Looking Back at REEL CANADA 2008-2009: Glebe C.I., Ottawa, Ontario. March 11, 2009.

Another busy year of festivals and films is coming to an end here at REEL CANADA. Now that we have a moment to catch our breath, it seems like a good time to give this blog the kick-start that it deserves. In the coming weeks, I will be posting some student reviews and articles, as well as some news and information about what is going on in Canadian film and with REEL CANADA.

First, though, let's take a look back at our terrific 2008-2009 festival season.

On March 11th, 2009, the REEL CANADA film festival rolled into Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa, Ontario. With the help of student volunteers and teaching staff, the REEL CANADA team transformed the Auditorium, Library and a lecture room into three Cinema venues. Students were treated to their choice of two screenings from a program of six.

In the auditorium, the first screening of the day was François Girard's The Red Violin. Writer/actor Don McKellar and producer Niv Fichman were on hand to speak with students after the film and to answer any questions about the film that they may have had. Don had already been busy that morning, with a screening of Highway 61 in the lecture room venue. Don stars in Highway 61, which is directed by Bruce McDonald. Students took part in a lively Q&A session with Don about the film.

Rounding out our morning, a screening of the acclaimed Québécois film C.R.A.Z.Y. took place in the Library. Our guest for the morning, Pierre-Luc Brillant, stars as Raymond Beaulieu in the film, the older brother of the lead protagonist. Pierre-Luc answered questions from the audience, fielding questions in both English and French.

The afternoon brought three new films to our Glebe cinema screens. Hockey epic The Rocket was shown as our Gala screening in the auditorium. Canadian film critic Tom McSorley was in attendance to chat about cinema with the students following the screening. Meanwhile, David Weaver's dark comedy Siblings was screening for students in the library venue. After the film, students took part in a filmmaking workshop with REEL CANADA Executive Director Jack Blum.

Our guests Don McKellar and Niv Fichman kept themselves busy during the afternoon session as well, attending a screening of Last Night, a film that was not only written by and stars McKellar, but was his debut directorial feature as well. He and Fichman, a producer of the film, took part in a Q&A session with students following its screening in the lecture room.

The REEL CANADA festival at Glebe C.I. this year was a great success. We offer our deepest thanks to our guests and facilitators, as well as all of our student volunteers, teachers and support staff. With your help, we were able to deliver a terrific program, open some eyes, and even survive a surprise visit from the CBC! (Please click here to view a CBC piece on REEL CANADA featuring some footage from our day at Glebe C.I.)

If you took part in the REEL CANADA festival at Glebe C.I., please feel free to leave a comment below, or to email me at mark@reelcanada.com with your thoughts and comments about the day. Next week, I will be posting another wrap-up of one of our events from this year, as well as a review of a Canadian film by a Canadian high school student! Stay tuned for more updates.