‘Antigone’ Named Best Picture At Canadian Oscars

I did not think much of Sophie Deraspe’s “Antigone” when I saw it back in October at Montreal’s FNC. The only reason I even decided to see it was because it had won the Best Canadian Film award at the Toronto International Film Festival. An adaptation of the famous Greek tragedy of the same name, Deraspe’s film version reimagined the classic story as a modern-day parable about an Arabic refugee family in Montreal. To say Deraspe lays her themes on too thickly would be an understatement, subtlety is not part of this movie’s, albeit limited, strengths.

“Antigone,” which was Canada’s official submission for the 2020 International Feature Film Oscar race, won Best Picture and tied François Girard’s The Song of Names with five wins overall last Thursday at the Canadian Screen Awards, Canada’s equivalent to the Oscars. The film also took in the best actress prize for star Nahéma Ricci, supporting actress for Nour Belkhiria, adapted screenplay for Deraspe, and Geoffrey Boulangé and Deraspe for editing.

For my money, the best Canadian film of 2019 was directors Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis’ “White Lie” which also premiered at TIFF to rave reviews, but, because of its controversial tackling of a progressively-minded liar who fakes cancer, was no doubt too much of a hot-button statement to handle by the Canadian Academy. It still hasn’t been released in the U.S. but I really hope a U.S distributor snatches it up for release. Earlier this year I wrote:

“A female undergrad student fakes cancer to nab as many donations as she can. This small Canadian indie is not just about deception, but about the fear of being on the wrong side of the moral compass. A film like “White Lie” won’t be everyone’s cup of tea because it doesn’t ask for empathy to be showered towards its main character — if anything, directors Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis’ timely film is about the public’s willingness to endorse and support a cause without investigation. An insightful and terrifying film, it is also helped by a strong lead performance from Kacey Rohl, which is filled with subtle gestures that further develop the mysterious enigma of her character’s twisted psyche for attention. “