The 22nd edition of ‘Canada’s coolest film fest’ features a strong Canadian component, and it’s accessible in person and online.

By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

One could argue that the 22nd Whistler Film Festival (November 30-December 4) marks a return to normalcy for the event. Sure, the 2021 version featured 30 films and had an in-person component, but this year the total number is going up to 41, not to mention 45 shorts. Above three-quarters of the movies in the program will be available for streaming across Canada (December 5-January 2).

As is traditional for WFF (it’s on the mission statement) the line-up has a considerable Canadian component, including some heavy-hitting titles:

· Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On: This fascinating documentary cover the many lives of the Canadian singer/songwriter: revolutionary, enemy of the state, Academy Award winner, farmer, comeback queen. Buffy herself will be available via live stream for a deep dive into her career and activism and to receive the Whistler Film Festival Luminary award.

· Alice, Darling: The classic Canadian drama with an American ringer for distribution purposes, the film follows three lifelong friends (Anna Kendrick, Kaniethiio Horn and Wunmi Mosaku) spending a long weekend at the cottage. The expected relaxing time becomes an intervention when it becomes clear the titular Alice is being emotionally abused by her presumed nice-guy of a boyfriend. I saw Alice, Darling at TIFF and even though the film packs a few punches, the dialogue is uninspired and the cliches, galore.

· Midnight at the Paradise: A 40-year-old mom, (Liane Balaban, forever New Waterford Girl) stuck in a loveless marriage and caregiver roles, finds an outlet as she tries to save a movie house from closing. In doing so, she reconnects with an ex-boyfriend (Allan Hawco, Republic of Doyle), possibly the love of her life. Worth mentioning, this is Canadian mainstay Kenneth Welsh (Twin Peaks, The Day After Tomorrow) final movie.

· Exile: As heavy dramas go, Exile is top tier, or at least the subject. Adam Beach (most recently of The Power of the Dog) is Ted, a man released from prison after serving time for killing several members of a family in an accident (he was under the influence). The man whose loved ones died threatens Ted with retaliation if he ever contacts his own family. Not over his feelings of guilt, Ted becomes a recluse. But the idea doesn’t really fly with his wife.

· Ice Breaker: The 1972 Summit Series: Remember when conflicts between nations were solved on the rink? Probably not, since it only happened once. At the height of the Cold War, Canada and the USSR faced on a best-of-seven Summit Series. According to this documentary, the event effectively paused growing tensions between the countries and established common ground instead.

Other high profile locally made titles are: The Mad Max-like odyssey set in the far north Polaris; the Vancouver-set racial drama Colorblind; Out in the Ring, a documentary that explores the relationship between pro-wrestling and queer identity; Lissa’s Trip, an aspiring actress ingests acid unwittingly the day of a major audition; the off-kilter coming-of-age drama Soft-Spoken Weepy Cult Child; the human (domestic abuse) and the divine (communion with the dead) are in collision course in Broken Angel; from the makers of My Awkward Sexual Adventure, another bedroom farce, The End of Sex; Jason Priestley tries his hand at documentary filmmaking with Offside: The Harold Ballard Story, about the polarizing former Maple Leafs owner.