As tensions between Canada and the U.S. creep into the film industry, Jay Baruchel is more than confident his country can stand toe to toe with its southern neighbour.
“We will be fine,” the Ottawa-born actor said on the red carpet Friday ahead of the world premiere of The Stunt Driver at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
“We have never done anything but punch above our weight, and our record is pretty bloody strong when it comes to that.… We always find a way through.”
He’s one of a number of Canadian actors sharing their love of the country’s film industry and Canada in general on the TIFF red carpet after the festival kicked off Thursday night.
Baruchel, known for films such as BlackBerry and She’s Out of My League, is in the driver’s seat of the new underdog film, which is based on the true story of stuntman Ken Carter.
Baruchel portrays Carter, known as The Mad Canadian, who attempted to jump over the St. Lawrence River in a rocket-powered car in the 1970s — partially driven by a desire to outdo his American rival Evel Knievel.
The timing of the film’s debut during the ongoing trade war between Canada and the U.S. “added an extra sense of urgency … and a vitality” to the film, Baruchel said.
“If you’ve ever been talked down to, if you’ve ever been dismissed … you understand where this comes from,” he added, calling the story “an indignant middle finger.”
The trade war gained took on a cultural dimension ahead of TIFF when, earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump singled out Canada during the announcement of a proposed federal incentive to keep U.S. film productions in the U.S. rather than travelling abroad, stirring up concerns in the Canadian film industry.
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The two film industries have long been close.
“It’s been over a hundred years that there’s been a very solid bridge built between the entertainers and artists and business people of Canada and the U.S. when it comes to making movies,” TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey told CBC News on Thursday, noting that the opening film at TIFF, Being Heumann, is a U.S. production that was shot in Toronto.
At TIFF, Canadian actors and artists say they aren’t feeling cowed — but instead feel inspired to champion Canadian art.
“Art can reflect who we are as a country and … who we are as people,” Canadian actress Laurence Leboeuf, who plays Carter’s wife Gloria in The Stunt Driver, said on the red carpet Friday.
Devon Bostick, a Toronto-born actor who co-wrote Closing Night — which also premiered at TIFF — added that he feels “we’re part of a Canadian renaissance right now.” The film tracks a movie star (Sarah Paulson) as she attempts to connect with her estranged family.
“I live in the States now and from afar I just think Canada’s got it going on, and I feel like it’s a beacon of light, that what is happening here is thriving and resisting,” the Mile End Kicks actor said.
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When asked if he had any concerns about the Canadian film industry amid trade tensions, he quipped, “I think I’m not afraid for Canada, I’m afraid for the States.”
Mary Walsh, a comedian and actress known for her work with This Hour Has 22 Minutes, echoed those sentiments when she arrived on the red carpet for the upcoming Netflix miniseries Below on Thursday.
“The Canadian film industry is bigger than it’s ever been, and it’s growing. And the more Mr. Trump threatens to attack us, the more we pull together and become stronger,” she said.
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Walsh, who hails from St. John’s, plays the mayor of a small, shrinking town in Newfoundland in the new horror series.
She said the U.S. upping its aggression against Canada could be the “kick in the arse that the Canadian film industry needed,” to back its own artistic works more fully.
“As a country we must support our own … culture, and we do a somewhat good job of that. But at times, you know, Canadians aren’t always behind Canadian culture. They’ve sort of looked to the larger thing to the south, and so I think our eyes are sort of turning back to ourselves.
“If Mr. Trump did only one good thing, only one good thing, it would be that it made us realize that we are a country, and a country worth working together to save and to be.”
