National Canadian Film Day returns with 2,000 free screenings nationwide

National Canadian Film Day (NCFD) returns on Wednesday, April 15, offering all kinds of programming in celebration of Canadian cinema.

As part of this, 2,000 free screenings of Canadian films will be held across the country, alongside other special events like Q&As and a tribute to the late Indigenous-Canadian actor Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves).

Some of the highlights include:

• Bon Cop Bad Cop featuring pre-recorded Q&A with star Colm Feore — Ottawa’s ByTowne Cinema at 6:30 p.m.
• In Memoriam: Graham Greene (various events)
• Little Lorraine (featuring Q&A with director Andy Hines and star Auden Thornton) — Toronto’s Scotiabank Theatre at 8 p.m.
• RCTV: Black Realities stream featuring Youngblood director Hubert Davis and star Ashton James
• Special previews of Chandler Levack’s acclaimed new movie Mile End Kicks (country-wide)
• Vancouver International Film Festival (various events)

Check out the CNFD website to see what movies are playing near you. Note that not every event yet has ticket links or full details at the time of writing, so check back if there’s something that interests you.

Additionally, NCFD spotlights various Canadian movies to watch based on recommendations from staff and famous Canadians like Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), Neve Campbell (Scream), Sarah Polley (Women Talking), Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter) and comedian Rick Mercer. To that point, you can always stream Canadian movies at home if you’re not willing or able to make it out to a theatre. What’s especially handy about the NCFD website is that it has links to where to watch each film, where applicable.

What are your favourite Canadian movies? Let us know in the comments. (I’m partial to David Cronenberg’s Videodrome and Matt Johnson’s Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, myself.)

Image credit: NCFD