Mr Pike has spoken.
Wow, I never knew any Americans had an interest in...
...Canadian Cinema.
Generally it's regarded as "art house", and bland. A reason for that is Canada itself.
1). Schools up here teach this "Canadian way" of making a film, they shove the idea down your throat that anything commercial is wrong. They like it when the film makes no money, it makes them feel like the film achieved its goal - - to alienate people. The weirder the better, make it as boring as possible. They actual say "Commercial films are wrong".
Trust me, I've given presentations of my films in Universities, and they way they think is sickening.
A reason.
2). A branch of the government which funds Canadian film, a place called Telefilm, this is the usual suspect. They are tight assed, and prissy, and every project that eventually gets funded has to follow these crazy guidelines. They have to score a mark on something called CanCon (Canadian content). which means you have to make a run of the mill Canadian film.
3). Say you made a film with your own money, which means by your own rules. Now you can hit big time right? Wrong.
Try applying to The Toronto International Film Festival with your self produced indie masterpiece. Just try. I will bet my last dollar that even if you have a film as good as the "Godfather", that it wont be accepted.
Why?
Unless you have Telefilm funding, which means unless you make the film that they want you to make, you will fail. They wont just come out and say that, but I've talked to dozen of indie directors, good and bad, and they all agree.
They are scared of independent succes, so they keep it bottled. I've had better support/ response in America.
Every Canadian film is cut from the same cloth, and it will be that way until someone breaks the mold.
Yes okay, some films are alright "I've" seen a pretty good film called "Waydowntown", but does everything have to be a melodrama?
Where's that edge that other countries have? Well as a member of the "Underground film movement" in Canada, I can assure you that a change is coming.
If you put your ear to the floor and listen very hard, you can hear the rumble.