After two years of being forced to host virtual-only events, National Canadian Film Day (NCFD) is going BIG for 2022.

On Wednesday, April 20, over 1000 events will be taking place to celebrate Canadian film, including 600 in-person screenings for communities across the country and 33 screenings happening around the world, to show off the excellence of our homegrown movies to international audiences.

You might be thinking, WOW—where do I begin? The NCFD site is quite impressive. For starters, you can glide your cursor over the interactive map and see exactly what’s happening all over the country. You can also select drop-down menus to search by province, and find a screening of a film near you. From local libraries to community centres and independent theatres, there are screenings everywhere! Many of which have filmmaker talks and Q&As. And so many cool initiatives for students too!

NIGHT RAIDERS, 2021

In partnership with imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival, the 2022 Spotlight is Celebrating Indigenous Voices, and includes 34 Indigenous films, 25 of which are feature films. Recent award-winning titles like Danis Goulet’s Night Raiders and Tracey Deer’s Beans, will be playing in theatres all over the country. But audiences can also choose powerful films like Alethea Arnaquq-Baril’s powerful documentary Angry Inuk, Sonia Bonspille Boileau’s Rustic Oracle, 2013 hit Empire of Dirt, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers & Kathleen Hepburn’s critically-acclaimed masterpiece The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open, and so many more groundbreaking and compelling pieces of work. 

EMPIRE OF DIRT, 2013

“First Nations, Métis, and Inuit filmmakers in Canada have been making incredible and original films for decades. The growth of Indigenous-made cinema in recent years is truly remarkable and will continue for decades to come,” said Jason Ryle (Anishinaabe), Board Member of REEL Canada.

SCARBOROUGH, 2021 

Other highlights this year include Reel Asian Film Festival’s screening of Scarborough, which took home eight Canadian Screen Awards including Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Casting, Achievement in Direction, Achievement in Sound Editing, Adapted Screenplay, Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, and the John Dunning Best First Feature Film Award. If you haven’t yet seen this poignant and heartfelt film, it’s a great one to watch on Canadian Film Day.

To honour the life and work of filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée, who died this past December, his stunning 2005 coming-of-age film C.R.A.Z.Y will screen in several cinemas, including a free screening at The Royal, hosted by REEL Canada and Cinefranco. 

C.R.A.Z.Y, 2005

For families looking to introduce Canadian films to their children, there is an entire section to browse, including documentaries, award-winning animation, and more. Schools can also check out programming designed for the classroom, which includes a programme of Indigenous-made short films appropriate for every grade level, as well as a special shorts programme to celebrate Earth Day. 

Truly, there’s something for everyone on Canadian Film Day. Our industry has never been stronger, and even for the bonafide cinephile there’s so much to discover.