#OurFilms #CanFilmDay campaign invites Canadians to world's biggest film festival — ever —on April 19
TORONTO, March 20, 2017 /CNW/ - When you're throwing a big party, you need a big invitation. Starting this week, Canadians will see large and small activations peppered across the country through a promotional campaign in support of National Canadian Film Day 150 (NCFD 150). The #CanFilmDay campaign entitled #OurFilms will feature unique installations in cities and towns across the country that highlight the way Canadian films arise out of the communities that inspire them.
Presented by REEL CANADA, NCFD 150 is a Signature 150 Project supported by the Government of Canada. A full list of sponsors can be found on the website. Thanks to the support of these partners and more, as well as the film industry overall, NCFD 150 will be the world's largest film festival – ever – with more than 1,700 (and counting) screenings of Canadian film taking place across the country and around the world. With films also available on multiple Canadian broadcast stations and online platforms on April 19, NCFD 150 will be the most accessible film festival our country has seen. Whether on foot, online or on-air, Canadians from coast to coast to coast will be able to celebrate their country's 150th birthday by watching a great Canadian film.
The #OurFilms campaign, created by Canada's leading creative agency, Leo Burnett, is comprised of more than two dozen installations, large and small, scattered around 14 different communities across the country. The installations run from napkin holders and beer coasters at restaurants, to select Indigo outlets distributing special edition bookmarks honouring great Canadian books that have inspired Canadian films, to giant metal frames holding impressively large TV screens strategically placed in neighborhoods that inspired or have figured in iconic Canadian films, with a prominent label declaring "This Film Comes from Here". The installations are designed to engage with residents of our nation everywhere with the idea that Canadian film plays a role in their community and vice versa.
Every installation will offer the opportunity to join the campaign. Canadians who snap and share a selfie on social media using #OurFilms #CanFilmDay will automatically be entered to win one of five movie passes for a year.
Filling out the promotional campaign are TV spots directed by two of Canada's most celebrated filmmakers, Atom Egoyan and Don McKellar. The spots debuted on CBC on March 12 during the broadcast of the Canadian Screen Awards and will receive wide distribution on CBC, Bell Media, Hollywood Suite, Corus and APTN. They will be also seen in Cineplex Theatres across the country, Landmark Theatres and at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Egoyan's spot, titled "The Man Who Was Always Late", features Vinay Virmani (Breakaway, Dr. Cabbie), while McKellar's, "The Woman Who Can't Lie", stars the multiple-award-winning Sandra Oh.
Created and produced by Leo Burnett, the TV spots were a pan-industry effort, with equipment and talent largely being donated by William F. White, the Directors Guild of Canada, ACTRA and IATSE 863, 667, and 411.
"REEL CANADA is very excited about this campaign, which really drives home the idea that our stories are us, which is what National Canadian Film Day 150 is all about," says REEL CANADA's Artistic Director Sharon Corder. "And it's a brilliant way to invite all Canadians to join the party on April 19."
For more information on screenings taking place in cities across the country, and the marketing activation locations, visit CanFilmDay.ca. Broadcast and online programming will be available within the coming weeks.
A full map of all #OurFilms #CanFilmDay installations across the country can be found here. Specific details of the Large Screen Installations on display in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver are as follows:
| Toronto, ON |
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| Installation dates: Thursday, March 23 – Sunday, March 26 |
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| Torontonians can experience the movies by: |
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Grabbing a coffee at Rooster Coffee House on Broadview (479 Broadview Ave, Toronto) to see a clip of the Canadian film, The F Word (2013). The F Word, is a contemporary and hilarious romantic comedy featuring Daniel Radcliffe. (In case you were wondering, the "F Word" is friendship.) |
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| WHEN: |
Thursday, March 23: 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. |
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| Friday, March 24: 3:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. |
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Visiting The Beer Store in the Village (572 Church Street, Toronto) to view the community that inspired Outrageous! (1977). Outrageous! was one of the first gay-themed films to ever receive widespread release in North America. It is now considered by many to be a cult classic. |
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| WHEN: |
Saturday, March 25: 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. |
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| Sunday, March 26: 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. |
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Stopping by Vic Johnson Arena (335 Church St, Mississauga) to see Breakaway (2011), a Canadian sports-comedy film that brings a dash of Bollywood to Canada's favourite sport. |
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| WHEN: |
Saturday, March 25: 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. |
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| Sunday, March 26: 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. |
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| Montreal, QC |
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| Installation dates: Tuesday, March 28 – Friday, March 31 |
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| Residents of Montreal can learn more about their city's contribution to film by: |
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Going back in time and visiting St. Joseph Primary School (4080 Avenue De Lorimier) to view a scene from Monsieur Lazhar (2011). Monsieur Lazhar is a story of an Algerian immigrant who was hired as an elementary school teacher in Montreal. The film was short-listed for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. |
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| WHEN: |
Tuesday, March 28: 4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. |
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| Wednesday, March 29: 4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. |
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Stopping by 5801 Park (5801 Av du Parc, in front of the Bibliothèque Mordecai-Richler) in the community that inspired the film Starbuck (2011). The French Canadian contemporary classic had a blockbuster release, and was also remade in America under the title Delivery Man. |
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| WHEN: |
Tuesday, March 28: 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. |
