At TIFF, and in Washington, Quebec’s film industry finds itself in the hot seat

At TIFF, and in Washington, Quebec’s film industry finds itself in the hot seat Rarely making a dent outside of the province, it has now become crucial to the existential battle for Canadian cultural sovereignty BARRY HERTZ PUBLISHED 55 MINUTES AGO Open this photo in gallery: The cast and crew of the film The Stunt Driver on the red carpet at TIFF on Friday. LAURA PROCTOR/THE CANADIAN PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. In the new documentary Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney – a madcap assemblage of archival footage from the acclaimed Montreal-based director Matthew Rankin (Universal Language), which will premiere Tuesday at the Toronto International Film Festival – Canada’s 18th prime minister is introduced with a telling quote. Speaking with a reporter back in the eighties, Mr. Mulroney decries the diminished state of Canada’s “entrepreneurial spirit,” going on to insist that the farmers, fishermen and small business owners who risk their lives and capital will “get less of a tax break than somebody who wants to make a third-rate movie that you wouldn’t even show in your basement.” What, one cannot help but wonder as Mr. Rankin’s delightfully surreal doc unfolds, would the late Mr. Mulroney think about this current moment for Canadian cinema? Especially the films coming out of his home province of Quebec, whose onscreen culture has become one of the thickest red lines that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government will not cross in trade negotiations with the United States. Open this photo in gallery: A still from the experimental documentary Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney. TIFF/SUPPLIED VIA THE CANADIAN PRESS Of course, it is doubtful that Mr. Rankin’s National Film Board production would have seen the light of day if Mr. Mulroney was in charge, given the politician’s affinity for cutting the budgets of the NFB, the CBC and all things culture. Yet the fact that Mr. Rankin’s movie does indeed exist, and is premiering at TIFF alongside a handful of other buzzy French-language productions, offers a prime opportunity for moviegoers outside of the province to consider the current, sometimes contradictory state of Québécois cinema. It is an industry that thrives inside its own provincial borders, rarely makes a dent outside of them, and has now become crucial to the tremulous, fraught and existential battle for Canadian cultural…