To celebrate its 20th annual awards ceremony, the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film will be publishing a series of Top 20 lists on its Facebook page. For the website however, we’ve expanded this first list to a Top 50. For our third and final such list, we’ve chosen to highlight Canadian films! It’s no secret that Chlotrudis loves Canada, Canadian films, and Canadian filmmakers. Just take a look at our many guests over the years, Patricia Rozema, Sarah Polley, Don McKellar, Gary Burns, Genvieve Bujold, Thom Fitzgerald, Daniel MacIvor, Weibke von Carolsfeld, Ellen Page, Maury Chaykin, Alberta Watson, Tracy Wright, Atom Egoyan, and Rebecca Jenkins. Chlotrudis certainly knows its Canadian films. Check out our first list for the year, the 50 Best French-Language Films, and our follow-up list, the 50 Best Movies About Movies as chosen by Chlotrudis.
The big winner on this list is not-surprisingly, Atom Egoyan. The director, who was honored two years ago at the 18th annual Chlotrudis Awards ceremony took the #1 spot, with THE SWEET HEREAFTER, and holds a total of 7 spots on the Top 50. EXOTICA comes in at #4, ARARAT and #23, CHLOE at #33, SPEAKING PARTS at #42, FELICIA’S JOURNEY at #44, and THE ADJUSTER at #46. Further west Guy Maddin comes in with 4 spots, including the runner-up, MY WINNIPEG. His other ranking films include THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD at #19, BRAND UPON THE BRAIN at #34, and KEYHOLE at #43. Finally, the highest-ranking woman on the list, Sarah Polley placed her directorial debut, AWAY FROM HER at #3. The other two features she has directed also made the list, and they all placed in the Top 20, with last year’s documentary STORIES WE TELL, coming in at #7, and TAKE THIS WALTZ showing up at #15. In addition, Polley appeared in 7 films in the Top 50 including THE SWEET HEREAFTER, EXOTICA, STORIES WE TELL, LAST NIGHT, MY LIFE WITHOUT ME, TRIGGER, and THE HANGING GARDEN. Two other filmmakers had three films in the Top 50: Denys Arcand with JESUS OF MONTREAL coming in at #14, THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS AT #22, and THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE at #35; and Bruce McDonald with PONTYPOOL at #18, TRIGGER at #21, and THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS at #32. Also of note, despite Denys Arcand’s showing with three films in the Top 50, the highest ranking French-Canadian film came from wunderkind Xavier Dolan, whose 2013 film LAURENCE ANYWAYS anchors the Top 10. His debut film, I KILLED MY MOTHER, made the cut at #11.
We hope you enjoy our list of the 50 Favorite Canadian Films!
| 01 | The Sweet Hereafter | Atom Egoyan | 1997 |
| 02 | My Winnipeg | Guy Maddin | 1994 |
| 03 | Away from Her | Sarah Polley | 2006 |
| 04 | Exotica | Atom Egoyan | 1994 |
| 05 | Wilby Wonderful | Daniel MacIvor | 2004 |
| 06 | I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing | Patricia Rozema | 1987 |
| 07 | Stories We Tell | Sarah Polley | 2013 |
| 08 | Last Night | Don McKellar | 1998 |
| 09 | My Life Without Me | Isabel Coixet | 2003 |
| 10 | Laurence Anyways | Xavier Dolan | 2013 |
| 11 | I Killed My Mother | Xavier Dolan | 2009 |
| 12 | The Five Senses | Jeremy Podeswa | 1999 |
| 13 | waydowntown | Gary Burns | 2000 |
| 14 | Jesus of Montreal | Denys Arcand | 1989 |
| 15 | Take This Waltz | Sarah Polley | 2011 |
| 16 | Marion Bridge | Wiebke von Carolsfeld | 2003 |
| 17 | War Witch | Kim Nguyen | 2013 |
| 18 | Pontypool | Bruce McDonald | 2008 |
| 19 | The Saddest Music in the World | Guy Maddin | 2003 |
| 20 | Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner | Zacharias Kunuk | 2001 |
| 21 | Trigger | Bruce McDonald | 2012 |
| 22 | The Barbarian Invasions | Denys Arcand | 2003 |
| 23 | Ararat | Atom Egoyan | 2002 |
| 24 | The Hanging Garden | Thom Fitzgerald | 1997 |
| 25 | Monsieur Lazhar | Phillippe Falardea | 2011 |
| 26 | Monkey Warfare | Reg Harkema | 2006 |
| 27 | Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould | François Girard | 1993 |
| 28 | Videodrome | David Cronenberg | 1983 |
| 29 | Strangers in Good Company | Bruce Beresford | 1990 |
| 30 | The Boys of St. Vincent | John N. Smith | 1992 |
| 31 | The Red Violin | François Girard | 1998 |
| 32 | The Tracey Fragments | Bruce McDonald | 2007 |
| 33 | Chloe | Atom Egoyan | 2009 |
| 34 | Brand Upon the Brain | Guy Maddin | 2005 |
| 35 | The Decline of the American Empire | Denys Arcand | 1986 |
| 36 | I,Claudia | Chris Abraham | 2004 |
| 37 | Naked Lunch | David Cronenberg | 1991 |
| 38 | Black Robe | Bruce Beresford | 1991 |
| 39 | Mon Oncle Antoine | Claude Jutra | 1971 |
| 40 | C.R.A.Z.Y. | Jean-Marc Vallée | 2005 |
| 41 | Congorama | Philippe Falardeau | 2006 |
| 42 | Speaking Parts | Atom Egoyan | 1989 |
| 43 | Keyhole | Guy Maddin | 2011 |
| 44 | Felicia’s Journey | Atom Egoyan | 1999 |
| 45 | Starbuck | Ken Scott | 2011 |
| 46 | The Adjuster | Atom Egoyan | 1991 |
| 47 | Set Me Free | Léa Pool | 1999 |
| 48 | Past Perfect | Daniel MacIvor | 2002 |
| 49 | Zero Patience | John Greyson | 1993 |
| 50 | Beefcake | Thom Fitzgerald | 1998 |