This summer, CBC is bringing a lineup of exceptional Canadian features to wide audiences across the country on CBC TV and CBC Gem each weekend from July through October. With several acclaimed titles making their Canadian network premieres and available to stream for free for the first time on CBC Gem, the lineup will showcase a diverse array of creative talent from across the country with more than 30 features from emerging and established filmmakers, reinforcing CBC’s continued investment in Canadian film. Also available for summer reading is CBC Arts Presents: The 50 Greatest Films Directed by Canadians, a first-ever list celebrating the success of Canadian filmmakers across the industry, as chosen by film influencers and insiders.
The following standout titles will be making their Canadian network premieres on CBC TV and be available to stream for free on CBC Gem over the coming months: DEATH OF A LADIES’ MAN inspired by the work of Leonard Cohen and directed by Matt Bissonnette; BEST SELLERS directed by Lina Roessler and starring two-time Oscar winner Michael Caine and Aubrey Plaza; SWEETNESS IN THE BELLY directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari and starring Dakota Fanning and Wunmi Mosaku; THE DEATH AND LIFE OF JOHN F. DONOVAN directed by Xavier Dolan and starring Kit Harington and Oscar winners Natalie Portman, Susan Sarandon and Kathy Bates; WEREWOLF directed by Ashley McKenzie (available to stream now on CBC Gem); CARMEN directed by Valerie Buhagiar; TAMMY’S ALWAYS DYING directed by Amy Jo Johnson and starring Oscar nominee Felicity Huffman; and PERCY directed by Clark Johnson and starring Oscar winner Christopher Walken and Christina Ricci.
Further highlighting CBC’s commitment to Canadian filmmakers, CBC Arts Presents: The 50 Greatest Films Directed by Canadians spotlights the incredible breadth of achievement by Canadian filmmakers from across the film industry. CBC Arts asked the country’s top film critics, programmers and industry leaders to list their favourite films directed by Canadians, and then compiled the results to form an impressive Top 50 list that mixes Hollywood blockbusters with indie darlings. The list, the first-ever ranking of Canadian-directed films, is presented with thoughtful essays and original artwork reimagining the films’ posters, and is available now at cbc.ca/50greatestfilms. An accompanying screening series will spotlight select films at the Paradise Theatre in Toronto, running from July 9 to 30 with more information available here.
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DEATH OF A LADIES’ MAN (2020, comedy/drama, directed by Matt Bissonnette)
*Canadian Network Premiere on CBC TV and available for free on CBC Gem*
Saturday, July 8 at 9 p.m. (10 AT, 10:30 NT, 11 PT)
Inspired by the work of Leonard Cohen, and set to some of his most beloved music, Death of a Ladies’ Man tells the story of a carousing college professor (Emmy-nominee Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment) whose life takes a series of unimaginable turns. All the old stories are given a new twist when he begins to have surreal hallucinations and learns he may not be long for this world. Also starring Jessica Paré (Mad Men) and Brian Gleeson (Bad Sisters).
BEST SELLERS (2021, comedy/drama, directed by Lina Roessler)
*Canadian Network Premiere on CBC TV and available for free on CBC Gem*
Saturday, July 15 at 9 p.m. (10 AT, 10:30 NT, 11 PT)
Lucy Stanbridge (Aubrey Plaza, The White Lotus) has inherited her father’s boutique publishing house, and the ambitious would-be editor has nearly sunk it with failing YA titles and bad reviews. When she discovers the company is owed a book by Harris Shaw (Oscar winner Michael Caine, Hannah and Her Sister, The Cider House Rules), a reclusive, cantankerous, booze-addled author who originally put the company on the map, she looks to him for one last stab at salvation, both commercial and critical. Her timing couldn’t be more perfect. Harris owes money and he happens to have a new book – which he hates. Lucy’s ecstatic until she finds out Harris’s old contract stipulates that no one edit his work. However, in exchange, he must tour the book. And so is born the book tour from hell – where fame doesn’t equal fortune, Twitter followers don’t add up to shit, and the legacy you’re trying to uphold might be born out of lies the past can’t contain.
