Canada's independent movie scene is thriving at the moment. Thanks to exciting directors like Danis Goulet, Michael McGowan, Tracey Deer, Thyrone Tommy and Brandon Cronenberg (to name just a few), a diverse range of voices are telling unique and compelling stories across all genres. One of the biggest challenges in keeping up with Canadian cinema is discoverability — smaller budgets and fewer resources mean theatrical releases are limited.
Fortunately, with streaming services like MUBI, Canadians (and film lovers everywhere) are able to get their eyes on some great cinema from Canada and around the world. MUBI focuses its efforts on curating interesting and engaging films, including lesser known new releases and hidden gems.
Every day MUBI adds a new film to its catalogue, highlighting it as the Film of the Day on their platform. And this month, two Canadian films will be added to MUBI's impressive repertoire: Andrew Huculiak's Ash and Patricia Rozema's Mouthpiece.
Ash
Directed by Andrew Huculiak
March 19
A visually stunning film that highlights the vile side of the human condition, Ash follows Stan (Tim Guinee) and Gail (Chelah Horsdal), a married couple living in BC's Okanagan Valley whose lives and marriage are rocked when horrific criminal charges are levied against Stan. The film is coloured by complicated emotions and unsettling circumstances, and is anchored by the terrific performances of Guinee and Horsdal.
The source material for Ash came from the real-life events of writer-director Andrew Huculiak's childhood best friend's father who was charged with the same egregious crimes as Stan. "I watched as the family grappled with one of the most terrible things that a family could grapple with," the BIG KILL band member told The Globe & Mail. "I saw his wife stand by him and support him fully to get better. And it was a beautiful, tragic story, and I just felt really inspired by the whole thing."
Ash explores the fragility of humans and the complexity of mental health, and as such, goes to some very dark and uncomfortable places. Huculiak asks audiences to confront to what extent they're willing to support their loved ones in the face of the worst revelations: "How do we reconcile people that we love who did bad things?"
Mouthpiece
Directed by Patricia Rozema
March 25
Darkly humoured and raw, Patricia Rozema's film about grief and womanhood is clever, sharp, and full of heart. Mouthpiece is a film adaptation of a successful stage play written by Toronto playwrights and actors Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava.
It focuses on Cassandra, a young writer who is grappling with the sudden death of her mother and the self-imposed, daunting task of delivering the eulogy. Cassandra is played by both Nostbakken and Sadava, showing the conflicting sides of her personality. We see Cassandra not only process her mother's passing, but also wrestle with how their relationship has informed Cassandra as a woman.
Speaking with FASHION, Sadava reflected that "it takes a lot of work to understand that our mothers were reacting to a different era. They were living in a different reality, and if you're not cognizant of that, if you're not looking at the larger picture, the judgment can be so harsh and cruel."
With this in mind, Sadava and Nostbakken wrote Mouthpiece and portrayed Cassandra with a degree of kindness that hopefully audiences take away and project onto their own lives. Being a woman has always been — and will continue to be — complex, messy and difficult, no matter how much we strive for well-rounded perfection.
You can discover more great Canadian films, like Ash and Mouthpiece, by visiting Telefilm's See It All, dedicated to increasing the awareness of Canadian films.
Fortunately, with streaming services like MUBI, Canadians (and film lovers everywhere) are able to get their eyes on some great cinema from Canada and around the world. MUBI focuses its efforts on curating interesting and engaging films, including lesser known new releases and hidden gems.
Every day MUBI adds a new film to its catalogue, highlighting it as the Film of the Day on their platform. And this month, two Canadian films will be added to MUBI's impressive repertoire: Andrew Huculiak's Ash and Patricia Rozema's Mouthpiece.
Ash
Directed by Andrew Huculiak
March 19
A visually stunning film that highlights the vile side of the human condition, Ash follows Stan (Tim Guinee) and Gail (Chelah Horsdal), a married couple living in BC's Okanagan Valley whose lives and marriage are rocked when horrific criminal charges are levied against Stan. The film is coloured by complicated emotions and unsettling circumstances, and is anchored by the terrific performances of Guinee and Horsdal.
The source material for Ash came from the real-life events of writer-director Andrew Huculiak's childhood best friend's father who was charged with the same egregious crimes as Stan. "I watched as the family grappled with one of the most terrible things that a family could grapple with," the BIG KILL band member told The Globe & Mail. "I saw his wife stand by him and support him fully to get better. And it was a beautiful, tragic story, and I just felt really inspired by the whole thing."
Ash explores the fragility of humans and the complexity of mental health, and as such, goes to some very dark and uncomfortable places. Huculiak asks audiences to confront to what extent they're willing to support their loved ones in the face of the worst revelations: "How do we reconcile people that we love who did bad things?"
Mouthpiece
Directed by Patricia Rozema
March 25
Darkly humoured and raw, Patricia Rozema's film about grief and womanhood is clever, sharp, and full of heart. Mouthpiece is a film adaptation of a successful stage play written by Toronto playwrights and actors Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava.
It focuses on Cassandra, a young writer who is grappling with the sudden death of her mother and the self-imposed, daunting task of delivering the eulogy. Cassandra is played by both Nostbakken and Sadava, showing the conflicting sides of her personality. We see Cassandra not only process her mother's passing, but also wrestle with how their relationship has informed Cassandra as a woman.
Speaking with FASHION, Sadava reflected that "it takes a lot of work to understand that our mothers were reacting to a different era. They were living in a different reality, and if you're not cognizant of that, if you're not looking at the larger picture, the judgment can be so harsh and cruel."
With this in mind, Sadava and Nostbakken wrote Mouthpiece and portrayed Cassandra with a degree of kindness that hopefully audiences take away and project onto their own lives. Being a woman has always been — and will continue to be — complex, messy and difficult, no matter how much we strive for well-rounded perfection.
You can discover more great Canadian films, like Ash and Mouthpiece, by visiting Telefilm's See It All, dedicated to increasing the awareness of Canadian films.