Surprise! Canadians are Interested in Canada

It appears that the new key to success for Canadian films is to be unapologetically Canadian. Two of the biggest success stories (financially) in recent years Passchendaele and Bon Cop, Bad Cop have both focused, not on stories that could happen anywhere but on distinctly Canadian stories and Canadian perspectives.

With Michael McGowan's film 'One Week' continuing to pick up steam (largely through word of mouth) even Variety has noticed this trend.

"The pic features such Canadiana as the Stanley Cup, Tim Horton's coffee, a cameo by Gord Downie from popular Canuck rock band the Tragically Hip and pit stops at some of the country's cheesier tourist attractions, including the world's largest nickel in Sudbury, Ontario, and the dinosaur provincial park in Alberta.
"It references things that are dear to us and has a nostalgia for landmarks that we love," says Charlotte Mickie, exec VP from E1 Entertainment, the company selling the pic internationally."

This can only be seen as good news for Canada and the Canadian cultural community as any claim by broadcasters or production companies (especially when applying for grants and credits) that Canadians are not interested in Canadian stories is clearly not true and after centuries of neglect there are plenty of stories to tell.