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Movies & TV

True Patriot Love

Streaming media is the new black, right? Everyone’s talking about it, everyone’s hoping to capitalize on it, and everyone in the movie business is desperate to leverage it to offset dropping DVD and Blu-ray numbers.

You know what else seems to work in Canada? Blind patriotism. Which explains Canada Screens, a new video-on-demand website offering a selection of homegrown motion pictures “curated by Canada’s most notable and celebrated Canadian filmmakers and talent.”

The site is the brainchild of the non-profit booster organization First Weekend Club, which encourages people to go see a Canadian movie on its opening weekend to boost ticket sales and convince exhibitors to extend its run, and built on the National Film Board of Canada’s streaming platform.

Each selection is available for a 48-hour rental new releases are $5.99, with older titles going for a buck or two less. There are currently 36 titles available, among them David Cronenberg’s spanking-new Maps To The Stars (ahead of its disc availability on Tuesday), Chloé Robichaud’s terrific Sarah Prefers To Run, last year’s Canadian Screen Awards winner Gabrielle and, amazingly, Gary Burns’s marvelous 1999 comedy waydowntown.

You can check out lists made by Atom Egoyan, Tatiana Maslany, Sarah Gadon, Michael Dowse, Guy Maddin, Jason Priestley, Paul Gross, Zoie Palmer and Robert Lantos. (Sarah Polley is also on the curators’ page, though her picks hadn’t been posted when the site went live.)

Some of these movies are very good some of them are not. But they are all Canadian, and all distributed by eOne Films, which I guess couldn’t pass up the chance to get a couple of bucks out of Gunless, a film so terrible that even Gross, who starred in the damn thing, didn’t include it on his list. But hey, wave the flag and someone might click on it by accident, right?

I try not to be cynical about Canadian cinema, I really do. I think National Canadian Film Day is a cool idea – and April 29th is just around the corner! – and there’s plenty of good work being made within our borders. We have a strong film and television culture we just don’t need to pretend that everything we make is equally worthy of appreciation.

That said, when it comes to homegrown entertainment that stands just find on its own, you need look no further than the kickass Orphan Black. The third season premieres tomorrow (Saturday) night at 9 pm on Space, and if you want to experience it with a crowd, the Royal Cinema will be simulcasting the premiere on its nice big screen, as a benefit for Covenant House.

Tickets are $15, and likely to go quickly, so get down to the box office and pick yours up as soon as possible. Or ask your seestra to get them on her next ice-cream run.

normw@nowtoronto.com | @normwilner

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