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| Wednesday, March 29: 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. |
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Grabbing a bite to eat at Le Dagobert (600 Grande Allée E, Quebec City) while flashing back to the film 1987 (2014). 1987 is the sequel to 2009's 1981 and portrays an Italian Canadian teen who uses his heritage to get into crime in order to pay for his summer fun. |
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Thursday, March 30: 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. |
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| Friday, March 31: 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. |
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| Halifax, NS |
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| Installation dates: Tuesday, April 4 – Friday, April 7 |
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| Halifax residents can connect to their region's cinematic involvement by: |
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Hitting the books at Halifax Central Library (5440 Spring Garden Rd) to see the region that inspired New Waterford Girl (2000), and where the movie was filmed. New Waterford Girl is about a 15-year-old misfit who will do anything to get out of dreary New Waterford, Nova Scotia. The film was nominated for seven Genie Awards. |
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Tuesday, April 4: 4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. |
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| Wednesday, April 5: 4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. |
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Goin' Down the Road (1970) to Halifax Grande Parade Park (1841 Argyle Street) to check out the film that portrays a story of best friends from a small town in Nova Scotia. The film has landed in the Toronto International Film Festival's Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time list for four decades in a row. |
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| WHEN: |
Tuesday, April 4: 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. |
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| Wednesday, April 5: 4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. |
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Visiting the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (1723 Hollis St.) to see the house that the artist painted in the film Maudie (2016). Maudie is about a Canadian folk artist, Maud Lewis, who falls in love with a fishmonger while working for him as a live-in housekeeper. |
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| WHEN: |
Thursday, April 6: 3:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. |
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| Friday, April 7: 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. |
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| Vancouver, BC |
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| Installation dates: Saturday, April 15 – Tuesday, April 18 |
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| People on the west coast will be transported on screen by: |
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Visiting Bastion Square Public Market (26 Bastion Square) in Victoria and checking out where The Whale (2011) was filmed and the region that inspired the piece overall. The Whale is a touching documentary, narrated by Ryan Reynolds, which tells the story of a young killer whale, Luna. |
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| WHEN: |
Saturday, April 15: 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. |
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| Sunday, April 16: 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. |
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Stopping by Mile Zero Marker (Douglas Street at the intersection of Dallas Road), where the movie Hurt (2015) was filmed, and where the cross-country journey of both Steve Fonyo and Terry Fox began. Hurt gives viewers an honest look at the mythmaking of heroes and what later becomes of them by profiling Fonyo, a man who ran across Canada at the age of 19 after losing his leg to cancer, following in the footsteps of Terry Fox. |
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| WHEN: |
Saturday, April 15: 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. |
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| Sunday, April 16: 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. |
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Swinging on the exact swing set Double Happiness (1995) was filmed at in Trinity Park (2303 Wall St.). Double Happiness is a film about a Chinese Canadian who wants to become an actress without upsetting her extremely traditional parents. The film won prizes in Vancouver, Berlin and Turin. |
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| WHEN: |
Monday, April 17: 3:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. |
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| Tuesday, April 18: 3:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. |
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About REEL CANADA
REEL CANADA is a non-profit organization that celebrates Canada through film. Canadian films are the stories we tell about ourselves — they open the door to so many conversations about place, nation, identity, and what it means to be Canadian. REEL CANADA promotes the power and diversity of Canadian film and encourages this ongoing conversation through three core programmes: Our Films in Our Schools, Welcome to Canada, and National Canadian Film Day 150. REEL CANADA has presented over 1,100 festivals of Canadian films for more than 400,000 high school students and new Canadians across the country since 2005. Through these programs, REEL CANADA increases audiences for our films, encourages dialogue and, most crucially, provides an opportunity to enjoy our great nation through the wonderful stories we tell. By celebrating Canadian cinematic storytelling we can build a stronger and prouder Canada.
About National Canadian Film Day 150 (NCFD 150)
National Canadian Film Day 150 (NCFD 150), an initiative of REEL CANADA, was created as a new way to celebrate this great nation, embrace Canadian cinema, and have some FUN! For 2017, NCFD 150 will become the world's largest one-day film festival in the world. Canadian film will be everywhere — on foot, online and on-screen — thanks to the generous support of the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario. NCFD 150 would not exist without our sensational major sponsors: Cineplex and Telefilm Canada, Quebec Cinema, Entertainment One, Google Canada, TIFF, Landmark Cinemas, VIA Rail, REDspace, Air Canada, Tim Hortons, William F. White International Inc. and Mecury Filmworks. Major broadcast partners include CBC, Bell Media, Hollywood Suite, Sportsnet, Corus, APTN, CHCH, OUTtv, Vision TV, Super Channel and Quebecor Media. Major distributor partners include Elevation Pictures, Mongrel Media, dFilms, KinoSmith, WFG, TVA, CFMDC, IndieCan Entertainment and Pacific Northwest Pictures.
SOURCE REEL CANADA
Press info: Cara McCutcheon, Marketing & Communications Director, REEL CANADA, 416-642-5796, ext. 213, [email protected], canadianfilmday.ca
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