Best Canadian flicks of 2017 features Vancouver talent, screening this weekend

A still from the Canadian feature Never Steady, Never Still.

What happened in Canadian cinema in 2017? Glad you asked.

This month, Cinematheque (1131 Howe St.) is presenting TIFF’s annual Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival (Jan. 12-21). The festival is a showcase of the year’s best feature-length films and shorts, as determined by the Toronto International Film Festival.

Here’s a look at what’s screening this weekend, Jan 12-14.

Never Steady, Never Still—Vancouver filmmaker Kathleen Hepburn opens the Festival with an introduction to her feature debut, Never Steady, Never Still. The film examines the cost of long-term illness and stars Shirley Henderson battling Parkinson’s disease. “Propelled by an acute empathy, Never Steady, Never Still boasts some of the most touching scenes you will see all year.”—Steve Gravestock, TIFF (Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m.; reception at 6:30 p.m.)

Luk’Luk’I—Vancouver Métis filmmaker Wayne Wapeemukwa’s debut feature follows five Vancouverites living on society’s fringes during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Many of the actors play characters based on themselvess, including a mother and part-time sex worker, a father juggling parenting, a job, and heroin addiction and a roller-skating street celebrity. “Perched somewhere between fiction we must see and documentary we wish didn’t exist, Luk’Luk’I is a cinematic punch in the gut and one of the most interestingly-constructed films of the year.”Magali Simard, TIFFBest Canadian First Feature, TIFF. Best B.C. Film, VIFF (Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m.)

Allure—Montreal photographers Carlos Sanchez and Jason Sanchez’s film stars Evan Rachel Wood and Vancouver’s Julia Sarah Stone (Wet Bum, Weirdos). “Allure is a stunning psychological thriller—a tale of power dynamics that is heightened by the characters’ seemingly prosaic quest for normalcy. Co-winner, Borsos Award, Best Canadian Feature, Whistler Film Festival.”—Magali Simard, TIFF (Jan. 13 at 8:20 p.m.)

Evan Rachel Wood and Julia Sarah Stone star in Allure.

The weekend’s festival screenings also include Charles Officer’s Unarmed Verses, which was named Best Canadian Feature Documentary at another festival, Hot Docs (Jan. 14 at 4 p.m.), and two programs of the best in Canadian short films from around the country.

Watch the trailer for TIFF’s annual Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival here. For tickets visit thecinematheque.ca.

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