The Filmmakers is a new 11 episode series on CBC television that includes 20+ minute episodes discussing a well respected Canadian made movie followed by the airing of that film. Episode 1 focussed on The Sweet Hereafter, director Atom Egoyan’s Oscar nominated drama from 1997. Nominated for Best Director and Best Writing based on previously produced or published material, The Sweet Hereafter won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and was about a bus crash in a small British Columbia town. Host Johanna Schneller keeps the panel interview moving along briskly with 3 other talking heads, including actress Stephanie Morgenstern from the film, and then in a one on one with director Atom Egoyan himself. Egoyan is also known for Exotica (1994 drama with Bruce Greenwood), Ararat (2002 drama about the Armenian genocide), The Captive (2014 mystery with Ryan Reynolds), and Remember (2015 drama with Christopher Plummer). The Filmmakers uses lots of footage from the film with voice overs, has catchy theme music, has a balance of fixed camera and slow panning to capture the interviews, and provides plenty of insight into the film, its production, its reception, and its impact. Two segments in the initial episode that seem out of place was rapid fire questions to people on the street and an awkward definition of a boom operator. The entire rest of the episode is 5 people with glasses reminiscing about this emotional 20 year old film, and how it helped put Canada on the world stage (or screen), the quick commercial break hugging sequences seem to take away from that. Brilliant to have the film played after the episode, and if you check out the CBC website (link below), you can watch the full episodes and films for free, (posted online after the episode airs on television each Saturday). Thanks CBC!

2017
11 episodes
CBC Television

Links
IMDB
CBC Television