At the turn of the millennium Canadian cinema appeared to have reached
an apex of aesthetic and commercial transformation. Domestic filmmaking
has since declined in visibility: the sense of celebrity once associated
with independent directors has diminished, projects garner less critical
attention, and concepts that made late-twentieth-century Canadian film
legible have been reconsidered or displaced. Canadian Cinema in the New
Millennium examines this dramatic transformation and revitalizes our
engagement with Canadian cinema in the contemporary moment, presenting
focused case studies of films and filmmakers and contextual studies of
Canadian film policy, labour, and film festivals. Contributors trace key
developments since 2000, including the renouveau or Quebec New Wave,
Indigenous filmmaking, i-docs, and diasporic experimental filmmaking.
Reflecting the way film in Canada mediates multiple cultures, forging
new affinities among anglophone, francophone, and Indigenous-language
examples, this book engages familiar figures, such as Denis Villeneuve,
Xavier Dolan, Sarah Polley, and Guy Maddin, in the same breath as
small-budget independent films, documentaries, and experimental works
that have emerged in the Canadian scene. Fuelled by close attention to
the films themselves and a desire to develop new scholarly approaches,
Canadian Cinema in the New Millennium models a renewed commitment to
keeping the conversation about Canadian cinema vibrant and alive.
