WEIRD SEX & SNOWSHOES:

A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche

 
Fresh, fast-paced, and funny—Weird Sex and Snowshoes is a documentary loosely based on the acclaimed book (published by Raincoast Books) by film critic Katherine Monk. A smorgasbord of interviews and film clips, Weird Sex gives 21 celebrated Canadian directors the chance to sound off on “just what is Canadian cinema”? Atom Egoyan, Guy Maddin, Denys Arcand, Robert Lepage and Lynne Stopkewich, to name a few, reveal opinions as diverse as their filmmaking styles. The 60 minute doc is created and produced by Gabriela Schonbach (Life and Times of Daniel Igali, Quiet Mind); directed by Jill Sharpe (CultureJam, In the Company of Fear); written by Dianna Bodnar, edited by Jean Baillargeon, composed by Graeme Coleman and Associate Produced by Sauching Ng, for Omni Film Productions.

“In Canada, there’s one common thing in cinema and that is this northern light. And it changes everything. It changes the way we see time, our way of framing shots …the themes we choose.” — Robert Lepage

Unique characteristics of our cinema emerge as the film unfolds: a fascination with the outsider and with survival, unusual protagonists, a willingness to take artistic risks with narrative structure, the ever-present influence and reaction against the behemoth south of our border, and, it goes without saying, weird sex.

As scenes from over 70 Canadian films such as Mon Oncle Antoine, New Waterford Girl, Atanarjuat, Rude, My American Cousin, Jesus of Montréal, The Saddest Music in the World, The Red Violin, Flower and Garnet, and Goin’ Down the Road rocket across the screen, the notion of a unified Canadian cinema begins to take shape.

Weird Sex and Snowshoes is entertaining, sexy and smart. It’s a documentary that will open our eyes to what’s under our noses: Great cinema with a perspective all our own.

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A must see for any movie-lover and/or Canadian citizen that plays off the clichés that often tag Canadian cinema.
-Lauren Graham,
ART SCENE