SWEETNESS IN THE BELLY (2019, drama, directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari)
*Canadian Network Premiere on CBC TV and available for free on CBC Gem*
Saturday, July 22 at 9 p.m. (10 AT, 10:30 NT, 11 PT)
Based on the novel by Camilla Gibb, Lilly (Dakota Fanning, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) is an English child abandoned in Africa, forced to flee Ethiopia for England amid civil war. There she befriends Amina (Wunmi Mosaku, Alice, Darling), an Ethiopian refugee, and they begin a mission to reunite scattered families. 2020 Winner of the Writers Guild of Canada Award for Best Feature Film, 2019 Nominee for Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival.
THE DEATH AND LIFE OF JOHN F. DONOVAN (2018, drama, directed by Xavier Dolan)
*Canadian Network Premiere on CBC TV and available for free on CBC Gem*
Saturday, August 12 at 9 p.m. (10 AT, 10:30 NT, 11 PT)
A decade after the death of an American television star, a young actor (Kit Harington, Game of Thrones) reminisces about the written correspondence he shared with him, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives. Also starring Oscar winners Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking) and Kathy Bates (Misery), and Canadian Screen Award winner Jacob Tremblay (Room).
WEREWOLF (2016, drama, directed by Ashley McKenzie)
*Canadian Network Premiere on CBC TV*
Saturday, August 19 at 9 p.m. (10 AT, 10:30 NT, 11 PT) *Available to watch now on CBC Gem*
Blaise (Andrew Gillis, Queens of the Qing Dynasty) and Nessa (Bhreagh MacNeil, Queen of the Andes) are outcast methadone users in their small town. Each day they push a rusty lawnmower door-to-door begging to cut grass. Nessa plots an escape, while Blaise lingers closer to collapse. Tethered to one another, their getaway dreams are kept on a suffocatingly short leash. 2017 Nominee for four Canadian Screen Awards; 2017 Winner for Best Canadian Film, 2017 Nominee for Best First Feature, and 2016 Winner of the Jay Scott Prize by the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards; 2016 Winner of Best Actress in a Canadian Film (Bhreagh MacNeil), 2016 Winner of Best First Film by a Canadian Director and 2016 Nominee for four Vancouver Film Critics Circle awards
CARMEN (2021, drama, directed by Valerie Buhagiar)
*Canadian Network Premiere on CBC TV and available for free on CBC Gem*
Saturday, August 26 at 9 p.m. (10 AT, 10:30 NT, 11 PT)
In a small Mediterranean village, Carmen (Natascha McElhone, The Crown) has looked after her brother, the local priest, for her entire life. When the Church abandons Carmen, she is mistaken for the new priest. Carmen begins to see the world, and herself, in a new light. 2022 Winner of Best Feature at the Canadian Film Fest
TAMMY’S ALWAYS DYING (2019, drama, directed by Amy Jo Johnson)
*Canadian Network Premiere on CBC TV and available for free on CBC Gem*
Saturday, September 2 at 9 p.m. (10 AT, 10:30 NT, 11 PT)
Every month, when the welfare money runs out, 35 year-old Catherine (Anastasia Phillips, Moonshine) has to talk her self-destructive mother (Oscar nominee Felicity Huffman, Transamerica) off the ledge of the same bridge…literally. This routine has gone on for so long that it’s the only thing Cathy feels she’s good at. And it’s Tammy’s selfish way of keeping hold of her daughter. When Tammy is diagnosed with terminal cancer and the possibility of life without her becomes very real, so does Cathy’s repressed desire to leave her small town. Does she stay and trust the woman who has always let her down, or does she find the courage to live her own life? 2021 Nominee for Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Felicity Huffman) by the Canadian Screen Awards, 2020 Nominee for Outstanding Performance: Female (Anastasia Phillips) by the ACTRA Awards
PERCY (2020, biographical drama, directed by Clark Johnson)
*Canadian Network Premiere on CBC TV and available for free on CBC Gem*
Saturday, September 9 at 9 p.m. (10 AT, 10:30 NT, 11 PT)
Based on events from a 1998 lawsuit, Percy follows a Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser (Oscar winner Christopher Walken, The Deer Hunter) who defends himself against a major conglomerate when the company’s genetically modified (GMO) canola is discovered in his crops. He and his family risk everything defending themselves against the giant corporation while representing thousands of other disenfranchised farmers in a desperate war to protect farmers’ rights and the world’s food supply against corporate greed. Also starring Emmy nominee Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets), Roberta Maxwell (Unearthing) and Emmy nominee Zach Braff (Scrubs).
