Everything you've ever wanted to know about Canadian film but were too polite to ask
In honour of the film-centric season premiere of CBC Arts: Exhibitionists, we're bringing back our primer
The new — and final! — season of CBC Arts: Exhibitionists premieres tonight, and we're doing things a little differently this time. Each episode will centre around a specific artistic discipline, with interviews, panel discussions and short documentaries together creating a dialogue about issues facing that discipline's present and future.
Tonight kicks things off with a film-centric episode, which is why we're directing you to the cornucopia of content that has come out of two seasons of another CBC Arts series, the Canadian Screen Award-winning The Filmmakers. We've laid out all the essays, interviews, panels and fun film lessons (no, seriously, they're actually fun!) we put together over the course of the two seasons in one big shiny link guide. Read, watch and get ready to learn!
Expert panels
On every episode, hosts Johanna Schneller and Amanda Parris were joined by some folks with lots to say about the films and filmmakers in question, offering up conversations that ranged from controversial to comical — and everything in between:
The Sweet Hereafter, featuring film programmer and critic Adam Cook, film critic and author Geoff Pevere and filmmaker and actress Stephanie Morgenstern.
Stories We Tell, featuring film critic Eli Glasner, journalist and documentary filmmaker Francine Pelletier and filmmaker and the National Film Board of Canada executive producer Anita Lee.
Last Night, featuring film critic Norm Wilner, artist and CBC radio host Sook-Yin Lee and writer and actor Bob Martin.
Incendies, featuring Radio-Canada writer and producer Helen Faradji, Toronto International Film Festival artistic director Cameron Bailey and film producer Niv Fichman.
Double Happiness, featuring actor Samantha Wan, VICE culture writer Amil Niazi and TIFF programmer and film critic Kiva Reardon.
Rebelle (War Witch), featuring writer and actor Rachel Mutombo film critic Marc-André Lussier and musician, activist and former child soldier Emmanuel Jal.
J'ai tué ma mère (I Killed My Mother), featuring filmmaker Connor Jessup, Toronto International Film Festival programmer Magali Simard and CBC Arts' own Peter Knegt.
Water, featuring filmmaker Rakhi Mutta and film critics Radheyan Simonpillai and Brian D. Johnson.
Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner), featuring imagineNATIVE Film & Media Festival executive director Jason Ryle, filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk and filmmaker and songwriter Elisapie Isaac.
Manufactured Landscapes, featuring Art Gallery of Ontario curator Sophie Hackett, author and professor Darrell Varga and scientist, environmentalist and The Nature of Things host David Suzuki
Across The Line, featuring producer and screenwriter Floyd Kane, Prism Prize founder Louis Calabro and filmmaker Cazhhmere.
Angry Inuk, featuring artist Laakkuluk Williamson-Bathory and filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk
Gabrielle, featuring Les Muses founder Cindy Schwartz and actress Gabrielle Marion-Rivard
Window Horses, featuring animators Nasim Asgari, Lillian Chan and Kevin Langdale
Meditation Park, featuring Lillian Lim, Peter Wunstorf and Joyce Wong
Personal essays
To complement the series, CBC Arts decided to ask the panellists from the first season to expand on what they said on the show with a personal essay. From the varied perspectives of journalists, actors and filmmakers themselves, here's what they had to say:
The Sweet Hereafter, written by Adam Cook
Stories We Tell, written by Eli Glasner
Last Night, written by Norm Wilner
Incendies, written by Helen Faradji
Double Happiness, written by Samantha Wan
Rebelle (War Witch), written by Rachel Mutombo
J'ai tué ma mère (I Killed My Mother), written by Peter Knegt
Water, written by Radheyan Simonpillai
Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner), written by Nyla Innuksuk
Manufactured Landscapes, written by Darrell Varga
Exclusive Interviews
With all due respect to the panellists, the centrepiece of The Filmmakers had to be the interviews with, well, the filmmakers. From Sarah Polley on steering clear of Hollywood to Xavier Dolan addressing his critics, these are conversations with Canadian filmmakers like you've never seen before:
Atom Egoyan on The Sweet Hereafter
Sarah Polley on Stories We Tell
Don McKellar on Last Night
Mina Shum on Double Happiness
Kim Nguyen on Rebelle (War Witch)
Xavier Dolan on J'ai tué ma mère (I Killed My Mother)
Deepa Metha on Water
Zacharias Kunuk and Natar Ungalaaq on Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)
Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky on Manufactured Landscapes
Director X on Across The Line
Patricia Rozema on Into The Forest
Stelle Meghie on Jean of the Joneses
Rebecca Addelman on Paper Year
Aletha Arnquq-Barli on Angry Inuk
Louise Archambault on Gabrielle
Ann Marie Fleming on Window Horses
Film 101
Led by Exhibitionists host and CBC Arts columnist Amanda Parris, "Film 101" was our weekly segment on The Filmmakers introducing you to key players behind the scenes via some quick and easy lessons. From the key grip to the best boy, take your film set knowledge to the next level.
Film 101: The executive producer
Film 101: The assistant director
Film 101: The second unit director
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