what they say about the concept of Canadian identity.

Bordering Justice: Place, Nation, and Boundary Making in Canadian Police Films

ABSTRACT This article analyzes Canadian law enforcement films that centrally depict police work in Canadian society. I analyze how these films depict the policing of cultural, territorial, and metaphorical boundaries and borders in addition to interrogating the causes and consequences of crime. I argue that borders in Canadian police films provide cultural spaces to (re)imagine relations between citizens and the state itself within a broader global order. Beginning with Hollywood films from the early 20th century that focused on the so-called colonial frontier, the analysis shifts to more recent Canadian films exploring new spaces and places in need of order and control. From the colonial West to urban centers to new virtual territories in cyberspace, Canadian police films constitute a popular criminology interrogating the causes, consequences, and just responses to crime on the borderlands of Canadian society.

“On and off screen: Women's work in the screen industries”

“On and off screen: Women's work in the screen industries”

Prevalence of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Professional Voice Users

Objectives To determine the prevalence and specific modalities of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by professional voice users (PVUs) for vocal ailments and to examine the PVU's health care utilization. Methods A Canadian national cross-sectional survey was conducted. Surveys were distributed electronically to members of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television, and Radio Artists; the National Association of Teachers of Singing; the Canadian Actors Equity Association; and the Department of Vocal Performance at Western University. Participants were asked about the products/therapies they use to improve vocal health. Frequency of use, health care utilization, and general influencers in treatment choice were also collected. Results Two hundred eighty-eight participants completed the survey. 86% of participants claimed to have taken at least one form of CAM when experiencing voice loss or a negative voice change. Of the respondents, 18% claimed to use products/therapies for vocal health routinely in the absence of vocal ailments. The most common CAMs used were hot drinks with honey and/or lemon, lozenges, and inhaling steam. When vocally ill, PVUs were significantly more likely to use CAMs than any other treatment method. Voice teachers and medical doctors most commonly influenced the choice of the treatment. Conclusion This study illustrated the substantial prevalence of CAMs in the PVU community. Understanding the utilization of CAMs can help clinicians navigate treatment strategies for this patient population.

객체에서 주체로 : 캐나다의 아메리카 원주민 영화 －영어권과 불어권을 중심으로-

객체에서 주체로 : 캐나다의 아메리카 원주민 영화 －영어권과 불어권을 중심으로-

Short-film adaptations of Munro’s stories in the 1980s. A multimodal stylistic analysis

This paper presents and deconstructs the four cliches regarding the inferiority of adaptations to adapted texts identified by Linda Hutcheon (2013), by examining screen adaptations of Alice Munro’s short stories. It focuses on three short Canadian films released in the 1980s: Boys and Girls (1983), Thanks for the Ride (1983) and Connection (1986). The theory derives from Hutcheon’s reconceptualization of adaptation(s), while the methodology relies on multimodal stylistic analysis. The inspection of the adaptation process reveals lines of narrative continuity and discontinuity that show the distinct narrative potential of audio-visual artefacts. Contrary to what is commonly thought and expressed by the cliches, the three Canadian films manage to negotiate intimacy and distance through point of view; to express interiority; to shape nonlinear, fractured and layered temporality; to give form to metaphors and other figures. In Thanks for the Ride , the representation and negotiation of intimacy and distance in point of view are central and fluid, functional to the intersectional discussion about gender and social class. Interiority is expressed in Boys and Girls through close-ups and eye-angles, with particular attention to the filmic representation of the female protagonist Margaret. Connection deploys and intertwines two diegetic and temporal plans, and the resurfacing past profoundly affects the present time. Ultimately, all three films convincingly depict a mirror scene, a semiotically layered and complex trope, which represents Munro’s concern with introspection.

Co-creation Is Not for the Faint of Heart

Research Article| March 01 2020 Co-creation Is Not for the Faint of Heart: Musings from an Evolving Field Brenda Longfellow Brenda Longfellow Brenda Longfellow has published widely on documentary, feminist film theory, and Canadian cinema. She co-edited (with Scott MacKenzie and Tom Waugh) The Perils of Pedagogy: The Works of John Greyson (2013) and co-edited (with Kay Armatage, Kass Banning, and Janine Marchessault) Gendering the Nation: Canadian Women Filmmakers (1992). Notable documentaries include the interactive project OFFSHORE (2013–15), Weather Report (2008), Tina in Mexico (2002), Shadowmaker: Gwendolyn MacEwen, Poet (1998), A Balkan Journey (1996), and Our Marilyn (1987). She is also a professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Arts at York University, Toronto. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Afterimage (2020) 47 (1): 54–60. https://doi.org/10.1525/aft.2020.471010 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Brenda Longfellow; Co-creation Is Not for the Faint of Heart: Musings from an Evolving Field. Afterimage 1 March 2020; 47 (1): 54–60. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/aft.2020.471010 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAfterimage Search Since 2018, I have been developing a series of documentary projects on women and incarceration that embeds co-creation into its core methodological and political frame. This work is a collaboration between the Centre for Restorative Justice at Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, British Columbia) and the Immersive Storylab at York University (Toronto), co-directed by my research partner, Brenda Morrison, and myself. From the beginning, we understood that because of the very complex histories and unique social vulnerabilities of the women we would be working with, our process had to be deeply relational, networked, and organically collaborative, particularly as a substantial percentage of the women would be Indigenous. In Canada, although Indigenous women account for less than 5 percent of the female population, they make up 39 percent of women in federal institutions and 50–100 percent of women in some provincial, territorial, and remand centers. As criminologist Lisa Monchalin (Algonquin, Métis) argues,... You do not currently have access to this content.

Remembrance and the fate of a commercial Canadian cinema

Abstract Remembrance highlights the possibilities of a modest commercial cinema that prioritizes craftsmanship and focus. This has special importance in Canadian and Quebec cinema, and Remembrance's afterlife as the three-season Canadian TV show X-Company raises important questions about the flourishing of small national cinemas in a globalized age.