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The full schedule of Canadian feature films available on CBC TV and CBC Gem in the coming months is as follows:
*Schedule is subject to change; check local listings for exact times.
- DEATH OF A LADIES MAN (2020, comedy/drama, directed by Matt Bissonnette) – Saturday, July 8
- SPLINTERS (2018, drama, directed by Thom Fitzgerald ) – Saturday, July 8 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- BEST SELLERS (2021, comedy/drama, directed by Lina Roessler) – Saturday, July 15
- MEDITATION PARK (2017, drama/comedy, directed by Mina Shum) – Saturday, July 15 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- SWEETNESS IN THE BELLY (2019, drama, directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari) – Saturday, July 22
- FUNNY BOY (2020, drama, directed by Deepa Mehta) – Saturday, July 22 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- SLEEPING GIANT (2015, drama, directed by Andrew Cividino) – Saturday, July 29 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- BROOKLYN (2015, drama, directed by John Crowley) – Saturday, July 29 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- RICHARD THE THIRD – STRATFORD (2022, dramatic teleplay, directed by Antoni Cimolino) – Saturday, August 5
- MOUTHPIECE (2018, drama, directed by Patricia Rozema) – Saturday, August 5 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- LEVEL 16 (2018, sci-fi/drama, directed by Danishka Esterhazy) – Sunday, August 6 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- RUSTIC ORACLE (2019, drama, directed by Sonia Bonspille Boileau) – Sunday, August 6 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- THE DEATH AND LIFE OF JOHN F. DONOVAN (2018, drama, directed by Xavier Dolan) – Saturday, August 12
- THE SONG OF NAMES (2019, drama, directed by François Girard) – Sunday, August 13 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- TWO LOVERS AND A BEAR (2016, adventure/drama, directed by Kim Nguyen) – Sunday, August 13 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- WEREWOLF (2016, drama, directed by Ashley McKenzie) – Saturday, August 19 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- HONEY BEE (2018, drama, directed by Rama Rau) – Saturday, August 19 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- CARMEN (2021, drama, directed by Valerie Buhagiar) – Saturday, August 26
- CLARA (2018, sci-fi/drama, directed by Akash Sherman) – Saturday, August 26 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- TAMMY’S ALWAYS DYING (2019, drama, directed by Amy Jo Johnson) – Saturday, September 2
- MEAN DREAMS (2016, drama, directed by Nathan Morlando) – Saturday, September 2 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- MAN RUNNING (2018, drama, directed by Gary Burns) – Sunday, September 3 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- PERCY (2020, biographical drama, directed by Clark Johnson) – Saturday, September 9
- ANGELIQUE’S ISLE (2018, thriller, directed by Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Michelle Derosier) – Saturday, September 9 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- INTO INVISIBLE LIGHT (2018, drama, directed by Shelagh Carter) – Sunday, September 10 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- DISAPPEARANCE AT CLIFTON HILL (2019, drama/mystery, directed by Albert Shin) – Saturday, September 16 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- AMERICAN WOMAN (2019, drama, directed by Semi Chellas) – Saturday, September 16 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- SLEEPING GIANT (2015, drama, directed by Andrew Cividino) – Sunday, September 17 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- AKILLA’S ESCAPE (2020, crime/drama, directed by Charles Officer) – Saturday, September 23 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- BON COP BAD COP (2006, action/comedy, directed by Erik Canuel) – Saturday, September 23 and BON COP BAD COP 2 (2017, action/comedy, directed by Patrick Huard) – Sunday, September 24
- BREAKAWAY (2011, comedy, directed by Robert Lieberman) – Saturday, October 7
- GOON (2011, comedy, directed by Michael Dowse) – Saturday, October 7 *Available now on CBC Gem*
- THE GRIZZLIES (2018, drama, Miranda de Pencier) – Sunday, October 8 *Available now on CBC Gem*
